TinsHeadline Touches You

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Steffi_P One thing you got in post-war Hollywood, as the studios began to lose their grip, was frontline directors setting forth with their own independent production companies. John Ford turned down a juicy deal from Twentieth Century Fox and, with his old pal producer and sometimes director Merian C. Cooper, formed Argosy Pictures. The Fugitive, a kind of Catholic adventure flick, was their first picture.This is the sort of thing John Ford really believed in. It probably wasn't pictures like this that he had the most fun with, but you can tell the amount of reverence he had for the subject matter. The Fugitive has a similar look to the Informer, a tale of honour, betrayal and drunkenness set during the Irish Civil War, the cause of Irish freedom probably being the only thing Ford held in higher esteem than the Catholic Church. Like the Informer (an excellent picture by the way), the Fugitive has a kind of stark simplicity to its images, giving the characters and locations an iconic look. There are long wordless sequences, as if to give the events a sense of quiet dignity.While not really a Western (some call this sub-genre a Zapata Western), Ford uses some of the tricks from his horse operas to ratchet up the tension and sense of danger. He keeps interiors very Spartan and small, yet with the outside world visible through doors and windows, making them look like fragile places of sanctuary. Exteriors on the other hand are vast and open, leaving our hero vulnerable to attack. A crafty moment is when Henry Fonda first gets followed by J. Carrol Naish. The wilderness is framed in a series of ruined arches, which gradually peter out, as if to say, "You are now leaving civilization – you're on your own now buddy." This isn't just symbolism by the way, there is a real psychological impact on the audience, because once we know the set-up we will be wondering if the hero is safe, and where his enemies might be lurking, and the way locations are presented to us enhances this sense of danger.For all this effort to make us believe in the cause and fear for the hero, there is however a dreadful feeling of insincerity. Henry Fonda, who was a brilliant Tom Joad in 1940, is rather ho-hum here. The trouble is in the character. Whereas Tom Joad would stand up and punch a man if the need arose, this priest is an all-out goody-two-shoes Christian. This is odd because in the Grahame Greene novel on which this is based the priest is an alcoholic womaniser, and besides screenwriter Dudley Nichols should have known better than to create a character without flaws. I guess the real culprit is the production code, which was still very much in force, but still the character has no bite. And neither does Fonda's performance. It wouldn't have been against the code to give the priest a bit of fire and passion, but instead all we get is cheek-turning meekness.It doesn't get much better when you look at the supporting cast. Fonda's countrymen are a clichéd bunch of humble, hat-holding peons (© every Mexican-set Hollywood movie until about 1963), and Naish's informant is just a dull ham act. Ward Bond, on the other hand, does the only bit of good acting in the whole thing (in fact it's some of the best acting of Bond's whole career), and I love his "El Gringo" character, but I can't help feeling he's in the wrong film. Meanwhile, the police lieutenant, in spite of an attempt by Nichols to make him human and multi-faceted, as portrayed by Pedro Armendariz is little more than a pathetic pantomime villain. I keep expecting him to start rounding up priests in a caravan that turns into a cage on wheels. And then Dick van Dyke would turn up in a flying car. Or something.John Ford was certainly a great director – one of the best. But he had a stampede of Achilles heels. One of these weaknesses was the seriousness with which he sometimes took the material, which blinded him to how corny and pompous the whole thing looked. It's a flaw he shared with Cecil B. DeMille. Ford's confidence in having established his own studio probably didn't help. The Fugitive is all po-faced symbolism and Sunday school sermonising. With a little dash of humour and humanising (ironically things that Ford usually spent a lot of time on) he could have really made the story connect to the audience. As it was the public of the time stayed away, and I'd recommend the public of today do the same.

