Stubs - From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity (1953) Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra. Directed by Fred Zinnemann. Produced by Buddy Adler. Screenplay by Daniel Tardoch. Based on the novel From Here to Eternity by James Jones. Run Time: 115 minutes. U.S.  Black and White. Drama, War, Romance

Just because there was a production code in effect in the 1950’s didn’t mean that movies didn’t take on controversial topics or adapt sensational literature. Case in point: James Jones’ debut novel, From Here to Eternity was published by Scribner’s in 1951. The novel, based on Jones’ own experience in the Army on the eve of World War II, shocked readers in its day with its frank language and sexual preoccupations of the characters. It is no surprise that it has been reported that prior to publication, every major studio turned down the opportunity to buy the explicit novel. However, a week after it hit the shelves, Columbia Pictures bought the rights for $85,000. Initially, the studio intended to star Broderick Crawford, Glenn Ford and John Derek in its adaptation. While the novel had to be reduced from 800 pages to a 150 page script, and much of its explicit sex had to be toned down, the resulting film would go on to win eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) arrives at Schofield Barracks.

The movie starts in 1941, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Pvt. Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) arrives at Schofield Barracks, to which he has voluntarily transferred after quitting the Bugle Corp stateside after being replaced as First Bugler. Prewitt reunites with his good friend, Pvt. Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra), before meeting with the by-the-books, but still fair, adjutant Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster). Warden runs G Company for commander and Regimental boxing head, Capt. Dana Holmes (Philip Ober). Holmes makes a brief appearance in the office before “heading to town”, which seems to be code word for drink and carouse. He meets with Prewitt, the same as he says he does with all his new men. Holmes is aware of Prewitt's success as an Army boxer and pressures him to join the company boxing club, but Prewitt steadfastly refuses, for reasons he doesn’t elaborate on.

Deborah Kerr plays Holmes' wife Karen in From Here to Eternity.

Warden cautions Prewitt against opposing Holmes, but Prewitt stubbornly declines to box. Later, Warden sees Holmes's attractive wife, Karen (Deborah Kerr), visiting the post and learns of her "reputation" from another non-commissioned officer. Upon discovering that Prewitt refuses to box, the other soldiers in the boxing club harass him relentlessly with Holmes' approval. Prewitt is made an example of by the various drill sergeants he comes into contact with during drills. Maggio protests, only to be disciplined as well, as the two of them are forced to run laps holding their weapons high.

One afternoon, while Captain Holmes is off the base again, Warden visits Holmes' cottage on a pretext of Army business. Warden finds Karen beautiful and doesn’t like to see her, as he says pointedly, go to waste. Karen claims not to be what she seems, but when Warden starts to leave, she stops him. She gives into his advances and they kiss.

Warden receives several warnings from other non-coms, such as Sgt. Maylon Stock (George Reeves), about Karen’s looseness, but he goes through and meets with her. She tries to pick a fight with Warden, but he won’t have any of it.

At the New Congress Club, Prewitt meets Lorene (Donna Reed).

On pay day, Maggio takes Prewitt to the New Congress Club, where Prewitt meets a club hostess, Lorene (Donna Reed), aka the Princess. Prewitt is immediately taken by her beauty. A drunken Maggio riles "Fatso" Judson (Ernest Borgnine), sergeant of the stockade, who is playing the piano when Maggio starts the jukebox. Prewitt prevents a fist fight between them, but loses Lorene’s attention to another soldier, Bill.

Prewitt gets in between Fatso (Ernest Borgnine) and Maggio.

Meanwhile, Warden and Karen continue their date. Both are wearing swimsuits under their clothes and they go to a secluded beach for a nighttime dip in the ocean. After their dip, we’re treated to the movie’s iconic shot of Karen and Warden making out on the beach as the waves crash over their bodies. Karen admits to Warden that there have been a lot of other men in her life.

Warden (Burt Lancaster) and Karen share a kiss and one of the most iconic scenes in all of film history.

He reminds her of her past relationships with men and with Sgt. Stock in particular. Hurt, she tells him that after two years of marriage to Holmes and pregnant with his child, she learns of his infidelity and through his drunken negligence she miscarries and can no longer have children. She’s been going out with other men looking for someone to really love her.

Prewitt has fallen in love with Lorene and can't stay away from her.

Back at the New Congress Club, it is obvious Prewitt has fallen for Lorene, but she is attracted to him as well. She tells him about her past and how she came to the New Congress Club. She tells him that she doesn’t really like the work and is just doing it for the money. But it’s obvious, even to a drunken Maggio, that there is something between the two of them. Prewitt confides in Lorene that he refuses to box because he once blinded a friend while sparring.

Prewitt gets punished for his refusal to box.

Prewitt steadfastly refuses to box, even though the sergeants of the company ratchet up the harassment. His refusal to fight infuriates Holmes, who views having a winning boxing team as important to his advancement in the Army. He punishes Prewitt with an extra long march in full pack thinking it will make him capitulate. But it doesn’t work, so Prewitt is sent again. Holmes tells Warden to go so far as to prepare orders to have Prewitt court-martialed. Instead, Warden convinces Holmes to apply "the treatment," using grueling physical punishment and extra duty to break him.

