Sunday 30 June 2013

Warlock [1959]


Irrespective of whether or not one considers Warlock as his best work, Edward Dmytryk is possibly best remembered for this tense psychological Western. This was, at once, an intriguing account of a complicated friendship between two men, a tale of wits and psychological duel between warring personalities, and an observation on the inevitable demise of the Old West and its replacement with law and morality. The titular town, besieged by regular instances of anarchy because of a gang of cowboys led by Abe McQueen (Tom Drake), hires the renowned and suavely dressed gunslinger Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda) as its marshal. Along with him arrives Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn), Clay’s loyal and crippled friend who protects his back. Meanwhile Johnny Garson (Richard Widmark), a member of Abe’s gang decides to go straight and volunteers for the vacant job of the town’s Sheriff. Complications arise when Tom tries to eliminate Clay’s former flame in order to have no one between their “friendship”, only to find Clay falling for an attractive citizen of the town (Dolores Michaels). The film wasn’t short of its share of stand-offs and gunfights, but its most implosive moments were created through Clay and Tom’s complex alliance that would surely have made the audiences then uncomfortable in their seats. It was darn interesting to see Widmark in an uncharacteristically honest and honorable role, while Fonda too was at the top of his game. But the most memorable performance was provided by Quinn as Fonda’s slippery, unpredictable and hero-worshipping sidekick. Few overdone plot moments and the operatic climax notwithstanding, this managed to be quite a taut, gripping and a so-called “thinking man’s Western”.








Director: Edward Dmytryk
Genre: Western/Psychological Western
Language: English
Country: US

2 comments:

Sam Juliano said...

"This was, at once, an intriguing account of a complicated friendship between two men, a tale of wits and psychological duel between warring personalities, and an observation on the inevitable demise of the Old West and its replacement with law and morality."

Ha Shubhajit! You leave very few crumbs for us! In any case you frame this perfectly, and certainly this is a "thinking man's western." I agree that that the narrative goes off track, but there's no doubt that Quinn wins in the acting department. Yes Widmark is rarely in good graces. Great review of a most worthy western.

Shubhajit said...

Haha, thanks Sam! The fact that Quinn's character, too, was the most interesting of the lot, added to his performance. He sure added an extra & vital dynamic to the narrative.