(Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1939 Cannes Film Festival Awarded Retrospectively at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival)
Based on the novel Trouble Shooter by Ernest Haycox, Union Pacific is the story of a conflict over the Union Pacific Railroad plan where a man schemes to make profits over the construction as a troubleshooter tries to stop it from happening as he’s also dealing with other foes. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille and screenplay by Walter DeLeon, Jesse Lasky Jr., and C. Gardner Sullivan from an adapted story by Jack Cunningham, the film is a western set during the final days of the Civil War to the emergence of the American West where men try to profit from what is to come with those wanting to ensure that progress emerges. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Akim Tamiroff, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, Anthony Quinn, and Brian Donlevy. Union Pacific is a thrilling and adventurous film from Cecil B. DeMille.
Set in the mid-1860s from the final days of the American Civil War to the moment the Central Pacific railway line and the Union Pacific railway line meet on May of 1869, the film revolves around this monumental event in American history where a group of gamblers and politicians try to scheme their way in the hope that one of the companies succeed in this venture. With the more-established Central Pacific railway wanting to get the glory of being the railroad service for the U.S., President Lincoln authorizes the Union Pacific to do the job from linking the railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific as there’s individuals that want to ensure that Union Pacific fail in their mission. The film’s screenplay largely follows the lives of three individuals in a troubleshooter named Captain Jeff Butler (Joel McCrea), an Irish mailwoman named Mollie Monahan (Barbara Stanwyck) whose father is an engineer for one of the Union Pacific trains, and Dick Allen (Robert Preston) who is a gambler that works with another gambler who is hired by a banker to ensure that trouble emerges for the Union Pacific. Captain Butler and Allen are friends who are both in love with Monahan yet are working in different camps that would eventually cause trouble.
Cecil B. DeMille’s direction is astonishing in terms of its visuals and setting as it does play into the world of the American West. Shot partially on location in Iron Springs, Utah with some of the film shot in studio sets in Hollywood, the film does play into the world of the American West and the sense of change that emerges. DeMille’s direction would include some wide shots of the locations but would maintain a sense of intimacy inside the train cars as well as the saloons through medium shots and close-ups. Yet, there are these intense action sequences that would include miniatures for a sequence late in the film relating to the building of train tracks near snowy landscape would prove to be a marvel to watch. Even in scenes involving shootouts and chases would provide a sense of immediacy into the action as well as in the moments of the suspense where Captain Butler beings to suspect what Allen could be doing. There are also some elements of romance which does give the film a break from the action as it play into the tension between the three protagonists as they also have to cope with the fact that there’s forces that want to ensure that the Union Pacific doesn’t succeed. All of which play into this event that would shape American history when the two railroad companies meet. Overall, DeMille crafts a riveting and exciting film about a troubleshooter dealing with forces trying to stop a monumental event from happening.
Cinematographer Victor Milner does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography in capturing the brightness of the scenes in the day as well as how the saloons are lit. Editor Anne Bauchens does brilliant work with the editing as it has some unique rhythmic cuts for the action as well as a few transition wipes to play into the sense of adventure. Art directors Roland Anderson and Hans Dreier do amazing work with the look of the saloons as well as the interiors of the train compartments and the places the characters go to. Costume designer Natalie Visart does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the suits the men wore as well as some of the clothing that the women wore in those times with the exception of the ragged look that Monahan has.
The special effects work of Barney Wolff is terrific for the usage of miniatures for sequences involving trains including one notable sequence set in the snow as well as some of the gunfights in the film. Sound recordists John Cope and Harry Lindgren do superb work with the sound in the way gunfire sounds as well as the atmosphere of the saloons and train compartments. The film’s music by Sigmund Krumgold and John Liepold is wonderful for its sweeping orchestral score that play into the sense of adventure as well as in some of the drama while the rest of the music feature an array of traditional music pieces from the Civil War and its aftermath.
The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles from Harold Goodwin as the telegrapher E.E. Calvin, Henry Kolker as the banker Asa M. Barrows who is the mastermind in scheming against Union Pacific, Francis McDonald as Captain Butler’s superior General Grenville M. Dodge, Robert Barrat and Anthony Quinn as a couple of Campeau’s henchmen, Lynne Overman as a friend of Captain Butler in Leach Overmile who is a comic relief in the film, and Akim Tamiroff in a terrific performance as another of Captain Butler’s friend in Fiesta as the Mexican who provides some funny commentary as well as deal with Campeau’s men. Brian Donlevy is excellent as the scheming gambler Sid Campeau as a man that works for Barrows as he is willing to do whatever he can to ensure that Union Pacific fails by any means necessary.