Prewitt shows off his skills with a bugle for Maggio (Frank Sinatra).

Warden tries to convince Prewitt and the two develop a certain respect for one another when even after a month Prewitt doesn’t break. One evening at Choy's bar, other soldiers try to convince Prewitt to complain, but he doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction. Prewitt surprises the men by demonstrating his skill with the bugle, which he makes sound like a trumpet.

Warden breaks up a fight between Fatso and Maggio.

Fatso arrives and makes a point of taunting Maggio, who is too stupid not to take the bait. Warden breaks up the fight before it gets going. When Fatso is slow to comply, Warden offers to take him on. Fatso backs down. But Fatso can’t resist threatening Maggio should he ever end up in the stockade.

Warden knows Prewitt has gone “dippy” for Lorene and arranges for a weekend pass so he can go visit her. But before Maggio can join him on the bus, he gets dragged into guard duty, despite the fact he has a pass.

Prewitt wants to see Lorene, but she has her job to do and can’t get away. Mrs. Kipfer (Barbara Morrison) makes a point that Lorene, who’s real name is Alma, is needed inside. Still, Lorene leaves work to meet Prewitt at another bar. She can’t understand Prewitt's putting up with the treatment.

While they’re talking, Maggio shows up at the bar. He has gone AWOL from guard duty. Prewitt tries to get Maggio to go back to base, but Maggio gets arrested by MPs. Maggio gets court-martialed and sentenced to the stockade for six months. Fatso is only too happy to see Maggio walk through the door.

Prewitt and Lorene continue to see each other. She gives him the key to the cottage she’s rented with a roommate, Georgette (Kristine Miller), and tells him he can use it even if she’s not there.

Meanwhile, Karen continues to see Warden. They are obviously now very much in love, but when other men from the camp show up, Warden ushers her out of the bar. Karen tells Warden that they can’t go on much longer. They try to figure out what they can do. She encourages Warden to apply for promotion, explaining that as an officer, he can be shipped stateside where they could marry after she divorces Holmes.  Warden, who hates officers, still tentatively agrees to her plan.

Prewitt proposes to Lorene, but she scoffs at his idea. She thinks marrying him will ruin things. He wants to be a sergeant and the only way is to fight. Still Lorene is not convinced. She tells them that they love each other now but may not back in the states. She tells him honestly that she can’t marry him because she doesn’t want to be the wife of a soldier. She has other goals in life and wants to meet and marry a proper man and raise a proper family. But Lorene still needs Prewitt, because she’s lonely.

Meanwhile, Holmes has discovered that Karen is having an affair, but doesn’t know who and she won’t say. He’s still convinced that it’s a civilian.

A soldier who had been in the stockade with Maggio tells Prewitt about his treatment at the hands of Fatso. While they’re still talking, Sgt. Ike Galovitch (John Dennis), head of the boxing team, forces Prewitt into fighting one afternoon, quickly drawing a crowd who cheer Prewitt on. Prewitt does fight back, but refuses to hit him in the face. Holmes watches the fight, but doesn’t break it up until Prewitt starts to hit Galovitch in the face and win. Holmes’s inaction is noticed by his superiors on the base.

Holmes tries to punish Prewitt until the other sergeants put the blame squarely on Galovitch. In that case, Holmes wants to just forget about the incident. Prewitt still refuses to join the boxing team.

That night, both Prewitt and Warden get drunk and end up sitting together on a camp road sharing a bottle. Warden admires Prewitt, but warns him they’re going to get him sooner or later. It is obvious by now they’ve developed respect for one another. They confess their problems with women to each other.

A severely beaten Maggio stumbles out of the woods and collapses into Prewitt's arms. He tells Prewitt about Fatso's brutal abuse and that he had to get out, he had to escape. He warns Prewitt to be aware of Fatso and then he dies from his injuries.

Maggio tells Prewitt about the punishment he's received at Fatso's hand.

While Prewitt plays taps for his fallen friend, it seems the rest of the company reflects about themselves.

On his next free day, Prewitt waits for Fatso outside the New Congress Club. Fatso doesn’t know what Prewitt wants to talk to him about, but he’s unremorseful about having contributed to Maggio’s death. They each have knives and even though Fatso is bigger, Prewitt is a more skilled fighter. Using his boxing skills, Prewitt knocks Fatso down and knifes him to death in an alley behind the club.

Seriously wounded himself, Prewitt staggers to Lorene's for help and remains there for several days.

Warden carries Prewitt on the active list for as long as possible, even when asked about it by Prewitt’s Sgt., Baldy Dohm (Claude Akins). The camp commander, Gen. Slater (Fay Roope), who has investigated the fight between Prewitt and Galovitch, accuses Holmes of applying illegal measures against Prewitt and informs him he must either resign from the Army or be court-martialed. The new commander, Capt. Ross (John Bryant), stops the boxing and busts Galovitch to private.

