Lawman
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Movie Reviews of Lawman
Movie Review: still the fastest gun in the west!
Summary: 5 Stars
Almost everything succeeds wonderfully about this forgotten melodramatic western classic.There's plenty of gunplay, with several classic 'High Noon'-type showdowns, unexpected twists, great casting, especially Bert Lancaster, and excellent cinematography. But, the main reason it should be considered among the best westerns is that it's basically a message melodrama, dramatizing questions about the wisdom and justice of some aspects of legal justice systems. True, if yu need occasional humor and satisfying romantic dalliances to balance the heavy stuff, this film may not be for you. How does Lancaster find the location and names of a gang of transient cowboys who accidentally killed an old man in shooting up his town? Presumably, this is why it took months before he shows up in a distant frontier town to confront the accused. We also wonder how he found and recognized the first victim of his quest, whose body he brings with him to this distant town. But, these and other unresolved details are minor faults in an overall compelling drama.
Even at age 58, Lancaster brings an almost maniacal intensity to his characterization of the ideal incorruptible western lawman, who bends not a twig in fulfilling his duty of apprehending the accused. Be they notorious scoundrels or among the most respected or politically powerful members of the community, he expected them all to answer equally for their alleged legal transgressions. No extra-legal mediation, nor under the table payoffs, no lawman cowed by the local power elite. This is the only way he can live with himself, he says. Maybe, but we wonder by his actions and words if he may also be part pathological killer junkie, hiding behind a badge. Or, possibly, as he claims, he has become trigger-happy as a necessity in staying alive in his profession.
The most ironic aspect of this story is that Lancaster, in trying to legally apprehend a whole gang of accused, in effect, is extracting vigilante justice for an accidental murder. In fact, he initiates a chain of violence that far surpasses the instigatng murder. This is still a relevant potential problem in today's law enforcement world(Think high speed chases, for example.)
It's interesting to compare Lancaster's gunslinger character in 'Vera Cruz' vs. in the present film, as they are basically very similar and yet quite different. In 'Vera Cruz', Lancaster's character is a grasping, trigger-happy, braggart soldier of fortune. Gary Cooper's character tries to reform his excesses, but fails, thus he is marked for death. In the present film, Lancaster's character takes on some of Cooper's character in 'Vera Cruz'. He is fianlly convinced(by an old flame) to end the violence his sense of duty has precipitated. But the remaining accused and the kin of one killed accused won't let him change. He must endure their collective showdown(with some essential help from a Doc Holiday-like character). Thus, he again ends the story an unchanged man(Is this good or bad?). The ending may also represent a lament that society often won't allow those who beget even one violent act a chance to redeem themselves. They are marked for life as a potentially violent or criminal person, an often self-fulfilling prophesy.
Movie Review: Andy Griffith's Opposite
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie, it's as if Andy and Barney Fife have switched roles with deadly results. The Barney-like character played by Ryan sees the big picture and is pragmatic and compromising. He's wants peace and quiet in the town even if it means overlooking the letter of the law sometimes. But he is weak.
Lancaster is the strong one, but with no concern for peace and quiet. He's myopically focused on executing the letter of the law without any regard for the surrounding circumstances.
That said the movie is full of moral questions and I think most are portrayed very well. Maddox is a good man, with many faults, as are the other characters. It really makes you think about the imperfections of the world we live in and how applying the "rules" in a very strict manner doesn't always make sense. Maddox is unwilling to make any sort of compromise until it is too late. Still, you see his resignation & compromise at the end as a maturation and humility of his character that is endearing & human.
Of course that lasts only a brief moment as the final shootout looms and he snaps back into his executioner role even gunning down the cowardly Hurd Price in the back as he flees. That is the most morally vexing moment of the film for me. It was completely unnecessary, but in the heat of the battle maybe Maddox just blew it. You're left wondering.
Anyway, the cinematography I found to be very good. Lee J. Cobb as Bronson does a great job reflecting on his difficult, costly rise to power and giving credit to those he's defeated along the way. He has no stomach at his age for further violence but when Maddox justifiably guns down his lifelong partner he feels he has no choice but to fight to the end.
