SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Micitype Pretty Good

PodBill Just what I expected

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

RanchoTuVu A decorated veteran of the American Civil War who is also a Shoshone Indian returns to Wyoming where he finds significantly more white settlers who are keenly interested in his prime valley land. Robert Taylor may not have been your first choice as the Shoshone. Whatever, because Taylor did a remarkable portrayal of a complex character with allegiances to his Shoshone people as well as the United States, for which he bravely fought to preserve the Union and emancipate the slaves in the Civil War. This film relates his fight for the Shoshone cause as he finds his identity as citizen of the United States stripped from him and thus his legal rights to what was his own land. Directed by Anthony Mann and filmed by Mann's legendary cinematographer John Alton in black and white, this turns out to be a western superior perhaps even to Mann's classic Winchester 73.

ma-cortes Sensational western , deemed as the first Hollywood film to side with the Indians , along with ¨Broken arrow¨ by Delmer Daves and starred by James Stewart . It deals with Lance Poole (offbeat cast of Robert Taylor who surprisingly is pretty well) , an Indian Navajo who won a Medal of Honor fighting at Gettysburg , goes back to his tribal territory intent on peaceful cattle ranching . Returning home and finding a bleak situation : his people living in poverty . As usual , crooked settlers and mean traders (Louis Calhern) thwart peace . Some people and State laws attempt to take possession his lands . Then Lance hires an advocate at law (Paula Marshall) . The solicitor attempting to find truce among feuding white man and Indian people.This picture acclaimed like one of the first to deal the Indian with understanding and justice . The film contains agreeable depiction about Indian habits as it actually was , including adulthood initiations , complex mythology and peculiar culture .¨Devil's doorway¨ along with ¨Broken arrow¨ marked in the cinema field a trail of consideration and empathy toward native indigenous to North America, and lift the troublesome relationships between native and colonizers , then it would go on other films until reach its climax in the great and magnificent "Dancing with wolves" (Kevin Costner, USA 1990). Good acting by Robert Taylor as an Indian Navajo who served in Civil War and must fight to right the injustices against his people ; his perfect interpretation as "Lance Poole" remains one of the highlights in his prestigious career. Furthermore , an attractive Paula Marshall as a kind advocate and Louis Calhern as the intriguing lawyer "Verne Coolan" makes an adequate character of the evil . Support cast is frankly excellent such as Marshall Thompson as Rod MacDougall , the recently deceased James Mitchell as Red Rock , veteran Edgar Buchanan as Zeke Carmody , Rhys Williams and Scotty MacDougall and Chief John Big Tree as Thundercloud . Evocative and imaginative musical score by Daniel Amfitheatroph . This good film packs a splendid photography in atmospheric black and white by John Alton, another European -Austro-Hungarian- who emigrated US and became an excellent cameraman expert on Noir cinema as well as Nicholas Musuraca .This top-drawer Western was stunningly realized by the master Anthony Mann , infusing the traditional Western with psychological confusion , including his characteristic use of landscape with marvelous use of outdoors which is visually memorable , including a majestic production design by Cedric Gibbons , Metro Goldwyn Mayer's (MGM) ordinary . Mann established his forte with magnificent Western almost always with James Stewart . In his beginnings he made ambitious but short-lived quality low-budget surroundings of Eagle-Lion production as ¨T-men¨ , ¨They walked by night¨ , ¨Raw deal¨ , ¨Railroaded¨ and ¨Desperate¨ . Later on , he made various Western , remarkably good , masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , and ¨Devil's doorway¨ and several with his habitual star , James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ and ¨The far country¨ . They are characterized by roles whose determination to stick to their guns would take them to the limits of their endurance . Others in this throughly enjoyable series include ¨Tin star ¨ and ¨Man of the West¨ is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . After the mid-50 , Mann's successes came less frequently , though directed another good Western with Victor Mature titled ¨The last frontier¨. And of course ¨Devil's doorway ¨ that turns out to be outlandish but stylishly realized , well paced , solid , meticulous , with enjoyable look , and most powerful and rightly-considered . This well acted movie is gripping every step of the way . It results to be an over-the-top western and remains consistently agreeable as well as thought-provoking . Rating : Above average , the result is a top-of-range Western . Well worth watching and it will appeal to Robert Taylor fans .