Karen tells Warden that Holmes has asked her to return stateside with him and inquires about Warden's commission. He admits he has not submitted the request because he doesn’t want to and can’t be an officer. He tells Karen that he loves her, but she breaks off their relationship and returns to her husband.

Meanwhile, Prewitt remains AWOL at Lorene’s.

But the next morning, December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and Schofield base doesn’t escape bombardment. Warden organizes his company, fearing the Japanese will invade by land, too. He and the other sergeants go up on the roof and fire at the Japanese planes as they go fly by, downing one of the swarm.

On the rooftop, Warden  and company fire at the Japanese airplanes.

Prewitt, still weak, hears of the attack over the radio and the possibility of an invasion. He is determined to rejoin the army despite Lorene's hysterical protests. She even offers to marry him if that’ll keep him from going back. But he feels a duty as a soldier to fight. Moving under the cover of night, he tries to slip back into camp, but is shot by a guard on patrol.

Karen and Lorene meet onboard a ship heading back to the states.

A few days later, sailing on one of the first evacuation ships, Karen meets Lorene on deck as they watch Hawaii disappear in the distance. Lorene tells Karen her fiancé was a bomber pilot, who died bravely during the attack. But Karen recognizes the name Robert E. Lee Prewitt, from Warden having spoken about him.

The acting by the entire cast is good in From Here to Eternity, starting with Burt Lancaster.

Do you know who is good in this movie? Everyone. You can start with Burt Lancaster and work your way down the credits. All the actors, even the former singer, put in really good performances and create unforgettable characters. All of the leads, Lancaster, Kerr and Clift, received Academy nominations and the two main supporting actors, Reed and Sinatra, won in their categories. But a case can be made for Ernest Borgnine, who we all remember as either the jolly fat man from McHale’s Navy or the moody Marty. Here he plays the short-tempered bigoted Sgt. “Fatso” Judson and is very convincing in the part.

Ernest Borgnine plays Fatso the opposite of the jolly fat man he played on McHale's Navy.

This is one of those Hollywood films that we studied at USC in Cinema Studies, not for the aesthetics, but to read it from the confines of the New Discourse. It’s about as much fun as it sounds. I remember a lot being made about the fact Deborah Kerr is on top of Burt Lancaster during part of that iconic kiss. Something like the dominant male role being subverted or some other nonsense that gets in the way of enjoying the film. But I do remember volunteering to look into the career of Fred Zinnemann, the director And this was before such useful internet tools like IMDb or Wikipedia or the entire internet for that matter.

Thankfully, those days are over and information is readily available. Zinnemann was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. While studying to be a lawyer, Zinnemann was drawn to films, eventually becoming a cameraman and working with the likes of Billy Wilder and Richard Siodmak on People on Sunday (1929). Soon afterwards, he came to America to study film. He worked with documentarian Robert Flaherty and was drawn to realism and authenticity as a filmmaker, traits Flaherty didn’t always show in his documentaries.

Zinnemann settled into making short films at MGM from 1937 until 1942. Several of his shorts, including Mothers Might Live (1938) and Forbidden Passage (1941), would receive nominations and win Academy Awards for short subjects. In 1942, he graduated, so to speak, to B-Movies with Kid Glove Killer starring Van Heflin and Eyes In the Night, starring Edward Arnold, Ann Harding and Donna Reed. In 1944, he made The Seventh Cross, for which supporting actor Hume Cronyn would be nominated for his performance, the first of some 65 Academy nominations Zinnemann films would receive, 19 for acting. Other big films Zinnemann would helm in his career included The Search (1948), High Noon (1952), Oklahoma! (1955), The Nun’s Story (1959), The Sundowners (1960), A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Day of the Jackal (1973) and Julia (1977). His last film would be Five Days One Summer (1982).

I’m a little surprised at just how much I love From Here to Eternity. All the characters seem to be well rounded, but they’re all broken people looking for someone else to fill the void in their lives. There is a real sense that war is coming and everything we know will be forever changed. It’s almost as if the characters in the film are trying to get in as much living as they can before the whole world changes on them.

I would definitely recommend From Here to Eternity to anyone that likes a good movie. This is definitely one of the best to come out of Hollywood in the early 1950’s.

Stubs - Shane

Shane (1953) Starring: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Jack Palance. Directed by George Stevens. Produced by George Stevens. Screenplay by A. B. Guthrie Jr. Based on the novel Shane by Jack Schaefer (Boston, 1949). Run Time: 118 minutes. U.S.  Color, Western.

As we’ve discussed here before, Westerns were at one time very popular and every major actor seemed to appear in at least one. Add Alan Ladd to that list. After a decade in films, appearing in uncredited roles in such films as The Goldwyn Follies (1938) and Citizen Kane (1941), Ladd would finally become a star by playing a gangster, Raven, in This Gun For Hire (1942). Ladd became known for gangster and film noirs like The Glass Key (1942), Lucky Jordan (1942), Blue Dahlia (1946) and Appointment with Danger (1951). While he would also star in such films as The Great Gatsby (1949), he would find Westerns later in his career.

