I guess the major disconnect for me with this film was the one street town called Dallas that hasn't the slightest resemblance to one of Texas' largest cities today. I kept thinking about that as the story progressed and it was a major source of distraction. But I tell you what, I'm going to use my summary line from the flick more than once when I hook up with friends looking for a watering hole.
You know what else was distracting? How about that get-up Weatherby (Leif Erickson) was wearing when he first came on the scene. And he was a U.S. Marshal?!?! Gee, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a broom the first time he handled a six gun. I wonder how he passed the U.S. Marshal exam.
But Cooper is Cooper and he does his best with a story line that takes the odd twist here and there. The whole dynamic between the Marlow brothers was a bit sketchy to me, it seemed like they deliberately went out of their way to confound each other. Then there was the dynamic between Ruth Roman's character Tonia Robles and the way she threw over her fiancé Weatherby once Blayde Hollister (Cooper) came on the scene.
I must have seen this a dozen times or more in Westerns and I still find it not very believable. Consider the time Hollister is up in a tree and lassos Bryant Marlow (Steve Cochran) off his horse. I mean, how is that possible when all you have to do is throw the rope off before it tightens. Shouldn't be that tough, but then again I've never tried it.
The other thing I got a kick out of was when the look-out on the rock yelled down to Pete at the Bryant Marlow hideout when he saw Hollister sneaking around, so then the guys in the camp began whispering. Wouldn't it have been too late by then?
Well I guess even as late as 1950 these Western flicks didn't have to rely much on believability, made for a simpler audience during a simpler time. Though I'm surprised that the principals wouldn't bring stuff like this to the attention of the director. I mean, if I thought of it, why wouldn't Gary Cooper think of it too?
You know what else was distracting? How about that get-up Weatherby (Leif Erickson) was wearing when he first came on the scene. And he was a U.S. Marshal?!?! Gee, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a broom the first time he handled a six gun. I wonder how he passed the U.S. Marshal exam.
But Cooper is Cooper and he does his best with a story line that takes the odd twist here and there. The whole dynamic between the Marlow brothers was a bit sketchy to me, it seemed like they deliberately went out of their way to confound each other. Then there was the dynamic between Ruth Roman's character Tonia Robles and the way she threw over her fiancé Weatherby once Blayde Hollister (Cooper) came on the scene.
I must have seen this a dozen times or more in Westerns and I still find it not very believable. Consider the time Hollister is up in a tree and lassos Bryant Marlow (Steve Cochran) off his horse. I mean, how is that possible when all you have to do is throw the rope off before it tightens. Shouldn't be that tough, but then again I've never tried it.
The other thing I got a kick out of was when the look-out on the rock yelled down to Pete at the Bryant Marlow hideout when he saw Hollister sneaking around, so then the guys in the camp began whispering. Wouldn't it have been too late by then?
Well I guess even as late as 1950 these Western flicks didn't have to rely much on believability, made for a simpler audience during a simpler time. Though I'm surprised that the principals wouldn't bring stuff like this to the attention of the director. I mean, if I thought of it, why wouldn't Gary Cooper think of it too?