Robert Preston is brilliant as Dick Allen as a gambler who is a partner of Campeau as well as Captain Butler’s best friend as he’s torn over his loyalty towards the latter as well as the prospect of money from the former which he needs as he’s in love with Monahan. Joel McCrea is amazing as Captain Jeff Butler as a troubleshooter who is trying to ensure that things go well for the Union Pacific as he’s also in love with Monahan as he tries to keep his distance to do his job as he knows what is at stake. Finally, there’s Barbara Stanwyck in an incredible performance as Mollie Monahan as an Irish mailwoman whose father is an engineer for the Union Pacific that finds herself torn between two men as well as wanting to help the Union Pacific as it’s a fiery and charismatic performance from Stanwyck.
Union Pacific is a remarkable film from Cecil B. DeMille. Featuring a great cast, lovely visuals, top-notch special effects, and thrilling music. It’s a film that play into the progress of America in the west as well as what some will do to stop progress from happening for their own selfish reasons. In the end, Union Pacific is a marvelous film from Cecil B. DeMille.
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Peckinpah, William Roberts, and N.B. Stone Jr., Ride the High Country is the story of two aging gunslingers who are tasked to transport gold from a remote mining town as they deal with new rules in the American West. The film is an exploration of two men who take a job with a young man as they try to maintain a sense of honor in the West. Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Warren Oates, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, and James Drury. Ride the High Country is a rich and exhilarating film from Sam Peckinpah.
Set in the early 20th Century in the age of automobiles and sideshows, the film revolves a former lawman who asks an old friend to aid him in transporting gold for a bank by going to a remote mining town. With the aid of a young cowboy, the two men go on a two-day trip into the mountains where they would later be joined by a young woman who is going to the same town to be married. It plays into two men trying to do something with what could be the final moments of their lives as well as find some meaning in a world where honor and duty seems to fall by the wayside in favor of a world that is changing. The film’s screenplay that is written by N.B. Stone Jr., with un-credited re-writes by Sam Peckinpah and William Roberts, play into two men who were friends as they served in both sides of the law where money is now what they need.
For the lawman Steve Judd (Joel McCrea), he is asked by a bank to do a job after six miners were killed but Judd couldn’t do the job alone as he runs into his old friend Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott) who works as sideshow artist as he used to be a great sharpshooter. Westrum brings in a young cowboy named Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) to aid them as Longtree is a young man that has a lot to learn as he has won races and is good with a gun but is also very immature. Notably as he tries to pursue a young woman he would encounter in Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley) during a stop at a barn that is run by Elsa’s father Joshua (R.G. Armstrong). That all happens in its first act where the second act is about the journey to this remote mining town where Elsa’s fiancée Billy Hammond (James Drury) lives as they would marry.
Yet, Heck is uneasy about Hammond and his brothers where it would lead to a conflict that would finally come ahead in its third act. Especially as the Hammonds represent everything Judd and Westrum are uneasy with as they try to keep things to themselves. Unfortunately, ideals of what Judd and Westrum are about would come to ahead for each other as Judd is very stubborn about doing the job so he can get a measly reward. Westrum realize the worth of the gold would conspire with Heck about taking the gold which does lead into this conflict until the Hammonds get involved where it’s not about gold but rather about what is what and who does it belong to. The sense of honor and disdain for modern times is evident in the script as there is also some strong dialogue that plays into this old world vs. new world mentality that would eventually collide in its climax.
Peckinpah’s direction is quite simple in terms of the compositions he creates yet he infuses the film with a lot of wide shots to capture the landscape as it is shot on location in Inyo National Forest, Bronson Canyon, and other locations in California. Peckinpah opens with the film with Judd riding into town thinking he is getting some kind of heroic welcome when there’s a horse race happening as he has to contend with cars and new rules. It plays into that sense of the modern world where old men are treated with a lack of respect as Judd would find Westrum in costume that shows Westrum’s own sense of desperation for money. Peckinpah doesn’t really go for a lot of stylish shots with the exception of a wedding reception involving Elsa and Billy Hammond that plays into the craziness that Elsa is embarking on.
Yet, Peckinpah plays into something that is more of an ode to the Westerns of the past as he brings this sense of conflict on a visual scale to play into what was happening in the modern world. The direction doesn’t include a lot of gunplay until its third act as Peckinpah is more concerned about the journey and what Judd and Westrum would encounter such as Elsa’s very religious father where they sort of agree with his stance on the world but are fully aware that not everything he says is right. There is a bit of tension that goes on but Peckinpah keeps it very restrained as he just lets things play out slowly until its third act where Heck’s suspicions about Billy Hammond not only come true but realizes what he has to do.
Peckinpah’s usage of close-ups are low-key as it does play into the tension that goes which includes Judd and Westrum’s own complicated relationship where they don’t trust each other but they would rather stick together than trust someone else. Most notably as they have to deal with forces who don’t play into this code of honor and duty but rather for their own selfish reasons which forces Judd and Westrum to do what they must do. Overall, Peckinpah creates a very captivating yet thrilling film about two old gunslingers trying to transport gold for a bank and cope with the new world around them.
Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography with its lush and colorful look of the exteriors including some of the interior and exterior scenes set at night as it plays into the beauty of the American West. Editor Frank Santillo does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward with the exception of a few rhythmic shots for the scenes set at the wedding ceremony. Art directors Leroy Coleman and George W. Davis, with Henry Grace and Otto Siegel, do fantastic work with the look of the Knudsen family farm and house as well as the camp where the Hammonds live in.
Sound recordist Franklin Milton does nice work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as some of the action that occurs in the film. The film’s music by George Bassman is superb for its orchestral-based score that features elements of country-folk music to play into the tone of the West as it ranges from being playful to being very serious in some of the scenes with its bombastic orchestral themes.
The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small roles from Carmen Phillips as a saloon girl Heck flirts with early in the film, Percy Helton and Bryan Foulger as a couple of brothers who have issues with Heck over a race he won early in the film, and Jenie Jackson as the saloon owner Kate who is a woman that is clearly larger than life. Other noteworthy small roles include Eugene Buchanan as a judge in the mining town as he has a superb moment in officiating the wedding while John Anderson and John Davis Chandler are terrific in their respective roles as Elder and Jimmy Hammond who are just as crazed as their brothers. Warren Oates and L.Q. Jones are excellent in their respective roles as Henry and Sylvus Hammond as they both have a sense of craziness and dark humor to their performances.
James Drury is wonderful as Billy Hammond as the lead brother who is to marry Elsa where it turns out that he is exactly what Heck suspects him to be. R.G. Armstrong is superb as Elsa’s father Joshua as a religious man who tries to protect Elsa as he believes that there are no men worthy of her. Ron Starr is brilliant as Heck Longtree as a young cowboy who is a friend of Westrum who tries to get things his way and flirt with Elsa only to realize the way things are as he would eventually gain Judd’s trust. Mariette Hartley is fantastic as Elsa Knudsen as this farmer’s daughter who is initially excited by the presence of men where she later accompanies them on her way to getting married as she later copes with the realities of marriage and what a woman really needs in a man.
Finally, there’s the duo of Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in incredible performances in their respective roles as Steve Judd and Gil Westrum. McCrea brings a low-key approach to his role as Judd as someone that is trying to maintain some sense of honor while being stubborn in doing what is right though he’s getting paid more than Gil. Scott brings a more livelier approach to the character of Westrum as well as a sense of conflict into helping his friend or take advantage of what he is transporting. McCrea and Scott definitely have great rapport together as it is clear that they know what their characters are as well as the sense of duty and honor they’re trying to hold on to.
Ride the High Country is a phenomenal film from Sam Peckinpah that features great performances from Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. With an amazing cast, beautiful cinematography, and a compelling theme on old men adapting to a new world. It’s a film that is enchanting in its study of duty and honor as well as coping with a world where the rules have changed. In the end, Ride the High Country is a spectacular film from Sam Peckinpah.
Sam Peckinpah Films: The Deadly Companions - Major Dundee - Noon Wine - The Wild Bunch - The Ballad of Cable Hogue - Straw Dogs - Junior Bonner - The Getaway - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - The Killer Elite - Cross of Iron - Convoy - The Osterman Weekend - The Auteurs #62: Sam Peckinpah
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by Preston Sturges, Sullivan’s Travels is the story of a Hollywood filmmaker who decides to make films about the real world as he pretends to be a hobo as he struggles with what story he wants to tell. The film is an exploration into the world of artistic freedom as it’s told with a lot of humor as it revolves a man who is known for making comedies as he wants to do something serious. Starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Sullivan’s Travels is a witty yet whimsical film from Preston Sturges.
Set in the final years of the Great Depression, a comedy filmmaker wants to make a film about the poor as he pretends to be poor only to get into some bad situations that forces him to crawl back to his life of comfort. It’s a film that plays into a man who wants to see if he can make something very serious as he decides to dress up like a hobo and endure the same suffering as the poor. Yet, things don’t go well for John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) as he endures a series of humiliating moments until he is aided by a wannabe actress (Veronica Lake) who would join him in his quest to pretend to be poor. Still, Sullivan and this young woman would cope with not just the strange realities of being poor and having to ride trains illegally but also elements that end up being very comical.
Preston Sturges’ screenplay is very witty about the not just Sullivan’s struggles to feel the reality of the poor but also the disconnect that he has since he is someone that is known for making escapist comedies. Part of Sullivan’s motivations to do this adaptation of O Brother, Where Art Thou? revolves around the unhappiness of his own life as he’s in a loveless marriage while feeling unfulfilled creatively. By pretending to be a hobo for research purposes, things don’t go as its planned as the studio hires various people on a bus to follow him where a lot of hi-jinks ensue prompting Sullivan to make a brief retreat to Hollywood after meeting this young woman who would join him in another attempt to understand the poor. The woman’s motivation isn’t just wanting to become an actress but also not return home as a failure as she finds Sullivan as her chance of success and hope.