wes-connors In Wyoming, Native American Indian and Civil War hero Robert Taylor (as Broken Lance Poole) faces discrimination. When his father appears ready for the "happy hunting ground," Mr. Taylor can't get a doctor because he's an "Injun". White lawyer Louis Calhern (as Verne Coolan) wants to take away the land Taylor inherits. Taylor hires female attorney Paula Raymond (as Orrie Masters) to help and they are mutually attracted. Taylor learns that, as an Indian, he is not a United States citizen and has no right to his own land. Sheepherding homesteader Marshall Thompson (as Rod MacDougall) moves in, and the conflict gets violent..."Devil's Doorway" opens with some serious reservations about Taylor's portrayal of a Native American. It doesn't help that his make-up shades up inconsistently in different scenes. But, after about thirty minutes, when he's in full "red-skin" dress, Taylor creates an appealing and believable character. Taylor's stoic mid-life screen persona matches the role perfectly, and he responds with one of his best performances. Also lifting this film from the doldrums is director Anthony Mann, who gets photographer John Alton under your skin with some beautifully framed and staged scenes. The "pro-Indian" theme was not new, but had become rare.******* Devil's Doorway (9/15/50) Anthony Mann ~ Robert Taylor, Paula Raymond, Louis Calhern, Marshall Thompson

bkoganbing Anthony Mann's first western maybe one of the best ever done and sad to say it was probably overshadowed by the more popular Broken Arrow which also dealt sympathetically with the plight of the American Indian. Right after Devil's Doorway Mann did Winchester 73 and a whole slew of films with James Stewart, mostly westerns and well received ones at that. Devil's Doorway should be grouped with those films as well as a cinema classic. My guess is that it is because Mann never did another film with Robert Taylor. If anyone knows why, please let me know.Robert Taylor gives one of his best screen performances as Lance Poole, Union Army veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor winner and full blooded Shoshoni Indian. He's returned to his ranch in Wyoming hoping to pick up the pieces of his civilian life. Taylor has bought into the ideals of the Civil War. He in fact went to war to free another group of people from slavery.It's one big disillusioning process as he discovers that Indians need not apply for a piece of the American dream. The Homestead Act which Abraham Lincoln signed during the Civil War specifically excludes Indians from its provisions.Louis Calhern portrays one of the most loathsome villains of his career as Verne Coolan, a lawyer who apparently for no other reason than his own hatred of the red man, stirs up hatred and resentment against Taylor and the Shoshonis. He brings in sheepherders to homestead in the valley that Poole has his ranch on, knowing full well it will be the start of a range war with racial overtones. The entrance to Taylor's valley is known as the Devil's Doorway.Calhern has an equally loathsome henchman played by James Millican who starts a bar fight that Taylor finishes. It's a brutal one, ranking right up there with the one in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Other noteworthy performances are by Edgar Buchanan as the town marshal who is torn between his friendship for Taylor and the discriminatory law he's sworn to enforce. Also Paula Raymond and Spring Byington as a female attorney and her mother, quite radical in those days. Although overtly Taylor and Raymond have a business relationship, there is a gleam in Raymond's eyes whenever Taylor's around.Oddly enough six years later Taylor saw cinematically how the other half lived when in The Last Hunt he played buffalo hunter Charlie Gilson who had a hate for the Indian the equal of Calhern's here.Although Broken Arrow got all the acclaim and deserved it, it is a pity that Devil's Doorway did not get more attention. Catch this very special film whenever it is broadcast.