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Gregory Peck frequently picked westerns that were not the usual "shoot-'em-ups" for a Saturday matinée. He is Luke McCanless, the amoral anti-hero of DUEL IN THE SUN. He is the title character THE GUNFIGHTER, trying to settle down but finding his "fast draw" reputation a deadly one no matter what. He is eastern sea captain stuck in the midst of a ridiculous range war in THE BIG COUNTRY. He is the western trapper/hunter who is pursued by a revenge crazed Native American in THE STALKING MOON. Oddly enough the last role is a mirror image (of sorts) to his role in THE BRAVADOS.
Peck rides into a small border town in a southwestern territory of the west. He is quiet, laconic - and surly. This is not the normal Peck, second only to Henry Fonda or Jimmy Steward in playing "Joe Good Guy" characters. This is one of the roles that showed the real depths of Peck as an actor.
It turns out that he has been following four men (Steven Boyd, Albert Salmi, Lee Van Cleef, and Henry Silva - and I have chosen that listing order for a reason) who he was told raped and murdered his wife six months earlier. The four are in a jail awaiting hanging for a bank robbery and murder (of a teller). Due to their notoriety everyone in town is a little edgy and wants to see them dangling - but are suspicious of strangers. Peck's attitude does not sit well with them, although they soon learn he has come to see the hanging. His interest in seeing this, as well as a request to see the men in their prison cell, disgusts the local sheriff (Herbert Rudley).
Others in the town know Peck. The local padre (Andrew Duggan) does, as does a wealthy land owner (Joan Collins) who once was his girlfriend. But he remains quiet about his motives for being in the town.
Thanks to an ally (future Three Stooges member Joe DeRita in a nicely handled part) the gang nearly kills Rudley and escapes (shooting a deputy in the process). They also kidnap the daughter of the local general store owner. The townspeople form a posse, which Peck joins the following day (he insists on getting a good night sleep first). Soon he is leading the posse quite well. As one of the four desperadoes (the "Bravados" of the title), Henry Silva, says earlier - Peck looks like a hunter and is one to be feared.
None of the Bravados recognize Peck. But as he corners them one by one he reveals his motivation to kill them, and each denies knowing anything about what he is talking about. But the script is written to keep the viewers guessing until the conclusion about whether these men were guilty or not. The behavior of one of them (Boyd) certainly makes one feel Peck is on the right trail.
The four Bravados are of interest too. Boyd and Salmi are not very likable types (oddly enough they feel they could make a good duo once the gang splits up after a successful escape). Van Cleef is also deadly, but in his case there are certain circumstances that are never fully explained (he won't see his mother before the hanging, nor speak to Duggan, and later - under really tragic circumstances - he speaks of his own wife and child to an unrelenting Peck). But curiously all three speak disparagingly of Silva, a Mexican Indian (who one senses was their scout, and probably not responsible for the killings they've committed). Silva turns out not only to be the smartest of the four, but also (with the help of his wife) the only one to force Peck to rethink everything.
The conclusion is a hideous mental agony for Peck - which even Duggan and Collins may never totally erase for him. In the end he requests the prayers of the townspeople as he leaves the scene.
score 10/10
theowinthrop 1 April 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1628562/ |
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25-2-2021 06:06:09