adrian-43767
This is an interesting Western which, as is often the case in this genre, is a tale of revenge. This time, however, there are a few ironical twists. Under the solid hand of director Henry King, this film takes further the point made in OXBOW INCIDENT in 1943, about lynching.In this case, you have the main character, Jim Douglas (Peck) seeking revenge for the rape and brutal murder of his wife. Peck, in one of his finest performances, portrays a generally balanced and good man driven somewhat over the edge by a desire for revenge. The four "baddies" are all played with considerable zest by Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, Lee van Cleef and Salmi. The weakest part of the film is Joan Collins. Tough for me to understand why and how she got this role.Silva, portraying an Indian, correctly identifies Douglas as a hunter. It is Douglas' sad failing that he gets the wrong culprits, and even more so that he thought the real rapist and murderer a good man, who would not hurt anyone.Douglas ends the film with a tormented conscience for killing three men who were innocent of his charges, but he receives great applause from the local community, grateful to see the town rid of a gang of thieves. The irony of the situation is put across without any moralizing, which adds to the film's virtues.There are a few unnecessary touches along the way, such as Boyd raping an abductee, but by and large it is a tightly told story, helped by very good cinematography.
ferbs54
"The Big Country," the second Western that Gregory Peck appeared in in 1958, was released in October of that year; a big, sprawling, almost-three-hour epic that is very well known today, despite its middling reputation (still, it remains one of this viewer's all-time personal faves). Peck's first Western of that year, however, June's "The Bravados," was a much smaller film, and one largely forgotten today by the general public. And that is a shame, as a recent viewing has served to remind me of what a high-quality picture this is, and one with a message that it would be well to remember.In the film, we first encounter Peck's Jim Douglas character as he rides into the small town of Rio Arriba, to witness the hanging of four outlaws. Though temperamentally disinclined to talk (indeed, Douglas may be one of the most dour characters that Peck ever essayed), he soon lets it slip that these bad men are in some way responsible for the recent rape and murder of his wife. When the four outlaws break jail and escape, with the help of a confederate posing as the hangman (and played, against type, by Joe De Rita, a year before he would become "Curly Joe" De Rita with The Three Stooges!), Douglas, grimmer than ever, vows to hunt them down and kill them one by one, and, leading the Rio Arriba posse, gallops off to do so. While Jim McKay, the Peck character in "The Big Country," was slow to get involved in community disputes, Jim Douglas is perhaps a little TOO eager to jump into the fray...."The Big Country" takes its time in letting us learn about its characters, its leisurely exposition only rarely punctuated by bursts of action (at least, until its awesome double duel in the film's final 20 minutes). "The Bravados," on the other hand, is a much more compact affair, and its final 2/3 are fairly relentless in the action department. The film also features a twist ending of sorts--one of fairly intense emotional impact, I must say--that goes far in making some kind of statement vis-a-vis violence; the larger film sent a similar message home, without the twist ending. Both films feature fairly spectacular scenery ("The Bravados" having been shot in Mexico; "The Big Country," in Arizona and California) and make excellent use of the wide screen; how impressive they must have looked in movie houses back when (I HAVE seen "The Big Country" in a theater and it WAS an awesome experience!). Peck, excellent as usual as Jim Douglas, was here directed for the fifth time by 40-year Hollywood veteran Henry King, who would only direct three more films after this one; he and Peck had previously collaborated on "Twelve O'Clock High," "The Gunfighter" (one of the Western genre's universally acknowledged champs), "David and Bathsheba" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (those last two costarring "The Brooklyn Bombshell," Susan Hayward), and would go on to make "Beloved Infidel" the following year. King, as usual, proves to be quite the craftsman here. The impressive lensing of Leon Shamroy, the renowned cinematographer whose filmography is just too lengthy to go into, adds immeasurably to the stunning look of the film, and the moody and effective score by Lionel Newman works wonders, too (although it is hardly in the same league as the truly classic score that Jerome Moross composed for "The Big Country").Like the bigger, splashier picture, "The Bravados" also sports a first-rate cast, and the four bad men of the film's title are played by Stephen Boyd (one year, of course, pre-"Ben-Hur"), Albert Salmi (a great character actor, here in one of his earliest roles), Lee Van Cleef (10th billed here!) and Puerto Rican Henry Silva (playing a Mexican Indian, and whose final scene with Peck is perhaps the finest in the film). And then there is Peck's "love interest" in the picture, Josefa, played by the 25-year-old Joan Collins, and looking absolutely smashing, of course. Viewers would have to wait a full 24 years, till the 1982 TV movie "The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch," to see Collins again in a Western context. And yes, she is quite good here, playing a woman who is almost like a Madonna (and I use that word with its original meaning, the film, incidentally, having a curious religious bent), and as far from the Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter, etc. super-bitch persona as can be imagined. How interesting it is to see Collins sip from a mug of beer, rather than from a champagne flute! Another element to admire in the film is its seeming realism. I love the scenes in which characters converse in Spanish, with no subtitles provided, while the non-Spanish-speaking viewer (such as myself) has no problem understanding what is being said. John Huston employed the same device 10 years earlier in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (still my all-time favorite film) and the effect is the same here: an engendering of realism and authenticity. The bottom line: As it turns out, in regard to "The Big Country," "The Bravados" can, after all these years, hold its head very high next to its bigger, younger and more popular brother!
thinker1691
There are few movie which contain all the ingredients of a true Classic. Here is one of them and it's rare indeed. The movie is based on the Exciting Novel by Frank O'Rourke, aptly directed by Henry King, and called " The Bravados. " Reminiscent of a 1932 story called 'The Oxbow Incident ' this film relates the saga of vengeful Jim Douglas (Gregory Peck) who rides to the town of Rio Arriba, for the purpose of seeing four condemned prisoners Stephen Boyd, (who is deliciously evil) Lee Van Cleef (Who is surprisingly emotional) and Albert Salmi and Henry Silva, hung. When the four escape, Douglas heads a Posse to trail them and see that they are punished. That the four bad guys represent top Hollywood actors, is reason enough to see this film, but to add excellent acting and dialog makes this movie a memorable offering. Henry Silva's character is sufficient to post Gregory Peck and allow him cause for reflection which makes' for superior drama. All in all, this is one movie which can be recommended to both fans of the actors and to movie goers alike. ****
