Covil do Diabo

That's how you supposedly pronounce Cheyenne. Wanted man Dennis Morgan (Jim) is given a second chance by lawman Barton MacLane (Yancey) if Morgan heads to Shy-Anne and leads him to "The Poet" who is robbing stagecoaches. This poet is even upsetting the local bad gang headed up by Arthur Kennedy (Sundance). Every time Sundance pulls a robbery, "The Poet" has beaten him to it and left him a poem in the treasure trunk. Every time. Ha ha. That's pretty cheeky. Anyway, Kennedy wants to team up with this guy and carry out some big hold-ups. Morgan has to find and capture the poet and gets involved with a couple of ladies on the way – Jane Wyman (Ann) and Janis Paige (Emily). You know these two ladies are going to figure in the story just a little more than on that initial stagecoach ride into Shy-Anne….

This film is entertaining and contains a great saloon song – "Going Back to Old Cheyenne" – as sung by Janis Paige. The film leads you through its journey with action, drama, comedy and various set pieces and the overall result is a good western.

Critics like Phil Hardy have tended to dismiss Cheyenne as the least of Walsh's Westerns. My own viewing suggests a reassessment is in order. I saw this movie with another Walsh title, the more highly esteemed Along The Great Divide, just afterwards and was struck by how much more interesting, playful and modern the former appeared. By contrast Divide seemed predictable and more schematic.

The barely concealed sexual nature of much of the banter between hero Dennis Morgan (Wylie) and the two women he encounters - particularly Jane Wyman (Ann) who, for a period, poses as his wife - as well as the episodic nature of the plot is what gives the film its particular flavour today.

Another attraction is that like other Walsh Westerns (Pursued, Colorado Territory etc) noir elements are also prominent in Cheyenne. The overriding tone is cynical and Morgan's own predicament, as a man who has to solve a crime to clear himself of his own past, brings with it a background air of persecution closely related to that other, typically urban, genre. Ann has the air of a femme fatale, while the Sundance Kid (another marvellously laid back performance by Arthur Kennedy) insinuates suitable menace. In fact, I found his demise somewhat surprising as I would normally expect such a strong character to last to the showdown at the end of the film.

One of the most impressive scenes in the film is when Wylie and Ann face the returning robbers in the ramshackle hut they have shared with them the night before. The gunfight that follows is done imaginatively, while Walsh's talent as director are fully on display as he creates suspense through cutting and framing. At this time Wylie and Ann are still carrying on the husband and wife pretence which adds a further level of tension to the proceedings.

If there is a problem with the film it is in the occasional jarring nature of tone. Scenes follow each other that are menacing, flirtatious and comic. This creates a feeling of unease for the viewer that was perhaps deliberate, but the sudden gear change can also just be disconcerting. The musical score is outstanding as is the cinematography and both add immeasurably to the quality of the production.

Dennis Morgan made more impact on me in this film than he ever has before - perhaps because I have never looked out for him in particular. Here he is surprisingly muscular, a worthy foil for the machinations of the chief villain The Poet. The Poet's precise relationship to his wife is one of the most intriguing aspects of the early part of the film. Morgan's own teasing relationship with the two women he meets on the stage (both at the start and again at the conclusion of the film - a nice circular touch) is also interesting and provoking. Far more than the stereotypical Good girl/Bad Girl duality that appears in B-Western plots, the two women represent something more sophisticated and interesting, something that keeps the viewer interested.

This may be a forgotten film today, but if you like Westerns it is one definitely worth making an effort to see. It is not on the level of Walsh's very finest work but is still a good film, one in which the varied plot line and adult 'knowingness'of the leads give great enjoyment.

It was all said above. This is a rewarding movie to watch with good depth. I'd just like to add that the removal of Arthur Kennedy half way through the film, just as Alan Hale finally makes an entrance, is interesting. It's almost as though Raoul was having a hard time with Mr. Kennedy and had a part written to replace him with the `Skipper's' dad.

The ending is a wee bit of a surprise only because just as it looks like thing may not turn out the way we expect them too, they do. Yes Mr. Walsh did make many memorable westerns (I've seen the majority of them) but it's almost as though he was trying to move into another direction with this picture. Weather audiences appreciated it or not are still to be seen.

Scotty Jensen Racine, WI. USA

Dennis Morgan stars as Jim Wylie, gentleman gambler and fast gun in Cheyenne which by the look of it was a project originally intended by Warner Brothers for Errol Flynn. It has a lot more plot than most westerns of the day did. With Raoul Walsh directing and a score by Max Steiner it bares no small resemblance to the classic Flynn movie San Antonio which these gentlemen worked on as well.

Morgan got himself into a bit of a shooting scrape in Carson City and the law wants him there. But Wells Fargo detective Barton MacLane offers him a proposition, if he'll go undercover and smoke out a bandit known as 'the poet'. They'll square things with the law for Morgan if he helps out. Since that's the best offer he's had all day, he takes it.

His detective work takes him to Cheyenne where the poet is not only robbing Wells Fargo, but he's also taking trade away from other honest robbers like Arthur Kennedy as The Sundance Kid and his gang. Making the journey with him to Cheyenne are a pair of women who will figure prominently in Morgan's life for a period, Jane Wyman and Janis Paige.

Our poet is so named because he leaves a bit of verse at the scene of each robbery. Giving Wells Fargo the finger so to speak in rhyme.

Although the poet's identity is actually revealed early on, the film takes on a Columbo like twist as Morgan and the poet try to outsmart each other. That's the real heart of Cheyenne and why it's as good a film as it is.

Alan Hale, also a regular in Flynn films, is on hand as an oafish deputy sheriff, more the kind of part Andy Devine used to play. Hale does well in it though and his presence in the film convinces me even more that the film was originally intended for Errol Flynn.

Cheyenne is a well plotted adult type western, still with enough action for the Saturday afternoon matinée trade. It holds up very well after 62 years. Even if Errol Flynn didn't get to star in it.

It's the Wyoming Territory 1867. Lone bandit 'The Poet' is hounding Wells Fargo stagecoaches. The law catches up to gambler James Wylie (Dennis Morgan). He's given one choice. He has to catch The Poet. He and Ann Kincaid (Jane Wyman) have a meet-cute over a bath. They and Emily Carson (Janis Paige) board the stagecoach.

The meet-cute is fun. The misunderstanding afterwards is even better. It's a pretty threesome and pretty fun. It's too bad that the potential love triangle gets sidelined. The story could play with that a bit more. There are probably way too many bandits. The only bandit that matters is The Poet. It's interesting to have The Sundance Kid watching this from the future. This is a fun western.