Thu 29 Jun 2017
A Western Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: THE DESPERADO (1954).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[10] Comments
THE DESPERADO. Allied Artists, 1954. Wayne Morris, James Lydon, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef, Dabs Greer John Dierkes, Roy Barcroft. Written by Geoffrey Homes from the novel by Clifton Adams (Gold Medal #121, 1950). Directed by Thomas Carr.
I finished my inadvertent Wayne Morris Film Festival with this, a surprisingly classy B-western from Allied Artists in the days when they were morphing from Monogram, still churning out second-features but with an eye to moving upscale.
The plot is the standard revenge story, with Jimmy Lyden (best remembered as Henry Aldrich) out to avenge the murder of his dad, but it’s given a typical 1950s twist: It’s Reconstruction and Texas is run by a bunch of corrupt owlhoots, and when Jimmy runs afoul of them, he goes on the run, a rebellious youth persecuted by an older generation.
This is a B-western, so it’s not long till he meets up with wanted outlaw Sam Garrett (Morris of course) and the two of them form a shaky friendship that gets tested when Sam cynically lets his new pardner shoot his own way out of a scrap with Lee Van Cleef.
In fact, cynicism is the mark of Morris’s character here, constantly warning his new buddy not to trust anyone or mix himself up in other people’s fights. When Lyden gets a chance to avenge his dad, Wayne cheerfully urges him to shoot down the unarmed baddies in cold blood, and takes a dim view of his inability to do so. It turns out, though, that other folks have no such tender feelings, and our callow hero gets a murder frame-up added to his troubles.
With all this and more going on (Lee Van Cleef plays twins, so Jimmy gets to shoot him twice), The Desperado could have easily bogged down in complications, but writer Geoffrey Homes keeps it moving and even throws in a couple of corrupt sheriffs: one (Dabs Greer) likably so and one… well he’s played by Roy Barcroft and enough said.
Mostly though, the focus is on the uneasy relationship between Morris and Lydon, and it’s here where script, acting and direction come together, and I say this knowing that Wayne Morris and James Lyden are not well-known for deep and insightful acting. But they could rise to the occasions like Strange Illusion and Paths of Glory, and they do quite nicely here.
Director Thomas Carr was a soul consigned to toil for eternity in B-movies and cheap television, but he took his fate like a low-budget Sisyphus, moving his camera for maximum effect, turning out the best of Bill Eliott’s final westerns with a fluid camera and sure sense of pace, shown here to good effect.
As for writer Geoffrey Homes (or Daniel Mainwaring, if you prefer) well, his talent was always a variable commodity. His screenplay for Out of the Past is much better than his source novel (Build My Gallows High) which in turn is much much better than any of his other books. His movies range from the excellent Invasion of the Body Snatchers to dreck like The George Raft Story, and The Desperado is somewhere about mid-range: nothing fancy, but solid and enjoyable.
Oh, and one more footnote: Wayne Morris was a bona fide war hero whose next film after Desperado was Two Guns and a Badge, generally considered the last series B-western. And his first wife was named Bubbles Schinasi.
Just thought I’d mention it.
June 29th, 2017 at 6:51 am
I saw this recently and liked it though I do consider it a notch above the usual B-western. I like Beverly Garland and will watch anything with her in it…
June 29th, 2017 at 7:15 am
This story was remade just four years later as ‘Cole Younger, Gunfighter,’ with Frank Lovejoy and James Best. Also a pretty good B-Western.
June 29th, 2017 at 8:04 am
Donald Westlake credited the hard-edged character played by Wayne Morris (in the movie, Sam Garrett; in Adams’ novel, Pappy Garrett) as an inspiration for Parker. I read that long ago in Westlake’s essay “I Made Him a Criminal.” The film has a more upbeat ending than the novel.
June 29th, 2017 at 1:15 pm
Wayne Morris and Jimmy Lydon were terrific actors and did have lengthy and varied careers because they brought variety and plenty of depth and insight to the parts in which they were cast. As for the heroism of Wayne Morris during the war, it was emblematic of the kind of people making their way in the entertainment industry. A casual glance at those leading players who served under fire is like a who’s who of show business and includes, but is not limited to, James Stewart, John Howard, Clark Gable, Eddie Albert, Louis Hayward, Sterling Hayden, Richard Carlson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Tom Brown, and among the ladies, performing under fire, Marlene Dietrich, Gertrude Lawrence, with Myrna Loy on the home front barely working at her career. A different day and age, no slackers. Or very few. And people like Humphrey Bogart and Randolph Scott, both born in the 19th century, served in the First War. So too did Pat O’Brien and Spencer Tracy.
June 29th, 2017 at 2:12 pm
A point well taken, Barry, and well said.
Also, in a separate email to me, you pointed out that Jimmy Lydon was still alive. I would not have guessed it. If IMDb is correct, he was 94 at the end of May. His last screen credit was a part on ST. ELSEWHERE in 1987.
June 29th, 2017 at 6:51 pm
Well done book by Adams certainly.
I agree with Barry on the actors who served and worked in other ways for the war effort.
whether heroes like Morris, Doug Fairbanks Jr., or Mickey Rooney or hard workers for the USO like Marelne Dietrich.
Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone were both officers in the trenches in the First War as were writers Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett Hammett.
June 30th, 2017 at 10:05 am
I’ve read that Herbert Marshall lost a leg in World War I.
June 30th, 2017 at 12:28 pm
It was so. While not a secret, that he used a prosthetic was not generally well known. Wikipedia has more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Marshall#War_injury
April 5th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
For those who may not already know, Wayne Morris, whose family called him by his first name “Bert” was the brother-in-law of Republic actress Peggy Stewart. He died of a sudden heart attack while visiting his old ship.
June 9th, 2020 at 2:48 pm
Exceptional western! Watched this movie this afternoon on TCM. The relationship between the seasoned gunfighter and the green horn was a pleasure to watch. Wayne Morris played the character perfectly. He had principles but yet he wasn’t predictable. Jimmy Lydon did a good job as a slightly beginning to harden greenhorn. They worked quite well together. As usual Beverly Garland was wonderful. I am a great fan of her! She puts everything into her roles and is a pleasure to watch. An “A†list of supporting actors: Dabbs Greer, Lee Van Cleef, Nester Paiva and the villain. A very good cast. Highly recommended! A cut above the average western, I disagree with other reviews, it may have been a “B†budget but I think it was an A western.