The Bravados (1958)

An extremely well-made, entertaining film, 17 December 2020

After his wife is raped and killed, rancher Jim Douglas (Gregory Peck) sets out to get revenge.  He tracks four men for six months, only to find them locked in a small jail waiting to be hanged for other crimes.  But when they escape, Douglas is determined to see justice done.  But at what price?  And does Douglas have the right to be judge, jury, and executioner? 

If you look at my movie history, you’ll quickly see that I’m not much of a fan of Hollywood-style Westerns.  I may have to rethink that stance after watching The Bravados.  I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  From the revenge angle to the unexpected brutality to the religious questions raised to the twist at the end, Philip Yordan’s screenplay is fantastic.  I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a story more.  In addition, Henry King’s direction is on-point.  The film has a nice pace to it.  And King does a masterful job of building-up the moral dilemma faced by Douglas.  Well done.  Special mention must go to cinematographer Leon Shamroy.  The Bravados looks stunning.  Almost every frame is a work of art. 

The acting in The Bravados is incredible.  I was so impressed and moved with Gregory Peck’s amazingly layered performance.  It might be the best acting I’ve ever seen from him.  That final scene where he realizes what’s going on – brilliant.  The actors playing the four hoodlums are almost as good.  Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Lee Van Cleef, and Henry Silva are all fantastic.  I was especially impressed with Silva as his character has a bit more depth than the others.  Next, there’s Joan Collins.  While her appearance here is really just a plot convenience and her acting isn’t on par with some of the others, I still enjoyed seeing her.  But who am I kidding - I always love watching Joan Collins.  The weakest performance had to come from Andrew Duggan as the priest.  In all honesty, though, he really isn’t as bad as he is miscast. 

Finally, I’ve read some of the problems other people have with the film.  I agree, there are logical inconsistencies for sure – like the way Joan Collins’ character is able to reach Douglas’ ranch in an afternoon, while it seems to take him several days to make the trip.  Then there’s that TARDIS-like church – unpretentious on the outside, but absolutely huge on the inside.  And there’s also my usual problem with Westerns from this era – everything and everyone is too clean and too freshly pressed.  But really, who cares when a film is this good, entertaining, and thought provoking.

 

9/10