The Proud Ones (1956)

[Groggy]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049639/


Has anyone heard of "The Proud Ones" (1956), a Western by Robert D. Webb?  I had never heard of this movie until I caught it on the Fox Movie Channel today.  Very interesting movie, anyway.

The plot basically involved Robert Ryan (playing the good guy for a change) as the Marshal of a small Kansas town who is accused of murdering a gunfighter working for a gambler/crimeboss played by Robert Middleton and run out of town.  A few years later he's appointed Marshal of another town, but finds himself facing off against Middleton again, as well as the son of the man he killed, played by Jeffrey Hunter.  Hunter eventually decides to side with the Marshal, who as it turns out is losing his eyesight from a hemorrhage in the optic nerve (shades of "Minnesota Clay", perhaps?).

There were a few neat things which may or may not have influenced Leone and others, including a line by Ryan to Hunter: "When you draw on a man, don't talk!  Shoot him!"  Sound a bit like a line of dialogue from a certain movie we all know (albeit admittedly not as well delivered)?   Also, it was funny for me as a fan of "Rio Bravo" to see Walter Brennan rehearsing his Stumpy role for that film (the older deputy standing guard in the jail while the leads take care of business).

This isn't a great Western but I still found it entertaining.  It's great that Ryan got a chance to be a hero in a Western (usually he's a bad guy or anti-hero), and Hunter, Brennan and Middleton were solid as well.  Virginia Mayo as the heroine/love interest was kind of annoying, but thankfully her part wasn't that big.

[stanton]

Good western, but not that good. And not one of Robert Ryan's best roles. The atmosphere is a pretty clean one, despite Lucien Ballard as DoP. 6/10

But it contains 2 blood squibs, the largest squibs I have ever seen in a film before the 60s.

[Dust Devil]

I'm just wondering if any of you have seen it and what you thought  of it...

I haven't seen it (yet), but you might wanna ask Groggy.

[drinkanddestroy]

kinda funny to see Walter Brennan with a mustache 

[T.H.]

I caught this a while back - it's a good movie with arguably the best score I've ever heard in a classic Hollywood movie.

[Dust Devil]

Thanks for merging my topic and making me look foolish, Dust Devil 

Check the index(es) next time before opening a topic (though sometimes even that won't help).

[titoli]

 
There were a few neat things which may or may not have influenced Leone and others, including a line by Ryan to Hunter: "When you draw on a man, don't talk!  Shoot him!"  Sound a bit like a line of dialogue from a certain movie we all know (albeit admittedly not as well delivered)?

What about the noisy spurs of the mexican gunslinger?

Anyway I liked this. I think it suffers from lack of a great antagonist for Ryan, but the story is original and fast-paced. I don't like the score, though it has the whistled tune. 7\10

[The Peacemaker]

What about the noisy spurs of the mexican gunslinger?

 I think it suffers from lack of a great antagonist for Ryan,

Gotta disagree with you there. I though Robert Middleton was a great antagonist. He played the character as a suave villain who controlled everything and thought he could do whatever he wanted because he had money. If anything, I wish he had more screen time and resorted to more desperate tactics to bump off Ryan's character.

[Groggy]

I caught this a while back - it's a good movie with arguably the best score I've ever heard in a classic Hollywood movie.

Let's not get carried away.

[T.H.]

The only score that compares is the Mexican death tune in Rio Bravo but I don't even know if that counts.

I don't see what's the big deal?

[T.H.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy2iV061Bk8

I can't seriously be alone on this? Really?

[drinkanddestroy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy2iV061Bk8

I can't seriously be alone on this? Really?

nice whistled theme, though I don't like the insistent clanging of the rhythm melody. I'd have to see the movie again before being able to say that the score is better than, say, that of Rio Bravo and Red River  

Anyway, I am really due for a re-watch of this movie. I saw it once like 2 years ago and really liked it, and I'd like to see it again soon. Unfortunately, Netflix says  there is a "Long Wait" to rent this dvd, so I just bought it on eBay, it's selling dirt cheap on both ebay and Amazon (mine was $6 on eBay including shipping, Brand New   )

I'll report back once I have seen it  

[drinkanddestroy]

just received the dvd in the mail. The cover made me laugh: a generic picture of some generic cowboys with guns. faces in shadow, and the super-ominous line, "When the law is broken, justice can't be far behind" http://www.amazon.com/The-Proud-Ones-Robert-Ryan/dp/B000EHSVW8

20th Century Fox must have put a lot of thought into this