Wed 3 Jul 2019
Movie Trailers I’m Watching, Selected by Jonathan Lewis: THE PROUD ONES (1956).
Posted by Steve under Movie & TV Trailers , Western movies[6] Comments
COMMENTS BY JONATHAN LEWIS:
From the trailer, it would appear that The Proud Ones is just another 1950s frontier justice Western. That’s far from the case. It’s actually an exceptionally constructed film, due in large part to Robert Ryan’s acting and Lucien Ballard’s cinematography.
In many ways, the trailer also fails to capture the core of the movie; namely, the friendship that develops between Ryan’s character, a town marshal, and the fiery young man portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter. The movie also reminded me of Jacques Tourneur’s Wichita (1955) which I reviewed here. A Western to be sure, but also a work of drama and cinematic artistry.
July 3rd, 2019 at 7:26 pm
Definitely out of the ordinary, Jonathan — as you aptly noted, due to the acting chemistry between Ryan & Hunter.
July 3rd, 2019 at 7:37 pm
I liked THE PROUD ONES very much too. Have seen it several times over the years.
Have seen very little of director Robert D. Webb’s work.
I think “The Cape Town Affair” was pretty good. Last saw it decades ago.
July 3rd, 2019 at 9:12 pm
The trailer makes it seem well below quickie westerns of the past. Have to wonder what the sales department was thinking.
July 3rd, 2019 at 9:40 pm
Nope, nothing in this trailer makes me want to see this movie.
July 3rd, 2019 at 10:39 pm
I’ve seen this outstanding movie several times and Robert Ryan is really excellent. He’s the type of actor that could make a mediocre film a success.
July 5th, 2019 at 8:42 pm
As noted elsewhere Ryan and Hunter manage to lift this one well above average on the Oater scale.