He would star in such westerns as Branded (1950), Red Mountain (1951), The Iron Mistress (1952), Saskatchewan (1954) and Drum Beat (1954), though none would be bigger than Shane (1953). But despite his stature, Ladd was not the first choice for the role of Shane. Montgomery Clift was director George Stevens’ first choice. But Clift and Steven’s other choice for parts, William Holden for Joe Starrett and Katharine Hepburn for the part of Marian Starrett were not available. The film was nearly abandoned, but Stevens asked Paramount Pictures studio head Y. Frank Freeman for a list of actors under contract and chose Ladd, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur for the parts.

Jean Arthur had retired from films when her contract with Columbia Pictures expired in 1944. She had only made one film since, A Foreign Affair (1948), directed by Billy Wilder. Even though she was 50 at the time Shane went into production in 1951, she agreed to make the film as a favor to Stevens. They had worked together twice before, The Talk of the Town (1942) and The More the Merrier (1943). Stevens considered her "one of the greatest comediennes the screen has ever seen"; perhaps not a ringing endorsement for casting her in a serious western, like Shane.

In the film, Arthur plays Marian, who along with her husband Joe (Van Heflin) are homesteaders in Wyoming. Their son, Joey (Brandon de Wilde), is outside playing when he sees a lone rider dressed in buckskin approaching, Shane (Alan Ladd). He tells Joe that he’s just heading north. When Joey cocks the rifle he’s been playing with, Shane draws his gun with the speed of a gunfighter, which disturbs Joe. He sends Shane on his way.

Just then, a group of armed men rides up led by Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer), a cattle baron who accuses Joe of squatting on his grazing land and orders him off. When Joe refuses, Ryker’s men start to intimidate Joe until Shane reappears at Joe’s side. The men leave, but nothing has been settled.

Shane (Alan Ladd), right, stands by Joe (Van Heflin), Marian (Jean Arthur)
and Joey (Brandon de Wilde) against Ryker's intimidation.

Marian who has been observing everything from inside the cabin, urges Joe to invite Shane for dinner. Joey is excited to have Shane stay for dinner. Shane doesn’t want to talk about his past, but after eating, goes out to chop wood for the family as a way of paying back their kindness. Joe joins in and the two men seem to bond.

Shane chops wood for the family.

Shane spends the night outside and is awakened by Joey playing nearby. Joey tells Shane that his parents want him to stay and mentions his father’s concern about Ryker’s threats. Shane decides to stay and goes into town to buy some work clothes at Sam Grafton’s General Store.

Soon after Shane leaves, another homesteader, Ernie Wright (Leonard Strong), arrives to inform Joe that Ryker had his men destroy his wheat, so he and his family have decided to pull up stakes and leave. But Joe convinces Ernie to stay long enough for the other homesteaders to meet that night.

Back in town, Shane purchases his clothes and then goes next door to the adjoining saloon to buy Joey a bottle of soda pop. Ryker and his men, including Chris Calloway (Ben Johnson), are hanging out in the saloon and they try to intimidate Shane, calling him a sodbuster and tossing whiskey on his new shirt. But Shane doesn’t bite and walks out.

Chris Calloway (Ben Johnson), one of Ryker's men, tosses
whiskey on Shane, while Ryker (Emile Meyer) watches.

At the homesteaders’ meeting, Fred Lewis (Edgar Buchanan), who was in the saloon, tells the group about Shane not standing up to Calloway. Joey, whoever hears this, thinks Shane is a coward. Marian reassures Joey that Shane isn’t a coward, but tells her son not to become too attached to him.

The homesteaders decide to hang together and as a group, they go into town to shop for their Fourth of July celebration. Back at Grafton’s, Galloway again confronts Shane in the saloon, but this time Shane fights back. After a long fistfight, Shane knocks Galloway out. Ryker, who is there, offers Shane a drink and a job, but he turns him down. Next, Ryker accuses Shane of lusting after Marian. Despite Joey’s pleas, Shane gets into a fight with all of Ryker’s men in the saloon. Joe goes in and fights next to Shane, until Grafton, who owns the saloon, demands a halt to the action.

Joe and Shane fight back to back in the saloon against Ryker's men.

But Ryker isn’t through and sends for a notorious gunslinger from Cheyenne, Jack Wilson (Walter Jack Palance).

Back at the farm, Joey gushes about Shane to his mother, who is having her own romantic feelings for him as well.

The next day, Joey admits to Shane that he took a peek at his gun. Shane gives the boy some pointers on shooting. Marian, who is impressed by Shane’s marksmanship, doesn’t want Shane encouraging Joey’s fascination with guns.

Shane demonstrates for Joey his marksmanship.

