Tue 15 Jul 2008
Western Movie Review – GOLD OF THE SEVEN SAINTS (1961).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[16] Comments
GOLD OF THE SEVEN SAINTS. Warner Brothers, 1961. Clint Walker, Roger Moore, LetÃcia Román, Robert Middleton, Chill Wills, Gene Evans. Based on the novel Desert Guns by Steve Frazee; co-screenwriter: Leigh Brackett. Director: Gordon Douglas.
Desert Guns was a paperback original (Dell First Edition A135, 1957) which I own and which I really ought to read. For now, this movie that’s based upon it will have to do. Any resemblance between film and book, however, may be (as usual) coincidental.
But however strong their relationship is in the book, Clint Walker and Roger Moore certainly make a good pair of friends in the movie, a small western epic of an adventure filmed (unfortunately) in black-and-white. Walker plays Jim Rainbolt, the senior of the two fur-trapping partners, while Moore is Shaun Garrett, his protege, so to speak, a young Irish cowboy who’s a bit wet behind the ears, and has a propensity to neither stop talking or (believe it or not) singing throughout the film.
One reviewer on IMDB claims their relationship borders on the homoerotic, but I don’t know. I guess you have to be looking for subtexts such as this, but if you’re interested in following him up on his claim, you can go read his long post for yourself.
Which not to say that you cannot find one or the other bare-chested in this film, and at least one of the photos that I’ve found to show you will back me up on this. The two of them make a good team, Clint Walker doing the TV show Cheyenne (1955-1962) at the same time as this movie, and Roger Moore just finishing a run as Beauregarde Maverick on that other Warner Brothers TV western series, but not yet known as The Saint.
What gets them into trouble in Gold of the Seven Saints is not their fur-trapping activities, but the 250 pounds of gold they’ve come across while doing so. This is a lot of weight to carry around, of course, and while trying to steal a horse while passing by a small town on their way to Seven Saints (the town where they’re headed), Shaun is cornered and buys his way out of trouble (and gains the horse) with a small nugget he’s carrying with him to clinch the deal.
Which is not a good idea. Almost immediately the two of them are on the run with a gang of thieves on their trail. Gene Evans is McCracken, the villainous leader of the bunch, and hardly anybody played a meaner, tougher western villain than Gene Evans. Chill Wills plays a doctor with an equally villainous thirst for whiskey, and Robert Middleton is a perhaps overly friendly Mexican bandit named Gondora. Both come to the two men’s rescue, or so they say.
There is only one female role of any consequence in this movie, and that’s Tita (LetÃcia Román), apparently Gondora’s “ward.” (I did not catch the full details, but Gondora is willing to sell her to the one of the pair who makes the higher offer.)
Once again it is a pity that a wide screen movie filmed with such spectacular scenery in the background was not done in color. The plot itself is fairly straight-forward. You’ll watch this for the players, all of whom seem to be having a good time.
As a quick PostScript, I’m probably not the only one who has wondered why Clint Walker did not have a more successful movie career than he did. Perhaps it was just a matter of being typecast as a Western player, and unlike Clint Eastwood, say, he never quite found the role that shifted gears for him.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
The book was based on a pulp story Fraze wrote, um, let me see, “The Singing Sands”, Fifteen Western Tales, 1954. I’ve read somewhere that Frazee publicly disowned the film – or at least said something unfavourable about it.
Might also mention at the same time that I’ve read two juvenile tie-ins Frazee wrote – Killer Lion (1966; from Bonanza) and Apache Way (1969; from High Chaparral) – and both were very good in their genre.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Juri
Those TV tie-in’s were both hardcovers published by Whitman. He also did some “Lassie” books and at least one Zorro title.
Fantastic Fiction has a fairly complete list of all his books, including a lot of covers.
I wish I could say that I’ve read more of his western fiction, a lot of which is back in print, but I haven’t. I’ll have to do something about that!
— Steve
July 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Steve:
Frazee’s “Singing Sands” is included in both THE BEST WESTERN STORIES OF STEVE FRAZEE and THE SECOND REEL WEST.
Juri is right that he hated the film adaptation of the story, GOLD OF THE SEVEN SAINTS; in fact, in a letter to me he said he didn’t care for any of the films based on his work, except for RUNNING TARGET and, to a lesser degree, MANY RIVERS TO CROSS.
Best,
Bill
July 18th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Bill
Any idea why he disliked Seven Saints the movie so much?
Best
Steve
July 18th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Steve:
He disliked SEVEN SAINTS because it wasn’t at all faithful to the story. Same reason, I gather, that he disliked most of the other films based on his work — “B” clunkers with wholesale plot changes.
Best,
Bill
July 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I have no reason to be surprised. But even having Leigh Brackett as a screenwriter on Seven Saints didn’t help?