ma-cortes This excellent and dramatic movie , a co-production US-Mexico , is based on Graham Greene novel and written by Dudley Nichols . It starts when a priest (Henry Fonda) attempting to flee from a Centroamerican country , because Christianity being pursued by a totalitarian govern . He encounters help by an Indian woman (Dolores Del Rio) with a baby . She gives him direction to port where he could embark towards freedom . Meanwhile , he finds a mean countryman (J Carrol Naish) craving reward and is pursued by an authoritarian officer (Pedro Armendariz). Furthermore , his existence runs parallel a bank robber , The Gringo (War Bond) also relentlessly pursued .Magnificent movie featuring awesome performances by complete casting . The film develops some John Ford's usual themes , as the sentimental nostalgia , sense of camaraderie , religion , and abound touching scenes . Henry Fonda in a larger-than-life role as a good priest is top-notch , Pedro Armendariz as a nasty general is perfect and War Bond as outlaw wanted by totalitarian police is cool . Fonda (Grapes of wrath , Drums along the Mohawk , Young Mr. Lincoln) and Pedro Armendariz (3 Godfathers , Fort Apache) played several films for John Ford . Besides , there appears Ford's habitual friends , someone uncredited , such as Jack Pennick , Rodolfo Acosta , John Qualen , Fortunio Bonanova , J Carrol Naish, Mel Ferrer's first film and the opening narration is by Ward Bond , who also plays an important role in the film . Luxurious cinematography in lights and darks by Gabriel Figueroa (usual of director Emilio Fernandez , here also producer) . Enjoyable musical score by Richard Hageman , adding Mexican songs with emotive dance included in charge of Dolores Del Rio . The picture shot in Mexico , was produced by Ford's Argosy Production Company , RKO pictures and Merian C. Cooper . Rating : Better than average , well worth seeing for John Ford enthusiasts .

ackstasis Move over, Harrison Ford; your namesake John got here first. While comparisons with Andrew Davis' action-packed 1993 thriller are inevitable in discussing 'The Fugitive (1947),' the two films – aside from the similarity described in their shared title – are completely unrelated, and about as different as two films could possibly be. Unlike many of the Westerns that brought director John Ford his greatest fame, 'The Fugitive' is entirely unconcerned with any form of action or dialogue; Ford's film-making is so concentrated on establishing the correct emotional atmosphere for each scene that it occasionally strays into tedium. However, it was obviously a very personal project for the Ford – who once called it "perfect" – and it's difficult to criticise a film into which the director poured so much passion and resolve. The story was adapted from Graham Greene's 1940 novel, "The Power and the Glory" {a.k.a. "The Labyrinthine Ways"} and concerns the plight of a victimised Christian priest, in an unnamed Latin American country where religion has been outlawed.Perhaps the film's greatest weakness, from my reasoning at least, is that it is so concerned with painting each character as an icon or ideal (few characters are afforded names, and are instead credited with indefinite articles; "a fugitive," "a lieutenant of police," "an Indian woman") that it's hard to sympathise with them. Fortunately, while consistently attempting to maintain each character as a "timeless" figure in the film's ageless story, Dudley Nichols's screenplay avoids the usual stereotypes to which most amateur filmmakers would inevitably resort. The Fugitive (Henry Fonda) is not a courageous, humble pillar of human decency, but a misguided clergy driven by an unconscious self-pride; his adversary, the Lieutenant of Police (Pedro Armendáriz), loves his country and its people deeply, but, guided by a fierce blind patriotism and an illogical hatred of religion, he is often misled towards acts of sheer barbarity. The Police Informer (J. Carrol Naish) is a Judas-like character, betraying The Fugitive to the authorities, and becoming inescapably repentant at the thought of his inhumanity.Despite not being particularly religious myself, I was sufficiently moved by Christianity's noble plight for survival, though I wasn't overly fond of the film's ultimate assertion that the lieutenant's hatred of religion stems directly from his secretly believing in God but being unwilling to admit it. Nevertheless, if you're going to watch 'The Fugitive,' it will most certainly be for the photography, which is, captured by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, indescribably breathtaking. The opening sequence, in which The Fugitive returns to his former church, the light streaking through the windows as though God himself is reaching into the forsaken depths of the building, is spellbinding in its beauty. While Armendáriz is charismatic, and even slightly sympathetic, in his role of the antagonist, Henry Fonda largely looks awkward in the lead role (though you could argue that this uneasiness is integral to his character), and most of the other players – perhaps due to a language barrier – are similarly stilted. A visual masterpiece this film may be, and certainly an overall interesting watch, but 'The Fugitive' remains inferior Ford.

