What I’m watching: a 1959 Western and an outrageous superhero film

Date: 8/16/2021

On DVD: “The Last Train from Gun Hill”

In the 1950s as the B-western aimed at youthful audiences disappeared the “adult” western emerged.  The themes were much more serious and the budgets – and stars – were more prominent.

This film from director John Sturges is a great example of the “adult” western and I was happy to discover it. Paramount Pictures is releasing a number of older films onto DVD and this is a worthy addition.

Kirk Douglas plays Matt Morgan, a U.S. Marshall, in a largely peaceful town. He is married to Catherine, a native woman, and they have a son. While traveling to visit her father, Catherine is raped and murdered by two men, one of whom is the son of Morgan’s old friend Craig Beldon, played by Anthony Quinn.

The fact the script actually uses the word “rape” is significant, as in 1959 when the film was made, it still is seen as an almost unspeakable word, especially in pop culture.

A saddle left at the scene points directly to Beldon and Morgan goes to confront him.

Beldon has prospered and essentially owns the businesses – and the people – of the town of Gun Hill. He won’t give up his son to Morgan and vows that Morgan will not be helped by anyone in the town.

The only person who takes a sympathetic interest is Linda played by Carolyn Jones. She is Beldon’s mistress who is returning to Gun Hill after a stay in a hospital after Beldon had beaten her.

The film works up to the situation of how Morgan is going to get out of the town with Beldon’s son so he can stand trial.           

Sturges may not be a household name but he was responsible for some classic films, including “Bad Day at Black Rock,” “The Great Escape,” and “The Magnificent Seven.” He understood how to build suspense and he was obviously concerned about characterization even in his films that involved a large cast.

In this film, you had two very larger-than-life performers – Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn – and Douglas was certainly known to throw his all into a performance. Quinn, a master character actor who had become star, is just as strong but a tad more reserved as the master of the town of Gun Hill.

The most nuanced performance was from Jones as Beldon’s mistress. Best known as Morticia Adams on “The Addams Family,” Jones was an accomplished character actress and plays the only person with enough moral indignation to help Morgan escape the town. The fact that her character is clearly a prostitute adds another layer of nuance.

If you enjoy westerns this one is a solid entry in the genre.

In Theaters: “The Suicide Squad”

Simply put: this R-rated superhero film from director James Gunn occupies the same cinematic landscape as the two “Deadpool” movies. It’s violent. It’s gory. It’s funny.

What I really like about it is that it is about as anti-Marvel Comics Universe as one can get. For a cinematic contrarian such as me, this is solid gold.

Having said that, I caution people who are fans of the Marvel movies that this may be the wildest superhero film they have ever endured. It may be too wild.

In the DC comics universe, The Suicide Squad are all villains who are sent on missions for the United States government. If they succeed and come back alive their prison sentences are decreased. If they misbehave, a bomb in their neck is activated and they are killed.

To describe too much of the plot would be a disservice as there are some major surprises with the first half hour of the film setting the tone for the entire picture.   

The squad goes to an island nation where their objective is to destroy a research lab. They don’t know what is going on and we don’t know what is going on, but once all of us find out, it’s a real surprise.

The cast is superb with Margot Robbie and Idris Elba leading our heroes. John Cena proves he has a clever approach to comedy and Viola Davis is her usual superb self as the woman who dreamed up the squad and sends them to their missions.

Gunn, who showed he can handle a big superhero film with this “Guardian of the Galaxy” movies, pulls out all the stops for a fast-moving, raucous, darkly funny and in many spots genuinely touching film.

Another word of warning: keep the kids at home.