Part of the success for their relationship isn’t just two people dealing with loneliness but also the dialogue that Sturges creates which is very stylish and rhythmic. The monologues that Sturges creates for these characters including the smaller ones are very to-the-point as well as showcase a sense of frustration and determination into what they want. There’s also some humor that play into the dialogue as it adds to Sturges’ own approach of timing and in fleshing out the characters. Especially in moments when there’s no dialogue as it plays into what Sullivan wants to do and what he wants to say for the people living in such hard times.
Sturges’ direction is very engaging for not just capturing the world of Hollywood but also its emphasis to provide people something that is escapist which Sullivan want to stray away from. While much of the compositions that Sturges creates are simple, he does manage to infuse some style into his direction such as long takes in a scene where Sullivan talks to his bosses about what to do as it is told in one entire take in a medium-wide shot. Sturges’ approach to directing actors and knowing where to place them in the frame not only add to the sense of wanting to capture something real but also combat with Hollywood’s own artificiality in a very funny way. Most notably a sequence where the bus full of reporters and studio people following Sullivan are forced to chase him as it’s among these moments that are just crazy. It’s among some of the hilarity that Sturges wants to create while many of the scenes involving the poor and how they live are taken very seriously.
The direction also has elements where Sturges knows when to just keep things simple which include the scenes between Sullivan and the young woman who joins him as there’s bits of comedy but it’s mostly very low-key. Sturges doesn’t go for a lot of close-ups as he wanted to showcase more of what Sullivan and the woman are doing in their surroundings. It’s in these locations where it helps tell the story of where they are as they would endure moments that are quite grim but also show that there is still elements of life. Even in the film’s third act where Sullivan would endure a journey of his own as it plays into the harsh realities of those who are suffering where he would have his own epiphany about himself and his role as a filmmaker. Overall, Sturges creates a very entertaining and exuberant film about a filmmaker trying to understand the struggles of the poor by becoming poor himself.
Cinematographer John Seitz does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into some of the stark look of the scenes where the poor lived with its unique approach to lighting that feels entrancing as opposed to the more simplistic yet lively approach to the world of Hollywood. Editor Stuart Gilmore does excellent work with the editing with its stylish use of rhythmic cuts, montages, and dissolves to play into the humor as well as some of the stranger elements that Sullivan would endure in its third act. Art directors Hans Dreier and Earl Hedrick do fantastic work with the set design from the bus the studio people and journalists would use during Sullivan’s journey as well as the design of his home and the drab places he would go to.
The costumes by Edith Head does brilliant work with the costumes from the dresses that the young woman would wear as well as the hobo clothes she and Sullivan would wear. The sound work of Harry D. Mills and Walter Oberst is terrific for the sound that is captured on location as well as some of the effects that play into the film‘s humor. The film’s music by Leo Shuken and Charles Bradshaw is superb for its orchestral score that ranges from playful for its humorous moments to some somber pieces for its drama and sense of despair.
The casting by Robert Mayo is great as it features notable small roles from Georges Renavent as an old tramp Sullivan would encounter, Margaret Hayes as one of the studio bosses’ secretary, Robert Harwick and William Demarest as the studio bosses, Robert Grieg as Sullivan’s butler, and Eric Blore as Sullivan’s valet as Grieg and Blore both give very funny performances. Finally, there’s the duo of Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in phenomenal performances. Lake brings a sense of beauty but also humility and humor as a young woman who joins Sullivan on his journey as she helps him try to survive being broke. McCrea brings some grit and humility to his role as John L. Sullivan as this filmmaker wanting to find some realism as he later endures the harshness of reality. Lake and McCrea as a duo have this very lively chemistry that has both of them be funny but also serious as they allow themselves to be characters to root for.
Sullivan’s Travels is a spectacular film from Preston Sturges that features exhilarating performances from Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Not only is it is comical road film but also an engaging one that explores the world of the Great Depression from the view of an outsider. Especially as it is presented with elements of somber reality mixed in with elements of comedy that does more than just entertain. In the end, Sullivan’s Travels is an exquisite yet incredible film from Preston Sturges.
Preston Sturges Films: (The Great McGinty) - (Christmas in July) - The Lady Eve - (The Palm Beach Story) - (The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek) - (Hail the Conquering Hero) - (The Great Moment) - (The Sin of Harold Diddlebock) - (Unfaithfully Yours) - (The Beautiful Blond of Bashful Head) - (Vendetta (1950 film)) - (The French, They Are a Funny Race)
© thevoid99 2015