Ernie complains to one of his fellow homesteaders, Frank “Stonewall” Torrey (Elisha Cook, Jr.), that because Ryker killed his livestock, he’s leaving. Stonewall then goes into town and criticizes Ryker for running Ernie off. Jack Wilson is already there.

Frank "Stonewall" Torrey (Elisha Cook Jr.) plays a homesteader who decides to stand up to Ryker.

At the Fourth of July party, which coincides with Joe and Marian’s 10^th anniversary, Marian shares a dance with Shane. Stonewall arrives and tells everyone that Ryker has hired a gunslinger. From the description, Shane figures out it’s Wilson.

Later, back the house, Ryker’s brother Morgan (John Dierkes), accompanied by Wilson, confronts Joe. Claiming that his brother wants to seem reasonable, he offers to buy Joe out. Joe rejects the offer, pointing out that the government already recognizes the homesteader’s’ claims. Morgan points out that because Ryker fought the Indians and worked hard to make the land livable that he is entitled to a fence-free range, after which he and Wilson depart.

Back in town, Ryker tells Wilson to do whatever it takes to beat Joe. To start that process, Wilson provokes Stonewall, who has accompanied another homesteader into town. When Stonewall half-heartedly reaches for his gun, Wilson shoots him down in cold blood, killing him instantly while making it look like self-defense.

In town, Torrey confronts Wilson and is quickly in over his head.

Hired gun Jack Wilson (Walter Jack Palance) kills Torrey in "self-defense".

At Stonewall’s funeral, the Lewis family announces that they are leaving, but when a fire is spotted at the Lewis place, they decide to go back to their homestead and the others offer to help him rebuild.

The Lewis family announces they're leaving at Stonewall Torrey's funeral.

That night, Ryker sends for Joe, who is anxious to bring this to a conclusion, despite Marian’s pleas not to risk his life. Meanwhile, Calloway, who is leaving Ryker, informs Shane that Joe is being set up. Shane trades in his work clothes for his buckskins and puts on his gun. But Joe is determined to go and fights Shane for the privilege. The only way for Shane to stop Joe is to knock him over the head with the butt of his gun. When Joey sees this, he yells hateful things at Shane, but Marian is relieved Joe won’t die. She is obviously sad to see Shane leave. Knowing she’ll never see him again, she shakes his hand goodbye when she really wants to kiss him.

She may have romantic feelings for Shane, but it's a handshake instead of a kiss good-bye. 

When Shane rides off, Joey trails after him. He arrives at the saloon in time to watch Shane confront Ryker and Wilson. Shane manages to get Wilson to draw first and then kills him. He then shoots Ryker when he draws his gun. Morgan draws a bead on Shane with a rifle, but Joey sees it and shouts to warn Shane. Shots are fired and Morgan, too, is killed.

Shane outguns Wilson, killing him before killing Ryker.

Outside the saloon, Joey apologizes to Shane for his angry words and asks him to come back to the homestead. But Shane tells him that he can’t stop being the man he is and can’t go back. Joey notices that Shane is bleeding, but Shane insists he’s okay. Shane rides off into the night while Joey yells after him to come back, even proclaiming that his mother wants him to come back.

Shane says good-bye to Joey before riding off.

Shane would mark Stevens' first Western since Annie Oakley (1935) and would prove to be his last. It was shot on location in Jackson Hole, Wyoming against the backdrop of the Grand Teton Mountains. An entire Western street was built as well as a cemetery. Stevens also worked with artist Joe DeYoung (credited as DeYong) to create authentic costumes and decors. The two apparently traveled together and conducted research in order to achieve the most realistic look they could.

Shane was in production between June and October 1951 but was not released until 1953 due to Stevens' extensive editing. With a budget of over $3 million, Paramount wasn’t convinced the film would make back their investment. They considered selling the film, prior to release, to Howard Hughes for his RKO studio to release. While the deal fell through, Hughes’ enthusiasm for the film is said to have convinced Paramount to treat this film as more than just another Western. Despite Paramount’s initial misgivings, the film would also prove to be a financial success as well with a reputed box-office of $20 million.

While Shane was shot in the Academy ratio of 1.37:1, it was presented in Paramount’s new 1.66 widescreen format in an attempt to give moviegoers something they couldn’t then get on television.  Paramount’s decision to choose Shane was based on the fact that the film was made up mostly of long and medium shots it would not be compromised by the cropping of putting a newly cut aperture plate in front of the projector.

The film was well received by critics when it was released, some considering it one of the best Westerns ever made. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor for both Palance and de Wilde, winning for Best Cinematography (Color). Stevens would be awarded the Irving J. Thalberg Memorial Award for “high quality of production for the current award year and preceding years.”

So beloved, the film was one chosen by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev when he visited Camp David in 1959. The film was also one of five pictures chosen to tour China after that country lifted a boycott on American films.

While Alan Ladd was the star of the film, perhaps the actor who made the biggest impression was Jack Palance, credited as Walter Jack Palance. He is long, lean and dressed in black as the depiction of evil in the film. He seems to enjoy talking Stonewall into a gunfight, egging him on verbally while slipping on a glove on his shooting hand prior to gunning him down in cold blood. Palance got his first break in acting, as Marlon Brando’s understudy on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire, eventually replacing him on stage.

