As with many movies making their way to disc I recalled
seeing this film when I was younger. I’d always thought of it as a spectacle of
a film and funny at the time. Going back and revisiting it today it remains a spectacle
but not near as hilarious as it was to me when I was a child. But it is still
entertaining and a great movie for fans of the stars to add to their
collections.
The movie takes place out west in 1867. The war is over,
peace has been settled with the natives and cities are growing out west. In
Denver the miners are aware that a long winter is on the way but concerned over
one major issue. Someone forgot to place the order and they may run out of
whiskey before winter even arrives! Consulting an old Indian guide named Oracle
(Donald Pleasance) they place an order immediately.
That order is being shipped to them by one Frank Wallingham
(Brian Keith) who reminds all he comes in contact with that he is a “taxpayer
and a good Republican” (which while perhaps funny is repeated far too often).
Wallingham has sunk his last dollar into the shipment of 40 wagons of whiskey
for Denver and demands protection in delivering the goods.
That would fall upon the soldiers at Fort Russell. Commanded
by Col. Thaddeus Gearhart (Burt Lancaster), who is just returning from patrol,
the fort is in a bit of turmoil when he returns. Temperance leader Cora
Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick) has roused the women in the area into her
movement to ban alcohol and to call out for the suffrage movement. Torches
ablaze, soldiers marching, the band playing when Gearhart returns to the
commotion he’s not pleased to say the least. The fact that his second in
command Capt. Paul Slater (Jim Hutton) allowed to happen at the coercion of his
daughter Louise (Pamela Tiffin) he’s in love with doesn’t help matters.
Word then reaches the fort that they are to escort the
whiskey wagon train and insure that it arrives in Denver unharmed. But it seems
there were leaks then much as there are now. Massingale and the women hear of
the wagon train and are determined to see that it is all disposed of, requiring
the soldiers to protect them as well. At the same time the various Indian
tribes get word of this as well and want a share of the whiskey for themselves.
There is little doubt that all concerned parties will cross paths in the dust
filled desert while the wagon train makes its way to Denver.
Made in 1965 the film was released in a large screen
Cinerama version that toured the country as well as an Ultra 70 Panavision
version that played wide. Epic comedies like this were rampant in theaters at
the time but ended up with mixed results. While offered as a comedy the laughs
are sparse and the running time padded with far too much extra. At 175 minutes the
movie would have played much better with at least 30 of those minutes excised.
But hey, this was a spectacle and scenes of the mountain ranges and deserts of
the west looked good up on that wide screen. While they still look impressive
on the smaller screen they just take up time.
A number of the jokes found in the film would seem normal
for 1965 but trigger items for audiences of 2018. Audiences have become too
troubled by these items and should take the time to realize the world as it was
when viewing movies from the past rather than the world as it is today. At the
same time the jokes on view here would be more inclined to entertain younger
viewers old enough to understand the whiskey aspects but for whom humor can be
found in people falling on their faces on treadmills. In other words this is
not highbrow humor. It is still enjoyable for fans of the film and its stars
but not perhaps for a widespread audience.
Many who have already written about this release have been
more concerned with the quality of the reproduction than the movie itself. When
I read reviews like this I am reminded of the recent attempt to save the
classic THE ALAMO from self-destruction. Made just 5 years prior to this film
the John Wayne directed and starring film has languished on the shelves at the
MGM studios for years and is slowly deteriorating. Calls for its restoration
have fallen on deaf ears and in the meantime the film has lost a vast amount of
footage that could have been used to create a pristine version of the film for
decades to come. When watching this film my thoughts were that perhaps it’s not
a question of the film not being up to the standards of those viewers but of
Olive Films having the availability to offer anything better than what we see
here.
As I said if you’re a fan or Lancaster, Remick, Hutton or
director John Sturges (who directed such classics as BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK,
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and THE GREAT ESCAPE) then
you’ll want this film in your collection. For all others it might provide a
nice evening’s entertainment but with this running time start it early.
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