Sun 24 Jun 2018
A Western Movie Review: PANHANDLE (1948).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[9] Comments
PANHANDLE. Allied Artists, 1948. Rod Cameron, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Anne Gwynne, Blake Edwards. Screenplay by John C. Champion and Blake Edwards. Director: Leslie Selander.
This is the film that the later 1966 western movie The Texican was a re-imaging of. (You can read the review by Jonathan and posted here not too long ago.) The later film starred Audie Murphy in Rod Cameron’s part in the original, that of a former lawman now living as a reformed outlaw in Mexico, but who heads back north again to avenge the murder of his brother at the hands of an unknown bushwhacker.
The villain in this original version is Reed Hadley, a role played by the much heavier Broderick Crawford in the later film, but both are equally mean and despicable. There are a few other changes made, but the basic storylines are about the same, emphasis on basic, and I’d say that the two movies are equally entertaining.
Some things of interest about Panhandle on its own, however. It was filmed in sepia color, for no good reason that I could see, and because it’s such an uncommon choice, it takes a while to get used to, or it did me.
While entertaining, the meandering plot really doesn’t know where it is going. When John Sands (Cameron) crosses the border heading north, he’s confronted by a sheriff he knew in the past, but after shooting the gun out of his hand, Sands continues his journey north. The incident does not come up again. Once in the town Hadley all but owns, some townsmen call on Sands to help bring justice to the town. Sands refuses and the incident does not come up again. After a breakneck brawl in a saloon and a subsequent shootout, a stranger has Sands’ back to good advantage. Turns out he (the stranger) works for the federal government (something to do with the panhandle country), but Sands refuses and the incident does not come up again.
Sands also chooses the wrong girl, to my way of thinking, but we can certainly agree to disagree about that, if you’re so minded.
One other thing. After seeing Blake Edwards play Floyd Schofield, one of Reed Hadley gunman’s hired gunmen, it is clear that Edwards made the right choice in switching from acting to writing. He’s the one on the right in the photo on the left. I don’t think anyone will disagree with me about that.
June 24th, 2018 at 7:19 pm
Thank you for an informative review!
I’d never heard of this movie.
It’s now a must-see, if only for seeing one of my favorite directors Blake Edwards act.
June 24th, 2018 at 8:43 pm
According to IMDb, Edwards made 31 movies as an actor, 25 of them uncredited.
June 24th, 2018 at 8:16 pm
Steve, this was for me an excellent project of the second tier and the story elements you pointed out, Sands shooting a sheriff from the past and refusing the lawman’s job, go directly to character. They are, or were for me, the kind of touches that made the film so smart. As for the wrong girl? Anne Gwynne the wrong girl? She is, or was, both a better actress, and much more sensual. Also, Cathy played his brother’s girl. Want to see them together, run Short Grass, an even better picture.
June 24th, 2018 at 8:21 pm
Oh, and Blake Edwards played a disgusting creep. That was good stuff, and unusual casting rather than some tired work from an actor we had seen a dozen times prior.
June 24th, 2018 at 8:38 pm
Barry
I will concede that yes the scenes I pointed out help develop the idea of Sands’ single-minded mission, that is, to avenge his brother, but they seemed to me to have been inserted into the story in an awkward and underdeveloped way. I think that a little more followup in each case would have been helpful.
As for a Sands’ choice of which of the two heroines to woo, I really don’t think he could go wrong either way. (I’m going to stick with my choice of Dusty, though.)
June 24th, 2018 at 8:48 pm
As a hired gunman in the west, I think Floyd would have lasted no more than 15 minutes.
June 24th, 2018 at 8:54 pm
Steve, even in the old west they had fruit flavors.
As for Anne Gwynne, she is Chris Pine’s grandmother, so in a way her career is still going.
June 25th, 2018 at 7:16 am
Having seen Blake Edwards in STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP, I would describe his style as “alternative acting.”
June 25th, 2018 at 7:48 pm
Cameron, who started out as a stuntman and Buck Jones double, starred in some good films, and developed a pleasant onscreen personality. He even managed to be good in several comedies including ironically one that teamed him with Broderick Crawford as rival private eyes.
Reed Hadley appeared in numerous films mostly as heavies or good cops (DARK CORNER), and used his melifluous voice to good effect as a much sought after narrator.
Having to choose between Cathy Downs and Anne Gwynne is a pretty good place to be for any movie hero.