Palance’s first film role was in the film noir, Panic in the Streets (1950). He would thrice be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Sudden Fear (1952), Shane and City Slickers (1991), winning for his portrayal of Curly Washburn in the latter. He would also achieve some fame for hosting the TV Series Ripley’s Believe It Or Not (1982-86).

Brandon de Wilde would also be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Joey Starrett. Mostly known as a TV actor, Shane was only his second film. He was about nine when they were shooting the film. He had been acting since he was seven, winning a lot of attention for his role on Broadway in The Member of the Wedding and eventually playing the same role in the film version in 1952.

While de Wilde was acclaimed for his performance, I frankly find him to be a distraction when watching the movie. The frequent close-ups are so tight they seem to make him look cross-eyed. I know we’re supposed to see this story through his eyes, but I think Stevens hits us over the head with this a little too much.

Is it just me or does de Wilde almost look cross-eyed?

Like many child actors, de Wilde had trouble transitioning to adult lead roles, but unlike others, de Wilde wanted to get out anyway. Music had become his new interest and he tried to put together a record with the help of his friend Gram Parsons, then with the Byrds. According to those in the know, de Wilde and Parsons harmonized very well and even Parsons wrote a song with Emmylou Harris, “My Hour of Darkness” which refers to de Wilde’s death at 30 in a motorcycle accident.

Van Heflin, the other male lead, is remembered mostly as a character actor. A Broadway actor, he made his film debut for RKO in A Woman Rebels (1936), a film starring Katharine Hepburn. Heflin made Westerns almost from the start, appearing in The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937) and Santa Fe Trail (1940). He also appeared in crime dramas such as the film noir Johnny Eager (1941), for which Van Heflin would win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He would star in Kid Glove Killer (1942), the feature-length directorial debut of Fred Zimmerman.

Adept at a variety of roles across different genres, Heflin appeared in such films as: the comedy/mystery Grand Central Murder (1942), the film noir The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), the historical drama Green Dolphin Street (1947) and the Western, 3:10 to Yuma (1957). His last film was Airport (1970), in which he plays D. O. Guerrero, the man who brings the bomb aboard the airplane. (For everyone who has only flown in a post-9/11 world, this was possible at the time.) He would die of a heart attack in 1971.

I think I’ve seen Shane three times now. The first was in a college class and despite the professor’s claim that we would love the film, I don’t think I was the only one turned off by the prominent placement of de Wilde throughout the story. I remember the professor making the point that even though there were sexual sparks between Marian and Shane, she gives him a hearty handshake because of the production code.

In the intervening years, my opinion of de Wilde’s performance sadly hasn’t changed and I still find it annoying. However, I am now able to see past his character and appreciate the film as a whole more now. Still, I don’t hold it in the same high regard as say Woody Allen who is quoted as saying Shane, "...is a great movie and can hold its own with any film, whether it's a western or not."

I do see that it is a pretty good Western and tells a pretty interesting story about the struggles of homesteaders against the cattle ranchers that was a major part of settling Wyoming. If you’re a fan of Westerns, then you will no doubt like this film.

Stubs - The Hitch-Hiker

The Hitch-Hiker (1953) Starring: Frank Lovejoy, Edmond O’Brien, William Talman. Directed by Ida Lupino. Screenplay by Ida Lupino, Collier Young. Produced by Collier Young. Run Time: 71 minutes. U.S. Black and White Film Noir, Drama, Crime

The Hollywood career of Ida Lupino has many distinctions.The one we're interested here is that Lupino is only one woman who ever directed a classic film noir and the only film noir she directed was The Hitch-Hiker (1953). While she is not the first woman to direct films, she is the first actress to write, produce and direct her own movies in an effort to have a better control over her career.

Actress, writer, producer, director Ida Lupino.

Born in London, her first appearance was in the British film The Love Race (1931). She made British films for Warner Bros. before moving to Hollywood in 1933, for the lead in that year’s Alice in Wonderland. She began to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress after her role in Columbia’s The Light That Failed (1939). With improved roles, she described herself as “the poor man’s Bette Davis” after picking up roles Davis turned down.

One of her big breaks came in They Drive By Night (1940), which led to a contract at Warner Bros. She would appear opposite her They Drive By Night co-star Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra (1940) and opposite the great Edward G. Robinson in The Sea Wolf (1941). But her tenure at Warners was mostly spent on suspension, as she refused roles that she deemed beneath her dignity as an actress, including Kings Row (1942) opposite future President Ronald Reagan.

Her directorial debut was mostly by accident. Lupino and her second husband, Collier Young, set up their own company, The Filmakers, to produce movies for her. When director Elmer Clifton suffered a mild heart attack and could not finish Not Wanted, a film she was co-producing with Young, Lupino took over and even though she didn’t take screen credit, it marked her first time in the director’s chair. She would direct several more films before The Hitch-Hiker four years later.

