A Bullet Is Waiting

A very interesting, intimate film that takes place entirely on a farm in a remote wilderness, which surely kept production budget considerations modest. The opening of the film was a bit weird, starting with a seascape shoreline and then various evidence traces of a plane crash, and a conflict, that eventually leads to (FINALLY!) two men fighting it out in the rugged terrain, one of which escapes the other.

All of it is smothered by an overbearing and highly detailed Dmitri Tiomkin score that fills the soundtrack like thick-pile, wall-to-wall carpeting. I found myself feeling very sorry for the music copyists who had to copy out all those notes from the VERY busy and restless hand of expatriate Russian Mr. Tiomkin.

The two conflicting men meet a young woman alone in a remote farm, and romance, however improbable, eventually ensues. As well as a delicate balancing act of three-way conflict.

As it happens, Los Angeles where I live is currently being inundated by heavy rains, so the picture with all it's stormy weather was a perfect match for an evening at home. The film is a solid blend of outdoor landscape and indoor drama.

The ending seems very contrived and doesn't quite make sense, but at least it appears to be a happy one. But it is likely the worst aspect of this film. Nevertheless, "A Bullet is Waiting" definitely held my interest and the acting was quite good. Good title!

A lawman and a fugitive, fight it out in the countryside with the lawman being overcome by an injured ankle, allowing the fugitive to get the upper hand. The lawman is Stephen McNally, an actor whose face was usually reserved for playing villains and the fugitive, Rory Calhoun who has been one of my favourites since I was a boy. A 6ft 3inch giant of a man, Calhoun was ideally suited for playing heroes as he was extremely good looking also and here he's supposed to be the bad guy. But is he?

The two come across a young woman living alone in a cabin, Jean Simmons, looking more beautiful than I ever remember before. She takes them in under an element of duress but slowly starts to become attracted to Calhoun and vice versa, in fact they have great chemistry and the sexual tension is palpable.

McNally is constantly trying to regain the upper hand and it eventually comes to a head but not before we are treated to a surprisingly well crafted scene of dialogue about philosophy that seems out of place in a pseudo western like this but I thought it raised the level above the usual melodrama.

Directed by John Farrow with a nice score by Dimitri Tiomkin, the film is beautifully shot in technicolour and the acting, joined at the end by Brian Aherne as Jean's father, is rather good. It shows Calhoun in a different light to his westerns and actually allows a showcase to display a wider acting range than usual for him.

An interesting lost movie I found only on YouTube with a gorgeous print copy so I'm rating it an 8 out of 10. Jean Simmons at her most stunning is worth seeing alone.

A rich Utah landowner (Stephen McNalley) deputizes himself in order to bring back to justice the person (Rory Calhoun) who killed his brother. Was it murder or self defense? The viewer thinks all along that McNalley is a real lawman until we find out who he really is, which changes the dynamics a bit. The plane they're traveling in crashes somewhere on the central California coast and Calhoun manages to get away, though there really is no place to escape to in the isolated setting, especially since it's beginning to rain and all the passes get washed out. Along shows up the daughter (Jean Simmons) of a sheep rancher (Brian Ahearn)and her dog (Lassie?). McNalley and Calhoun both try to convince her of who is right, though she falls for Calhoun, leaving a hobbling McNalley alone in his efforts to return to Utah with Calhoun. The background story of Utah and the rich family against the rebel was at least somewhat more interesting than the story in this movie where Simmons eventually falls for Calhoun, mostly because he puts the make on her, and she, in spite of her intellectual abilities, can't resist the sexual attraction. The return of her father from a week long trip into the nearest town sets up a decent enough ending. The film needed more freedom of sexual expression, or moreso, another script in order to bring off the pent up feelings felt by Simmons, as she's been kept away from all outside contact because she lives with her philosopher father on this out of the way ranch. It (this movie) mostly verges on being fairly bad, but has some inexplicable qualities that compel one to keep on watching and hoping.

An Accused Murderer Escaping Flawed Justice, a Tin-Badge with a One-Track-Mind (bringing in the killer of his brother), a Lovely, Sophisticated Virgin in Isolation with Her Father in a Cabin Far-Away from Crime, Corruption, and Humanities Sins.

The Cabin and the Surrounds are the Only Setting where Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun, and Steve McNally are Forced by a Downed Aircraft to Lodge, Wait-Out a Passage-Wrecking Storm, and the Sparks, Well-Known to the Well-Read, begin Subtle but Escalate in a Pre-Determined Cadence Until the Soul-Searching, Romance, and Revenge Stop and All is Sorted Out by the Steady, Philosophizing Hand of the Father/Professor Returning from a Short-Trip.

All is Tied Oh-So-Neatly in a Bow for the Easily Entertained Emerging Ultra-Conservative Citizens of the War-Winner America Passively Led to Pasteur, like Simmon's Herd of Sheep.

Doubting there were Many Interesting Conversations in the Lobby about the Film's Combination of the Preconditioning Dialog Amidst a Raging Romance Kindled by Calhoun's Rough-Neck Merging with Simmons Button-Downed Persona. An Oil and Water Mix of Intellectual Grounding and Sheep-Herder Practicality.

It's All Rather Rote and Handled Unremarkable by Director John Farrow. Solid No-Nonsense Characters Delivered by A-List Actors. The High-Lights are Jean Simmons Stunning Beauty Packed in Blue-Jeans, the also Stunning Technicolor Cinematography, The Low-Light is DimitrI Tiomkin's Intrusive, Relentless Score that Never Stops for a Breather.

John Farrow's Directorial Career, with a Wide-Range of Competency and a Few Real-Gems was Winding Down and this isn't One-of-His-Best, but is Held-Together with Solid Framing, an Occasional Interest, and Not-Much in the Way of Something New, it's All a Rather Old-Hat Easy-as-You-Go Post-War Sedative.

Worth a Watch.

John Farrow directed this unusual western about a bounty hunter (STEPHEN McNALLY) and his prisoner (RORY CALHOUN) seeking shelter in a remote cabin owned by JEAN SIMMONS, biding their time until the bad weather passes so that McNally can bring Calhoun to justice for a crime he's committed involving McNally's brother.

Somehow the casting seems adrift. McNally is usually much more at home as a villain and should have played Calhoun's part. And yet, Calhoun and Simmons don't seem like a good match, she being completely out of place in this sort of western and he not convincing enough as the bad man McNally is after.

The storm sequences are well done, the settings are good, and everyone tries hard to keep the melodramatics on a believable level--and most of it works quite well.

BRIAN AHERNE, as Simmons' absent father, only makes an appearance toward the end of the story when his role becomes important in the scheme of things. He too seems oddly out of place in a western.

Despite the flaws, makes an interesting watch.