I wanted to like this movie. Had it been shot in the studio I'd call it "stagebound." Since it was set and shot in a desert I'd call it rock-bound.
Flynn leads a small group (including Slim Pickens on an early movie role) on a secret mission for the Confederates near the war's end to separate California from the Union.
Unfortunately, once they get on a rocky mountaintop, they get stuck there.
Still, the scenery is gorgeous. Especially when you see dark cloud formations in the distance. Remember, black and white film is never really black and white. Like people, it's full of subtle gradations of gray.
Speaking of gray, if you forget to keep history in its place (the past) and get your panties in a wad at the sight of a Rebel flag, one appears near the end. So beware.
Flynn's getting old and years of dissipation show. Too bad. He was one of the great film stars of his day.
The story, as laid out, never really gets going. Just because there's action doesn't mean the movie can't be tedious.
Lots of action. Lots of talk, too. But there's a cute dog with a cute theme so maybe if you can't take the sight of a rebel flag or a wordless tune "Dixie" and forget that history, as Henry Ford said, is bunk and can't get on with your life going forward for wallowing in the past, real or imagined, maybe a cute doggie can get you through alive without gnawing off your leg to get out.
Flynn leads a small group (including Slim Pickens on an early movie role) on a secret mission for the Confederates near the war's end to separate California from the Union.
Unfortunately, once they get on a rocky mountaintop, they get stuck there.
Still, the scenery is gorgeous. Especially when you see dark cloud formations in the distance. Remember, black and white film is never really black and white. Like people, it's full of subtle gradations of gray.
Speaking of gray, if you forget to keep history in its place (the past) and get your panties in a wad at the sight of a Rebel flag, one appears near the end. So beware.
Flynn's getting old and years of dissipation show. Too bad. He was one of the great film stars of his day.
The story, as laid out, never really gets going. Just because there's action doesn't mean the movie can't be tedious.
Lots of action. Lots of talk, too. But there's a cute dog with a cute theme so maybe if you can't take the sight of a rebel flag or a wordless tune "Dixie" and forget that history, as Henry Ford said, is bunk and can't get on with your life going forward for wallowing in the past, real or imagined, maybe a cute doggie can get you through alive without gnawing off your leg to get out.