Backlash

Donna Reed comes upon Richard Widmark at a place called Gila Valley where five men were massacred by Indians and one man escaped with $60,000.00. Three of the five men were identified, but none of the deceased is either Widmark's father or Reed's husband. Of course both are hunting for their respective relations.

The search yields some truths that neither one is willing to face up to. But both seek and find support and comfort in the other.

Backlash as a previous reviewer remarked is almost like a detective story set in the west. John Sturges gets some find performances out of his cast.

The two who stand out and steal the film from the stars are William Campbell as a punk gunfighter and John McIntire as the amoral outlaw leader in whose hands Widmark and Reed fall into at the end of their odyssey.

No studio backlots for this western, good location photography and a very nice plot distinguish this film. Catch it the next time AMC runs it.

then this movie is great one to watch. I really don't understand all the love for this movie, but accept that it is what it is.

For me, the script and screen writing is pure high school level. There is simply no rhythm to this film. The acting, given the quality of script, is not bad, though wasted. The relationship between Reed and Widmark develops implausibly. In fact, every relationship in this less than epic oater develops with with an expedition better suited to humor an audience than to lasso them into believability.

A sample: The scene where Widmark takes the dead deputy into Silver City is ridiculous. The "sheriff" (Ed Platt) doesn't even ask the circumstances surrounding the death of his deputy and makes force-less demands of Widmark to remove his gun. Next thing you know, Widmark and Reed are ordered out of town. For what?? Defending themselves?? What does not make sense here is that Platt is demanding accountability from Widmark and Reed, but none from aggrieved brothers of the dead deputy. Silly.

The whole film is loaded with these sorts of inconsistencies.

Reed is gorgeous and thus competes agreeably with the natural beauty of the western landscape where this film was shot.

A lot of stars perform in this effort, but not a lot of stars in my rating.

"Backlash" is a conventional 1950s western, but it is sound and nice and has several merits. The director John Sturges (almost) never disappoints you. The entertaining story is a typical one by the great western-writer Borden Chase: plenty of twists of the plot, of surprises, of double-crossing, of complicated kinship relations between the many characters. The finale is rather original. The action scenes are very good: Sturges is a master of that. The cinematography is stunning: it renders with the full force of a glorious technicolor the wonderful beauty of the Arizona landscapes.

The job by the cast is first-rate. Richard Widmark is a great actor in every role: either as the good guy (here), or as the villain (in many other movies). John McIntire is excellent in his trade-mark role of the sneaky outlaw. But I was even more impressed by the depth of Donna Reed's talent. I remembered her as the paradigmatic loving spouse and mother in "It's a wonderful life". Here she's fully convincing in the role of the tough, cynical woman with a turbulent past. Donna seems even more beautiful and appealing in "Backlash" than in the Capra's movie (in fact she's really gorgeous). Is she so good to be able to improve her looks, depending on her role?

Predictably enough, "Backlash" oozes amiable cliches and naive flaws, which, however, almost increase the pleasure of us old western-movies-fans. First: what's the point of the title? No wips are seen along the movie. Widmark wrestles with an Apache sentry for some thirty seconds, without the Apache screaming to give the alarm to his companions. Where does Donna Reed keep the many beautiful dresses she wears? She travels on horse-back... And we have the usual geographical oddities of old classic westerns: the guys just cross a mountain and they pass from Arizona to Texas!

I like "Backlash" and I recommend it: see the movie, relax and have a good time.

Where does Donna Reed keep the many beautiful dresses she wears? She travels on horse-back...

I would like to submit the fact that Donna Reed never wore a dress in the movie Backlash. As a matter of fact in the early part of the movie she was in slightly tight trousers and for the remainder of the movie she was in culottes.

She did use her blouse to dress Richard Widmark's wound earlier and one must wonder where she got a blouse to wear for the rest of the movie. But, who's counting.

But that doesn't matter with regard to the above comment as Donna Reed was an extremely beautiful woman who always acted to the extent that was required of her. She did so very well in this movie even though she only contributed a blouse from her saddle bag to dress Richard Widmarks wound.

Was the scene where she dressed Widmark's wound believable? No, of course not. Was it sexy, yes very much so. Was its sexiness out of order for the fifties? Of course not.

You put the beautiful Donna Reed in a movie and leave out her sexiness and you have committed the most grievous of sins.

It was a good movie.

Doufus

Richard Widmark, (Jim Slater) played the role of a young man who was a gunslinger and had reason to believe his father was killed up North while he hit it rich in a gold discovery. Jim learns little by little just what happened to his father. Donna Reed, (Karyl Orton) is also searching in this same town of Silver Creek for the killer of her husband. However, when Karyl and Jim meet up with each other they fight like cats and dogs and Karyl many times attempts to kill Jim. John McIntire, (Jim Bonniwell) and Barton McLane, (Sgt. George Lake) give great supporting roles along with great photography and a very good story with many twists and turns. Enjoy