Old cowpoke John O'Hanlan (James Stewart) inherits The Cheyenne Social Club from his late estranged brother. He saw his brother as the money grubbing type. He and his talkative best friend Harley Sullivan (Henry Fonda) leave the cattle trail and set off for Cheyenne expecting to own a saloon. He is shocked to find it to actually be a high end brothel. Jenny (Shirley Jones) is the girls' madam. John is dismayed and intends to fire all the girls.
This is directed by Gene Kelly. I knew that he directed a few movies but I assumed that they are all musicals. John is being too wrong-headed. He's shocked about everything. Jimmy Stewart plays a guy desperate to be the nice guy and that's fine. I just don't understand his motivation. Why is he in such a hurry to throw the girls out when he has no other pending plan for the place. His character needs to be backed up with more setup. John and Harley do talk a lot about Democrats and Republicans. I'm not sure what that means in that era. Maybe that's where the motivations get buried. I'm not sure that a 70's audience would automatically know the historical political standings either. Maybe John should be more religious and a house of ill-repute would be offensive to his convictions. Otherwise, Gene Kelly's directing seems fine. It's nothing extra. The material is lifted by some good actors but John does frustrates me a little.
This is directed by Gene Kelly. I knew that he directed a few movies but I assumed that they are all musicals. John is being too wrong-headed. He's shocked about everything. Jimmy Stewart plays a guy desperate to be the nice guy and that's fine. I just don't understand his motivation. Why is he in such a hurry to throw the girls out when he has no other pending plan for the place. His character needs to be backed up with more setup. John and Harley do talk a lot about Democrats and Republicans. I'm not sure what that means in that era. Maybe that's where the motivations get buried. I'm not sure that a 70's audience would automatically know the historical political standings either. Maybe John should be more religious and a house of ill-repute would be offensive to his convictions. Otherwise, Gene Kelly's directing seems fine. It's nothing extra. The material is lifted by some good actors but John does frustrates me a little.