It's all here in this inexpensive Western from Universal Studios. Audie Murphy as the fresh-faced hero mistaken for a ruthless shotgun killer. Felicia Farr as the misunderstood local woman swept up in his escape. Stephen McNally as the crooked Marshall consumed by self aggrandizement. The angry townsfolk seeking revenge. The buckboard bouncing in a frenzy along the rough roads, pursued by the galloping posse. The pause at the empty cabin during a rainstorm so Murphy and Farr can exchange a few understanding words before falling in love. But, come to think of it, there are no fast draws and no clips on the jaw that render anyone unconscious for as long as the plot requires. Maybe it ISN'T all here.
But Mount Whitney is here, or at least nearby. Most of the movie was shot at Movie Flats, near Lone Pine, California, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. You'll probably recognize the location. It's been used in a hundred movies. I was there a few years ago and can swear to it that I found some pieces of welding left over from "Gunga Din" (1939), although it must be said that I lie constantly.
Felicia Farr is a pleasant and attractive woman, Jack Lemon's wife. She never had a major career. Perhaps her talent was modest or maybe she just didn't get the challenging parts. I wonder how she'd have done if she'd tackled Blanche DuBois.
More often than not, Audie Murphy was a little embarrassing. His range was so limited. It's painful here watching him struggling to project an emotion like fear, as if in a high school play in Cedar City, Utah. He STILL looks innocent here, fifteen years after the end of the war from which he emerged with more decorations than any other soldier -- and he earned them too. When a role was within his range and when he had the right director, he could be entirely convincing, but that only happened once that I know of -- in John Huston's "The Red Badge of Courage."
This isn't a bad movie. It's mediocre in almost every respect, helped by a couple of accomplished actors in smaller roles. Well, I'll give an example of something that keeps the film from being aimed at a more sophisticated or mature audience. Throughout, Felicia Farr is glamorously made up. It doesn't matter -- rain or shine, night or day -- he false eyelashes are flawless and her no-smear lipstick a perfection in scarlet. Couldn't they have mussed her up a little? After all, she has to hoof it for dozens of miles across the mountains and deserts.
But Mount Whitney is here, or at least nearby. Most of the movie was shot at Movie Flats, near Lone Pine, California, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. You'll probably recognize the location. It's been used in a hundred movies. I was there a few years ago and can swear to it that I found some pieces of welding left over from "Gunga Din" (1939), although it must be said that I lie constantly.
Felicia Farr is a pleasant and attractive woman, Jack Lemon's wife. She never had a major career. Perhaps her talent was modest or maybe she just didn't get the challenging parts. I wonder how she'd have done if she'd tackled Blanche DuBois.
More often than not, Audie Murphy was a little embarrassing. His range was so limited. It's painful here watching him struggling to project an emotion like fear, as if in a high school play in Cedar City, Utah. He STILL looks innocent here, fifteen years after the end of the war from which he emerged with more decorations than any other soldier -- and he earned them too. When a role was within his range and when he had the right director, he could be entirely convincing, but that only happened once that I know of -- in John Huston's "The Red Badge of Courage."
This isn't a bad movie. It's mediocre in almost every respect, helped by a couple of accomplished actors in smaller roles. Well, I'll give an example of something that keeps the film from being aimed at a more sophisticated or mature audience. Throughout, Felicia Farr is glamorously made up. It doesn't matter -- rain or shine, night or day -- he false eyelashes are flawless and her no-smear lipstick a perfection in scarlet. Couldn't they have mussed her up a little? After all, she has to hoof it for dozens of miles across the mountains and deserts.