The tale is so entertaining, so appealing in its values, that it's easy to overlook the fact that it's a remake of a 1939 movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.
Apparent wimp, Murphy, is hired as deputy sheriff to clean up the rough-and-tumble and thoroughly corrupt town of Restless, which he does, although not without the deaths of a few friendlies.
Murphy was short and retained his boyish good looks and modest demeanor for fifteen years or so after he returned from the war. In drafting him into the movies, of course, the intent was to exploit his heroism, but he established his own kind of draw. The exploitation reached its depths with his autobiographical "To Hell and Back," that was filled with clichés. (The ghost-written book was better.) He could be found mostly in B Westerns. Did he make any movies that were better than average? Well, his "average" was never that bad, but "The Red Badge of Courage" was good, thanks both to Murphy's performance and John Huston's direction. Maybe it was the only time anyone asked Murphy to act.
He's supported here by an able cast. I keep getting the whore in this movie, Marie Blanchard, mixed up with Marie Windsor because they both were cast in such similar roles. I have to keep reminding myself that Marie Windsor was a move convincing actress and that she looked a little like Ileana Douglas.
Lyle Bettger was a reliable villain and not much more, but he had the role down pat. His features were bland but expressive. When around someone he was conning, he had the most winning smile. When he was serious about skullduggery, the smirk faded into a furrowed frown. And that voice, sounding a little like a long and articulated burp, was full of sinusoidal intonations. The only problem is that he was so obviously a sneak. He never made "lead" or even "best friend." Nobody would ever believe a friendly word he said.
I kind of get a kick out of this movie when it's on, even though it's not quite up to the original. It's what I think of as a "latent status" movie. The anthropologist Ralph Linton pointed out that while we are acting in one status, we have others in store for use when they're necessary. All of us have dozens of roles tucked away in our repertoire but we only activate one at a time. We don't act around our boss the way we act at home. In a latent status movie the hero has some hidden past, often a set of skills, that he doesn't want others to know about, and doesn't want to use. Sometimes, as here, he's the fastest gun around. Often he's a doctor, as in "The Fugitive." Jason Bourne turns out to be a skilled assassin. In "Sullivan's Travels" the hero who acts like a tramp doesn't want to reveal that he's a millionaire. I suppose until recently movies about gays in their closets fit the format. Latent status movies are usually fun because the latent status always involves the exercise of some previously masked power, sometimes violent. There are no latent status movies about bus boys or accountants.
That's probably all a bit off topic but the voices tell me to do it.
Apparent wimp, Murphy, is hired as deputy sheriff to clean up the rough-and-tumble and thoroughly corrupt town of Restless, which he does, although not without the deaths of a few friendlies.
Murphy was short and retained his boyish good looks and modest demeanor for fifteen years or so after he returned from the war. In drafting him into the movies, of course, the intent was to exploit his heroism, but he established his own kind of draw. The exploitation reached its depths with his autobiographical "To Hell and Back," that was filled with clichés. (The ghost-written book was better.) He could be found mostly in B Westerns. Did he make any movies that were better than average? Well, his "average" was never that bad, but "The Red Badge of Courage" was good, thanks both to Murphy's performance and John Huston's direction. Maybe it was the only time anyone asked Murphy to act.
He's supported here by an able cast. I keep getting the whore in this movie, Marie Blanchard, mixed up with Marie Windsor because they both were cast in such similar roles. I have to keep reminding myself that Marie Windsor was a move convincing actress and that she looked a little like Ileana Douglas.
Lyle Bettger was a reliable villain and not much more, but he had the role down pat. His features were bland but expressive. When around someone he was conning, he had the most winning smile. When he was serious about skullduggery, the smirk faded into a furrowed frown. And that voice, sounding a little like a long and articulated burp, was full of sinusoidal intonations. The only problem is that he was so obviously a sneak. He never made "lead" or even "best friend." Nobody would ever believe a friendly word he said.
I kind of get a kick out of this movie when it's on, even though it's not quite up to the original. It's what I think of as a "latent status" movie. The anthropologist Ralph Linton pointed out that while we are acting in one status, we have others in store for use when they're necessary. All of us have dozens of roles tucked away in our repertoire but we only activate one at a time. We don't act around our boss the way we act at home. In a latent status movie the hero has some hidden past, often a set of skills, that he doesn't want others to know about, and doesn't want to use. Sometimes, as here, he's the fastest gun around. Often he's a doctor, as in "The Fugitive." Jason Bourne turns out to be a skilled assassin. In "Sullivan's Travels" the hero who acts like a tramp doesn't want to reveal that he's a millionaire. I suppose until recently movies about gays in their closets fit the format. Latent status movies are usually fun because the latent status always involves the exercise of some previously masked power, sometimes violent. There are no latent status movies about bus boys or accountants.
That's probably all a bit off topic but the voices tell me to do it.