Sometimes there are films that deliberately lead the viewers and several of the main characters in the wrong direction. When we reach the story's climax and denouement, we get a cheap excuse of an ending. Then, we replay the events of the story in our mind or we watch it again. But we realize just what a phony bill of goods we've been sold. The Lone Hand is one such item that should be returned for a full refund.
Joel McCrea stars as a widowed western father who may not be all that he seems (and indeed, he isn't). The first twenty minutes or so of the film depict a loving relationship with his son and show his work as a struggling farmer in Colorado. But then, his crop is destroyed and he falls on hard times. Next thing we know, he has joined a group of outlaws and is now robbing stagecoaches. His young, impressionable son witnesses one of the robberies but is unable to turn dear old pa into the law.
Meanwhile, there is a new woman in their lives (played by Barbara Hale). She marries McCrea and helps provide a home for the boy. But she is being lied to about her husband's criminal activity. When she finds out, she leaves him.
Near the end of the story, we learn that McCrea was not really an outlaw (what?) and that he was– wait for it– a federal agent. Yes, he's a good guy after all. He was only pretending to go along with the robberies to help catch the mastermind of the gang. However, this plot resolution does not work, because we have seen him repeatedly clobber stagecoach drivers over the head and he has been involved in a series of vicious killings. Would a government man actually have to go through with murder in order to convince outlaws he is one of them? Also, as Hale's character says, why did he have to put his son through such gut-wrenching conflict about having a pa who was a bad man?
While the twists and turns of the story make The Lone Hand unpredictable, it would appear that the screenwriter is asking the audience to accept too much. We also know that McCrea cannot really be bad, because it goes against his typical western movie persona to be anything but the wholesome hero.
There are other problems with the production of the film. In one scene, the boy's wagon turns over and it is obvious that an adult stuntman has been used. Were there no short stuntmen or nearly teenage stuntmen to pull that scene off more realistically? There is also another sequence where the boy mistakes a gang member for his father and leads him into a gorge and causes the man to fall to his death. It has been assumed that the boy did not get a good look at the man's face and thought it was his father in familiar clothing. But in earlier scenes featuring the outlaw (played by James Arness) he clearly has only one outfit, and it is nothing like the one outfit that McCrea wears throughout the picture.
The Lone Hand is a picture that even the most casual viewer wants to like. The beautiful on- location cinematography in Durango, Colorado almost makes up for the shortcomings. And McCrea's chemistry with Hale is enjoyable to watch. But despite these more favorable elements, there are too many flaws in THE LONE HAND to actually call it a good picture, which is a shame.
Joel McCrea stars as a widowed western father who may not be all that he seems (and indeed, he isn't). The first twenty minutes or so of the film depict a loving relationship with his son and show his work as a struggling farmer in Colorado. But then, his crop is destroyed and he falls on hard times. Next thing we know, he has joined a group of outlaws and is now robbing stagecoaches. His young, impressionable son witnesses one of the robberies but is unable to turn dear old pa into the law.
Meanwhile, there is a new woman in their lives (played by Barbara Hale). She marries McCrea and helps provide a home for the boy. But she is being lied to about her husband's criminal activity. When she finds out, she leaves him.
Near the end of the story, we learn that McCrea was not really an outlaw (what?) and that he was– wait for it– a federal agent. Yes, he's a good guy after all. He was only pretending to go along with the robberies to help catch the mastermind of the gang. However, this plot resolution does not work, because we have seen him repeatedly clobber stagecoach drivers over the head and he has been involved in a series of vicious killings. Would a government man actually have to go through with murder in order to convince outlaws he is one of them? Also, as Hale's character says, why did he have to put his son through such gut-wrenching conflict about having a pa who was a bad man?
While the twists and turns of the story make The Lone Hand unpredictable, it would appear that the screenwriter is asking the audience to accept too much. We also know that McCrea cannot really be bad, because it goes against his typical western movie persona to be anything but the wholesome hero.
There are other problems with the production of the film. In one scene, the boy's wagon turns over and it is obvious that an adult stuntman has been used. Were there no short stuntmen or nearly teenage stuntmen to pull that scene off more realistically? There is also another sequence where the boy mistakes a gang member for his father and leads him into a gorge and causes the man to fall to his death. It has been assumed that the boy did not get a good look at the man's face and thought it was his father in familiar clothing. But in earlier scenes featuring the outlaw (played by James Arness) he clearly has only one outfit, and it is nothing like the one outfit that McCrea wears throughout the picture.
The Lone Hand is a picture that even the most casual viewer wants to like. The beautiful on- location cinematography in Durango, Colorado almost makes up for the shortcomings. And McCrea's chemistry with Hale is enjoyable to watch. But despite these more favorable elements, there are too many flaws in THE LONE HAND to actually call it a good picture, which is a shame.