The role of Duvall as Vernon Adams sort of plays out the theme of the movie in a miniature subplot. He feels he has done nothing wrong and just wants to be left alone. He is willing to shoot Maddox in the back to make hime go away. He is a villain (though a somewhat passive one), but you can sympathize with the predicament he's in. Ultimately his pride and poor decisions get him shot.
The heroic Maddox makes as many mistakes as the bad guys in this one. I don't think it's moral relativism to say Maddox could have sought justice in a less violent way. But killing, admittedly, is what he is best at, and that's how he gets the job done. Woe unto those who don't understand the way he works!
Movie Review: Cool and a half
Summary: 5 Stars
LAWMAN is one of the best Westerns made in 1971. Burt Lancaster looks a little chubby, but no more so than John Wayne around this time. there must have been some high calorie vittles served up in Dodge City. Robert Ryan plays a character whose name is actually "Ryan," Cotton Ryan, so when the other characters talk to him, they're always saying, "Ryan?" and when he answers "Yes," it's kind of strange. Robert Ryan looks terrific here. It's hard to believe such a vital force in the US cinema would soon be gone. Lee J. Cobb is also in the movie, and his head is as bald as a turkey egg, I had never realized what an imposing head Cobb has but he uses it in almost every scene, to emphasize his evil ways and his belief that any man can be bought. If that isn't acting chops enough, the movie also features Robert Duvall, looking young and suave.
For the love interest, Sheree North plays "Laura," the former girlfriend of Lancaster's character. Lancaster gives her until noon to deliver her husband to him on a silver platter as it were. Naturally Laura is torn between the husband she's grown fond of and her embery passion for Lancaster. Sheree North, once a Hollywood It Girl and Fox's replacement for Marilyn Monroe (should Monroe turn ugly) looks worn and frazzled, from living on the frontier ekeing out existence on a farm. She's great. Why she never got the Oscar I'll never know. It's a Michael Winner film from the same period as his masterpiece, THE GAMES, and features some of his trademark quick editing which makes the viewer dizzy and nauseous.
Movie Review: You buy the man above him
Summary: 5 Stars
A wonderful, thinking man's, neo-traditional Western. Burt excels as the lawdog made of granite. He doesn't bend, he doesn't trade. He wavers for a brief moment, but the inexorable workings of the patterns of his life pull him back into line. The flickers that pass over his tired face are a masterful demonstration of cinema acting. Beautiful, intricate script to chew on. It's stuffed with strong dialogue, full of meat. Superb, relentless pacing. Stunning shoot-outs. Like a game of chess, there are rules. But it doesn't matter how good you are; you've got to have the killer instinct if you're going to win. What are the issues? If you tried to buy the man above Maddox, who would that be? "There is no easy comfort from God" says the preacher. "From the hardness comes forth purity" is his funeral message. Maddox doesn't need to see from where he stands --- he's the sword of Gideon. And life catches up with everyone in the end. The land was won with guns, and the defeated native Americans ride past in stoic silence. Finally, after watching this implacable story several times, I managed to figure out who shot the old man in Bannock. That killing was NOT an accident. There are enough hints in the early part, and the ending brings it all together with a truly satisfying closure. This is one of the finest of the Western genre, as good as High Noon, and far better than most.Movie Review: The real deal
Summary: 5 Stars
Burt Lancaster plays a marshall that is going to take some men in for trail or kill them. That is the beginning and the end of the discussion. This is a fascinating film. What makes it so is the reaction everyone has to such an unbending, uncompromising man. The townspeople are not behind Lancaster because the men he wants to take in all work for a very important town leader that has done much to support and help the town grow. The town boss, played with complexity by Lee J. Cobb, admits his men did wrong, but wants to "negotiate" a kind of deal with Lancaster.
Lancaster is not a negotiator. He is a killer with a star on his chest.
This is the other interesting aspect of this film: as the Lancaster character tells an idealistic cowboy, "a lawman is a man-killer. That is his business."
All in all, a tough, lean Western with an unusually hard edge. Lancaster's ice-blue eyes dominate the film, with great performances throughout by, notably, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Ryan (as an aging gunfighter looking for an easy slide), and Robert Duvall. The writing is excellent, also, with many memorable lines that say a lot with few words.
A little-known Western but, in my opinion, one that wouldn't be out of place in any discussion of the all time greats of the genre.