For this film, she and Young chose a real story to adapt, that of Billy Cook, a murderer who travelled the interstates and highways of the southwest, hitch-hiking and killing those who were nice enough to give him a ride. In 1950, Cook killed a family of five and a travelling salesman before kidnapping a Deputy Sheriff Home Waldrip from Blythe, California. Before Cook was put to death for his crimes, Lupino spoke with him and got his permission to use his story. She also spoke with two of Cook’s victims, prospectors he had held hostage and got releases from them as well.

Filming began on June 24, 1952 and finished late in July. Shot on location near Big Pine and Lone Pine California, terrain that substituted for Mexico’s Baja peninsula, the film was released through RKO Pictures, in March 1953.

The film opens with the warning: “This is the true story of a man and a gun and a car. The gun belonged to the man. The car might have been yours--or that young couple across the aisle. What you will see in the next seventy minutes could have happened to you. For the facts are actual."

As if to accentuate the danger, the film opens with the robbery and murder of a pair of Oregon newlyweds by a hitchhiker. Even after the police release a photograph of their prime suspect, Emmett Myers (William Talman), a travelling salesman is shown giving him a ride and paying the price with his life. Myers steals the man’s car as well as his wallet and drives until the car gives out.

Newspaper headlines warn about the dangerous hitch-hiker.

Enter two Arizona men, Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy), a draughtsman, and his best friend, Roy Collins (Edmond O’Brien), the owner of a garage. Away from their wives and family, the two are on a guys’ only fishing vacation, heading to their favorite spot in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. They pass through Mexicali, a touristy town. Roy tries to wake Gilbert, but can’t so he continues on driving. Not stopping might have put them on a collision course with Myers, who is standing by the side of the road.

Without thinking, Roy pulls over and offers a stranded motorist a ride. Once in the backseat, Myers wastes little time in taking control of the situation, pulling a gun on the two men in front. He admits to being who he is and forces them to pull over to the side of the road. He makes them open the trunk to see what's in there and confiscates Gilbert's rifle and ammunition, before ordering them back onto the highway.

Soon after they give him a ride, Myers (William Talman) pulls a gun
 on Gilbert (Frank Lovejoy) and Roy (Edmond O'Brien) and hijacks their car.

Myers demands to know when their wives are expecting them home and to keep him quiet Roy responds that they are not due back anytime soon.

When they have to stop for gas, Gilbert converses with the attendant in Spanish, which Myers does not understand. Nervous that Gilbert might talk too much, Myers flashes his gun. They obtain a map and at the next stop, they study the map. Myers decides to catch the ferry in Santa Rosalia, a coastal town on the eastern shore of the peninsula, 500 miles away.

He then shows off his skills with a rifle and then forces Gilbert into shooting a tin can that Roy is holding. Gilbert manages to fire and hit the can, but both friends are left shaken by the experience.

Roy is forced to be a human target holder.

On the radio, there is a report about Myers which indicates the police do not know of his whereabouts. That night, the three men camp and Myers warns the men not to attempt an escape. He tells them that one of his eyelids doesn’t close, even when he’s asleep and as such they could never be sure if he was asleep or not. (The real Cook had told Lupino he had the same affliction.) The men don’t try to get away.

The next morning, the men drive into a small down to buy provisions. Once again, Myers is nervous about Gilbert speaking Spanish to the proprietor, something the store keep picks up on.

Later, while they eat lunch, Myers brags to his captives about his toughness and refers to them as being “soft”. The radio broadcasts a news report about Gilbert and Roy’s disappearance. When they’re alone, Gilbert and Roy talk about making an escape attempt. They discuss wanting to keep Myers from listening to the radio. Roy manages to break the horn and when they pull over, Myers watches, to be sure Roy kills the horn and not the radio. While Roy is working under the hood, a man walking a burro walks by, which bothers Myers.

A man walking a burro happens by while Roy is working on the car.

Even under Myers’ scrutiny, Roy does manage to disconnect the radio, a feat that gets him a blow to the head, even while he’s driving, from Myers when he realizes what he’d done. Gilbert tries to convince Myers that the surrounding hills are interfering with the radio broadcasts, and that seems to calm Myers down.

Meanwhile, in a Baja police station, a Mexican official is working with an American agent discuss information they’ve received about the hostages from the store proprietor. They agree that Santa Rosalia is Myer’s most likely destination.

Working together, U.S. and Mexican officials figure out where Myers is headed.

Back on the highway, the trio’s car gets a flat. When a couple passes by, the man driving offers to help, but Myers is adamant that Gilbert and Roy to keep quiet, which makes the man suspicious. Soon afterwards, the man tells Captain Alvarado (José Torvay), who is tracking Myers, and tells him about the suspicious men. He directs Alvarado to the spot where he’d seen the men.

Witnesses tell Captain Alvarado (Jose Torvay) what they've seen on the road.