— Steve
July 18th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Steve:
Brian Garfield, in his book on Western films, agreed with Frazee’s assessment of the film, Leigh Brackett screenplay notwithstanding: “The plot is a poor imitation of TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE; Frazee’s novel [DESERT GUNS, expanded from “The Singing Sands”] is a whole lot better.”
Best,
Bill
July 18th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Two last comments from me tonight:
(1) A comparison of SEVEN SAINTS with SIERRA MADRE? There isn’t any.
(2) I really have to read the book!
— Steve
July 19th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I think Garfield’s book, while excellent, suffers from Garfield having not been able to check films on video and having had to rely on the screenings that may have taken place years ago. (Actually I’m reminded of someone saying to me that the cinema scholarship didn’t really start before the VHS system came along.)
Isn’t Running Target a non-Western? A crime movie, perhaps? And if I recall right, Frazee himself scripted it.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Running Target’s a crime movie (1956) that takes place in the contemporary west, Colorado, in fact. IMDB gives Frazee credit for the story, but not the screenplay.
There’s no DVD commercially available, and with only one person reviewing it, it must be hard to find.
Incidentally, the Gold Medal paperback edition of Running Target did not come out until after the movie (1957).
So … I just did some Googling. Turns out that the movie was based on a short story by Frazee called “My Brother Down There,” (EQMM, April 1953) which was an MWA Edgar winner. It’s also in the “Best of” collection edited by Bill Pronzini.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I have to admit I like Gold of the Seven Saints on its own merits. It’s not a great film, but has a light comic tone and several good actors getting to play familiar roles with a touch of humor added, including Chill Wills less than savory doctor and Robert Middleton’s jovial bandit/don. Moore and Walker played off each other well, and Gene Evans delivers his usual good villain.
Not haveing read the original story, I can imagine that Frazee may have objected to the ligher tone the film takes, since even though it follows Treasure of Sierra Madre it does so with a decided comic touch. I suspect anyone viewing it today might feel leniently toward it, as it has a certain charm of its own. Simply seeing it on the small screen rather than the big one might make the difference. While it is hardly on the level of most of Brackett’s other screenplays the dialogue is quite good and Gordon Douglas handles the direction well. But I’ll grant it’s an odd little film for the period it came out in.
Didn’t Frazee also do the Whitman Maverick book that was illustrated by well known comic book artist Alex Toth? It would seem a match made in heaven.
August 3rd, 2011 at 2:47 pm
I just watched this movie in a Salute to Clint Walker on Encore Westerns. I LOVE Clint Walker!!
Since I never read the book, I have no comparison but it had a good plot & I liked the comedic storyline. I wished several times that it had been in color. Those gorgeous men riding through those beautiful places – seems a travesty that it was B&W.
Homoerotic??? NO WAY!! Clint Walker in that tub with Tita scrubbing his back – OMG I was SO JEALOUS!!
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I always know when a movie reviewed here is going to or has just played on one of the movie channels — the number of hits goes way up.
Thanks for the comments, Cebie — I enjoyed them!
(And I totally agree. That the movie was filmed in black-and-white was a crime against nature.)
— Steve
October 17th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Homoerotic? Absolutely. Yes, both men flirt with the girl and make jocular attempts to buy her. Yes, in a dialogue towards the beginning there are references to a young woman Shawn seduced and to Rainbolt’s wish to have a female companion who smelled of perfume rather than bear grease. However, if you look at the film as a whole, the men’s main emotional bond is with each other. They’re together at the beginning, throughout the film and at the end (interestingly, singing together that women are ok, but “when they talk of marriage/ of rings and a baby carriage/ then it’s time to bide a fond adieu”).
Just look at Rainbolt’s amused/ fond expression during the knife target to decide who’s going to sleep first, and his expression when he gives in to Shawn’s request for a swap.
Rainbolt’s line “He’s got a knack for gettin’ us both into trouble, and his mouth’s too big for his size sometime, but there’s nobody else I’d rather have backin’ me” has stayed with me for a long time as a lovely declaration of adult love.
February 11th, 2015 at 7:34 am
This has just been on TCM in the UK, and I loved the movie.I agree with most of the comments, and was pleasantly surprised by how
‘tough’ the movie was particularly as you had ‘nice’ Clint Walker and ‘joker’ Roger Moore in the leads. I guess because CW was a gentle speaking actor he was type cast to that – note his performance in The Dirty Dozen. I bought the UK film tie-in in 1961/62 which I know had a scene from the film of CW and RM on horses. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of that particular edition.
November 13th, 2023 at 4:36 am
Clint wasn’t a big movie 4 exactly the same reason Cruise is, he’s too big & too straight on screen, he literally stands out & his head & shoulders above the rest of The Dirty Dozen. Steve Reeves was contracted by Cecil B. DeMille @ an early age, DeMille wanted him to lose weight to play Samson, since Reeves was still competing he refused, took a decade & move to Europe for him to become biggest male box office draw.