This is one of those "Big Promise" color movies of the mid-50s. And judged in that light, then a big failure.
Scenery & Photography is fabulous, and Clark Gable always delivers the goods.
But then... Jane Russell. She can't sing, altho she did it many times many movies. She can't really act, unless she is mad. And maybe she's 135 pounds when Clark calls her "Grandma," but Jane's always been a wide-load and acting cute isn't her forte. She's the woman all men desire, and spends most of the time brushing them off.
Cameron Mitchell is compelling alternating between obnoxious & sympathetic, but his character is so schizo that while he serves some plot elements he's really just 2-D and makes no sense.
Robert Ryan is one of the most compelling actors of his generation, but he goes through the whole movie as tho on Quaaludes, never raising his voice, even when he wants to kill Mitchell.
So a lot falls on the bad direction as there is never any tension to the pace. And to see Raoul Walsh is the director is mind-boggling. He certainly fell asleep at the wheels with the soundtrack, clearly one of Victor Young's worst. No matter what the tension-level of the scene is, Young orchestrates Muzak, except when the Indians show up and he does the most basest tom-tom shtick, embarrassing all concerned.
Looks good, seems like Fox was trying to cash in on Mitchum/Monroe in "River of No Return," but Gable/Russell don't really hit off, except for pulling each other's boot off.
Scenery & Photography is fabulous, and Clark Gable always delivers the goods.
But then... Jane Russell. She can't sing, altho she did it many times many movies. She can't really act, unless she is mad. And maybe she's 135 pounds when Clark calls her "Grandma," but Jane's always been a wide-load and acting cute isn't her forte. She's the woman all men desire, and spends most of the time brushing them off.
Cameron Mitchell is compelling alternating between obnoxious & sympathetic, but his character is so schizo that while he serves some plot elements he's really just 2-D and makes no sense.
Robert Ryan is one of the most compelling actors of his generation, but he goes through the whole movie as tho on Quaaludes, never raising his voice, even when he wants to kill Mitchell.
So a lot falls on the bad direction as there is never any tension to the pace. And to see Raoul Walsh is the director is mind-boggling. He certainly fell asleep at the wheels with the soundtrack, clearly one of Victor Young's worst. No matter what the tension-level of the scene is, Young orchestrates Muzak, except when the Indians show up and he does the most basest tom-tom shtick, embarrassing all concerned.
Looks good, seems like Fox was trying to cash in on Mitchum/Monroe in "River of No Return," but Gable/Russell don't really hit off, except for pulling each other's boot off.