That night, Myers forces Gilbert and Roy to steal gasoline for the car from a closed gas station. While he’s hand pumping the gas, Gilbert slips off his wedding finger and leaves it next to the pump. The next day, while Alvarado is investigating the robbery, he finds the ring.

Figuring that Myers has the men as hostages, the authorities decide to disseminate false information about Myer’s whereabouts over the radio.

The next night, when the three men set up camp, Gilbert and Roy finally make an attempt to escape, but Myers is too quick for them and catches them before they’ve gotten far.

The next day, Myers takes the men to an abandoned mine shaft and is considering pushing the men in when he hears one of the false reports on the radio about where the police think Myers is. Convinced he doesn’t have to kill them, Myers spares their lives. But they aren’t going anywhere, since the car’s crank shaft has been broken.

Undeterred, Myers forces Gilbert and Roy to walk the rest of the way to Santa Rosalia. He also forces Roy to change clothes with him, so that Roy better fits the description the radio is broadcasting about Myers.

When their car breaks down, Myers forces them to walk the rest of the way to Santa Rosalia.

When Santa Rosalia is finally in sight, Myers insists that they stop on the outskirts rather than in the town, where he is sure the police are already waiting for him. Perhaps, as a good-bye gesture, Myers offers to buy his hostages a beer. But his mood sours when he finds out that the ferry has burned down some time back.

Myers buys his captives a beer before learning the ferry boat has burned down.

They find an English-speaking man who can help them arrange for a boat that evening. But soon after they depart, the man recognizes Myers' face from a wanted poster and notifies the police.

When they arrive on the docks that night, Myers makes Roy walk out ahead of him, hoping the police will take him for the man they’re after. And the police are there, including Alvarado. There is brief gunfire and Roy finally fights back, challenging Myers for the gun. In the struggle, the weapon falls into the water. Stripped of his gun, Myers is forced to give up.

Once Myers is handcuffed, Roy lands a few punches on his former-captor before the police pull them apart. As they lead Myers away, Alvarado tells the two Americans that he will need a full report in the morning.

Given the fact that the film was directed by a woman, there are no significant female parts in the film. The only one is a woman seated in the car that passes while Roy is changing the tire on the car and she never says a word. This is only one interesting twist on the standard film noir. Not only is there no femme fatale in sight, rather than the confines of the city, The Hitch-Hiker takes place mostly outdoors against the bleak backdrop of the desert under the big sky, proving there is more to the dark mood than just environment.

Another interesting twist is that whenever someone speaks Spanish in the film, there is no attempt to translate what they’re saying leaving the audience in the same situation as Roy and Myers unless they understand the language. While the meaning can be interpreted through placement, being kept a little in the dark by the film brings a certain realism to the story.

That sense of realism may be responsible for the change in the perception of hitch-hikers after its release. Gone were the days of the innocent nomads of the highways, replaced by potential killers with every ride. The film’s advertising which contained such lines as: "Have you ever picked up a hitch-hiker--We guarantee you won't ever after seeing this picture”, didn’t help. Hitch-hikers complained to RKO, trying to stop the film, but to no avail.

As a director, Lupino is dependent on telling her story using mostly only three actors: Frank Lovejoy, Edmond O’Brien and William Talman. Since he plays the antagonist, we’ll start with Talman. Like most villains he’s presented as pretty much a one-dimensional character. Angry with the world for whatever reason, Myers is a mean man with no redeeming qualities. Talman, who is best remembered for his role as Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger on the long-running Perry Mason TV series (1957-66). It was actually his role as Myers in this film that would lead to that role when Gail Patrick Jackson, executive producer of the CBS-TV series, wanted him for the Burger role.

Edmond O’Brien, who tends to act somewhere between wooden and ham, is mostly subdued in his reading of Roy Collins. Mostly submissive throughout, Roy is the weaker of the two men. He is part of the reason why Roy and Gilbert fail in their attempted escape. He seems to take most of Myers abuse and really only fights back at the end. O’Brien, who was no stranger to film noir, having starred in The Killers (1946), Backfire (1950), D.O.A. (1950) and Shield for Murder (1954), would actually win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Barefoot Contessa (1954) opposite Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner.

Frank Lovejoy was a versatile actor, appearing on radio, film and on television during a short career that only lasted fourteen years. Of the three main actors, I found Lovejoy to be the most dynamic, at least in this film. His character is not only our best link into the story, but within the film, he is the link between Roy and Myers and the non-English speaking populace they interact with.

Even though this is Lupino’s lone entry in the film noir genre, it is clear that she knows what she’s doing on both sides of the camera. Not only was she a memorable actress, but she knew how to bring out the most from a rather straightforward story. Unlike most other film noirs, this film’s plot is uncluttered by twists and turns so she has to wring the most tension she can out of each situation.

Not a perfect film nor a typical noir, The Hitch-Hiker is still worth watching. It is a shame that this was Lupino’s lone attempt at the genre.

Be sure to check out our Film Noir Review Hub for reviews of other films in this genre.