John T. Ryan RKO RADIO Pictures presents An ARGOSY PICTURES/PRODUCTA MEX DESCONCIDA Production, THE FUGITIVE, Directed by John Ford, Written by Dudley Nichols, Based on the Novel "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene. Produced by John Ford, Merrion C. Cooper & Emilio Fernandez. Starring Henry Fonda, Dolores Del Rio and Pedro Armendariz. With: J. Carroll Nash, Leo Carillo, Ward Bond, Robert Armstrong, John Qualen, Fortunio Bonanova, Chris-Pin Martin, Miguel Indclan, Fernando Fernandez, Rodolfo Acosta, Mel Ferrer, Jack Pennick, Jose Torvay.It's always a great experience to "find" a hereto for unknown film, that is a title that we know very little about, if even of it's existence. Somehow or other we had never come across it, then suddenly, SHAZAM!, it's there! Such a film is this John Ford production of THE FUGITIVE. It happened about a year or two ago. There was a full blown outbreak of Insomnia in our household. This had to be on the overnight time between Fri-Sat or Sat-Sun. During those two late night periods, our ABC TV Affiliate shows old movies under the banner of Late Night Movie and Insomniac Theatre. The vast majority of films have been in their library since about ca. 1958. The bulk are from 1930's to the early 1950's RKO RADIO Pictures output. They had been released to the Television market as a huge package deal. And they were assembled under the umbrella title of "Movietime USA". (A lot of stations must still be exhibiting these films, which usually have "Movietime USA Presents" title cards replacing the RKO Radio Pictures traditional opening with the Trade Mark broadcasting Radio Tower.)Well, this movie came on and made us glad that we couldn't sleep. From its very beginning, the beautiful B&W Cinematography of some of the most beautiful locations, just grabs you in keeps you interest, piquing it all the while that its story is unfolded. And the scenario is not an original, made for screen play, being an adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, "The Power and the Glory".In the novel, the locale is described as a mythical Latin American country. But, Mr. Greene, without being explicit, leaves no doubt that the real location is in Mexico. And the screen version follows the lead, and makes it everything that is Mexican, but without a name.The tense, ever tense story starts out with a unit of Mounted Police, entering a village of mostly peasants, in search of an outlawed Catholic Priest, believed to be in the area. This is set in a time when the Church was designated as an illegal, outlawed organization and was persecuted mercilessly. The commanding Police Lieutennant(Pedro Armendariz), seems particularly driven, even to the point of being fanatically determined to capture and see each and every Priest in his State* executed by the firing squad.The story, as one may expect, portrays the degradation and hardships that the unnamed Padre (Mr. Fonda) endures in order to evade capture, imprisonment and a certain terminal rendezvous with the firing squad. And everywhere, complications enter the picture; a treacherous stool pigeon (J. Carroll Nash), a desperate, but beautiful Indian Lady (Dolores Del Rio), a Yankee Desperado/un Ladrone Yanquis(Ward Bond) all get wrapped up in complicating the safety of the Priest.But, danger is part of the job, reasons the Priest, who returns to the scene of his "Crimes", in order to serve his congregation. The story begs the question to the Priest and, indeed to all of us; would we do the "right thing", if we were put into such a position.Truly, THE FUGITIVE presents us with a John Ford Film of the greatest magnitude. It has none of the humor of the human race as portrayed in THE QUIET MAN, RIO GRANDE, THE LAST HURRAH or even THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. But it does give us a full view of Humanity from a most serious perspective, much in the manner of his 1935 Oscar winning THE INFORMER.It indeed is a one of a kind movie. We can not think of any movie to which this could be categorized or classified. The power of the scenes, the rapidity of scene shifting and the power of the acting all keep our interest beginning to end. As a matter of fact, the great scenes are so animated and unsubtly done, with such greater than life, even operatic style as to render it a candidate for a silent version. Just watch it and see super-animated scene after scene.And much like Mr. Charles Chaplin, Pappy Ford renders his tale even more universal by designated titles, rather than names. Other than James Calvert, aka 'el Gringo'(Ward Bond) and Father Sierra (Jose Ferrer), there are no names. And this, Schultz, qualifies this as being described as being "Chaplinesque."The film ends up by, at first, seemingly in tragedy; but there is a sudden about face with a hopeful (if not exactly totally happy) ending. This is a great example of Film being made with love, care, purpose and a Spiritual Wish for a brighter future for all.NOTE * The term of State is used here as in our United States of America; for in our own Western Hemisphere, we have 2 other countries' that use this "State" as we do. In South America we have The United States of Brazil and just below our Southern Border, we have The United States of Mexico. Honestly!