Aging gangster, "Mad Dog" Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart), is sprung from prison by
a governor's pardon that was paid for by kingpin, Donald MacBride.
MacBride wants him to knock over an exclusive resort motel. He can't do it
alone, so MacBride hires him some help. Unfortunately, they're just a
bunch of punk kids green behind the ears. On the way to the meeting place,
Bogart nearly has a wreck with a dirt poor family that happens to have a very
attractive (and manipulating) daughter. Bogart falls for her. At the
same time, a girl that came with one of his crew members (Ida Lupino) falls for
him. You can probably see where this is going.
George Raft and Paul Muni both passed on the role of "Mad Dog" Roy Earle, but
lucky for us the lesser known Bogart picked it up and he's great. His
co-star from the previous year's THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, Ida Lupino might have
gotten the top-billing, but he's clearly the star here as the worn down gangster
with a noble heart. That's not to say that Lupino isn't great also, cause
I think she's always awesome. Anyway, great movie, somewhat dated,
excellent supporting cast, quick pace and Bogart's real life dog, Zero, is cute
as a button!
Remake 1 - Colorado Territory (1949)
Remake 2 - I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
Showing posts with label Arthur Kennedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arthur Kennedy. Show all posts
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)
The final Mann/Stewart western pairing has Stewart as a man searching for
answering about the murder of his brother by Indians, in particular who supplied
the killers with repeating rifles. His search leads him to the small
isolated town of Coronado. It seems Coronado is run by a cattle baron and
his psychotic son. There's also an ambitious ranch foreman (Arthur Kennedy) to
deal with.
THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is a satisfactory western, but I can't really see any reason to get excited about it. Nice photography and good acting, but the story was just kinda blah. Worth a watch for western fans, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Mann - Stewart westerns:
WINCHESTER '73 (1950)
BEND OF THE RIVER (1952)
THE NAKED SPUR (1953)
THE FAR COUNTRY (1954)
THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is a satisfactory western, but I can't really see any reason to get excited about it. Nice photography and good acting, but the story was just kinda blah. Worth a watch for western fans, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Mann - Stewart westerns:
WINCHESTER '73 (1950)
BEND OF THE RIVER (1952)
THE NAKED SPUR (1953)
THE FAR COUNTRY (1954)
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