Shall we call this western?This is so moving,so harrowing and so tragic it would be a sacrilege.With a running time of 75 min,William Wellmann's work runs the whole gamut of emotions:hatred,contempt,madness,despair,indifference,you name it.Besides,the script is wonderfully written,depicting with a gutsy realism the supporting characters :the old man,the terrifying shrew,the renegade officer,his coward son -but who 's the real coward in the end?-,the Mexican,all are unforgettable.Between the lines ,there are secret plots which could provide the substance for at least four other movies.
Oddly,star Henry Fonda is nothing but a witness-except for the last sequences -and it's Dana Andrews' extremely harrowing performance which will haunt the viewers -as well as his hangmen- long after the ending.Andrews' portrayal is so moving that he almost outshadows the rest of the stellar cast,not a small feat:a western hero has rarely shown so much despair and dignity and his letter will move you to tears .It's anyway the sequence when he writes it that climaxes the movie,when most of the guys are guzzling or drinking ,with the horrible fat woman 's shrill chuckles as a sinister soundtrack.
As Neil Young sings "would fade away so young/with so much left undone/remember me to my love I know I'll miss her" (Powderfinger)
Do not miss this film !It's a timeless classic.
Oddly,star Henry Fonda is nothing but a witness-except for the last sequences -and it's Dana Andrews' extremely harrowing performance which will haunt the viewers -as well as his hangmen- long after the ending.Andrews' portrayal is so moving that he almost outshadows the rest of the stellar cast,not a small feat:a western hero has rarely shown so much despair and dignity and his letter will move you to tears .It's anyway the sequence when he writes it that climaxes the movie,when most of the guys are guzzling or drinking ,with the horrible fat woman 's shrill chuckles as a sinister soundtrack.
As Neil Young sings "would fade away so young/with so much left undone/remember me to my love I know I'll miss her" (Powderfinger)
Do not miss this film !It's a timeless classic.