There are elements to this movie which are classic. The obvious location shooting shows up in a lot of scenes which enhances the experience even though the film is black and white. The actors carry the film as it tells several stories in the characters and has a lot of social interaction. This is one of the very few Western films made where fighting Indians is not the central theme.
What tends to make it lack classic status is the fact the film really has not been preserved very well judging from the TCM showing I have been watching. There are some scenes and dialogs which are much rougher than the original film was. What really shows up in this film is the lack of money RKO had for pictures at this point.
This top notch cast and great director do a great job putting something very watchable on film but the budget for the film is obviously very thin as you can tell watching the film. Kirk Douglas account addresses this as he mentions loving doing this movie in spite of spending more than 2 weeks tent camping.
The lack of money for a long feature contributes to the fact this one was shot in black and white in an era where color had taken over for films like this. RKO cut an extra 20 minutes off the film, because they were out of money and afraid that the longer movie would be so long it would not sell tickets.
Still, because of the locations and acting, this movie commands attention from viewers. It is a shame it was made on a shoe string which shows very obviously in the finished product.
What tends to make it lack classic status is the fact the film really has not been preserved very well judging from the TCM showing I have been watching. There are some scenes and dialogs which are much rougher than the original film was. What really shows up in this film is the lack of money RKO had for pictures at this point.
This top notch cast and great director do a great job putting something very watchable on film but the budget for the film is obviously very thin as you can tell watching the film. Kirk Douglas account addresses this as he mentions loving doing this movie in spite of spending more than 2 weeks tent camping.
The lack of money for a long feature contributes to the fact this one was shot in black and white in an era where color had taken over for films like this. RKO cut an extra 20 minutes off the film, because they were out of money and afraid that the longer movie would be so long it would not sell tickets.
Still, because of the locations and acting, this movie commands attention from viewers. It is a shame it was made on a shoe string which shows very obviously in the finished product.