weezeralfalfa Review of Run for Cover

Run for Cover (1955)

Old Cagney, and young Derek, strangers, cooperate and antagonize each other.

[7/10 · 11 June 2018]

This interesting western was shot mainly around Durango, CO, and the Aztec ruins in NM., as well as some studio shots, all in Technicolor. I enjoyed it despite a few questionable aspects........ Clearly, the heart of the drama is the complex and fluctuating relationship between James Cagney's and John Derek's characters. It starts out something like the relationship between mature ex-sheriff Henry Fonda and young new sheriff Anthony Perkins, in "The Tin Star", where Fonda gives Perkins advice on how to be an effective sheriff and gunslinger. In the present case, the mature Cagney gives a reluctant young Derek a chance to prove himself as a sheriff's deputy. But, in this case, it doesn't work out well, as Derek loses a prisoner(played by Ernest Borgnine) he is escorting to another town. Derek quits in embarrassment.. He then, unknowingly, joins a band of thieves, who rob the town bank in broad daylight, while practically the whole town is in church. The gang would soon meet an ignominious end, without involvement of the sheriff or town's people........Let me say that, when Cagney and Derek first met, out in the boondocks , Cagney very nearly pugged Derek, who came upon him quite by surprise. This was just the first of a series of incidents where it was the intent of one to defend or to shoot or otherwise promote the death of the other. While on the trail of the bank robbers, Derek suddenly, pulled out his gun and was about to fire at Cagney, when his horse reared up. This is when Cagney discovered that he was allied with the robbers(In what capacity, isn't apparent). For a while, they rode together in an uneasy truce. But when, they have to swim a raging river, Cagney calls out for help, but Derek ignores him. Derek gets to the far shore first, and heads for the Aztec ruins, where he finds Borgnine: the prisoner who escaped from him(Why did he come to this forsaken place?). They have an uneasy truce. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! Cagney survives the rapids and later encounters these ruins, eventually finding the other 2. Initially, there is an uneasy truce. But, Borgnine draws on Cagney, who shoots him apparently dead. The remaining 2 have some words. Borgnine is not quite dead, and slowly reaches for his gun on the floor. Cagney doesn't see this, but Derek finally does, as Borgnine is about to shoot Cagney. Derek draws his gun and fires at Borgnine, while Cagney shoots Derek, whom he assumed drew to kill him: Only one lucky survivor, and he knows where the bank money is hidden........Viveca Lindfors, as Helga Swenson, who emigrated from Sweden with her father, takes a liking to Cagney, seeing his devotion to his friend Derek, who had serious gunshot wounds instilled by a posse that assumed that he, along with Cagney, were a pair of train robbers. Derek is staying with the Swensons during recovery. Pretty soon, Cagney and Helga are talking marriage. Cagney says he wants to live in their house. But, this may sometimes cause conflict with Mr. Swensen. Conveniently, the latter is formalistically killed in the bank raid, thus eliminating this potential problem. This principle is applied in many westerns, where the traditional significant other of a person is eliminated to symbolically clear the way for a new significant other.