Backlash

54 miles from any civilization or help and Donna Reed dismounts never bothers to tie up her horse. Not too smart. She must also have been the best dressed gal in the west, always in new, clean clothes. The various "cowboys" clothing is right out of 1950, not 1850. Good scenery and atmosphere, but pretty corny.

Given the pedigree of its makers--director John Sturges, producer Aaron Rosenberg, screenwriter Borden Chase and novelist Frank Gruber--one would have expected BACKLASH to be a bit grander in scale and offer more memorable action scenes. Instead, it's a more intimate tale, executed like a crime drama with the emphasis on investigation and unfolding of secrets. Richard Widmark plays Jim Slater, a Texan looking to uncover information about his father's death, particularly the identity of the man who left his father and four other men to die at the hands of an Apache war party in a remote place called Gila Valley. The missing sixth man left with $60,000 in gold, ostensibly from a mine, which means that relatives of the other dead men, including a pretty widow and the notorious Welker brothers, are gunning for the same man, but with an eye towards retrieving the gold. Eventually, Slater finds his man, only to learn a shocking secret he wasn't prepared for, propelling the drama to a whole new stage and a violent confrontation with oedipal overtones.

Much of the film is spent simply tracking down people who may or may not have known the dead men or the elusive sixth man. The final section, where all the questions are answered and all the unresolved familial issues addressed, is the most exciting part of the film and well worth the buildup. Ultimately, however, it's still essentially a contrived Hollywood melodrama punched up with expert scenes of violence. As such, it pales next to other works by the same creators, most notably the trio of Anthony Mann-directed westerns produced by Rosenberg and written by Chase, WINCHESTER '73, BEND OF THE RIVER and THE FAR COUNTRY, which placed their heroes in far more complex moral dilemmas.

Nonetheless, BACKLASH is blessed with a great cast of tough guys acting hard and drawing guns at the drop of a chair. William Campbell practically steals the show as hotshot young fast-draw Johnny Cool, looking sharp in a black hat, waist-length black leather jacket and red neckscarf. Harry Morgan and Robert J. Wilke, old hands at this kind of thing, play the ill-fated Welker brothers who have a propensity for forcing the widow, played by Donna Reed, to sit down and have whiskey with them. Onetime gangster heavy Barton MacLane appears in a sympathetic role as a grizzled army sergeant whom Widmark seeks information from and winds up assisting in a fight with Apaches. Roy Roberts turns up as a powerful rancher seeking to wage a defensive range war against the mysterious Frank Bonniwell who turned up out of the blue with $60,000 to buy up land and equipment only to start rustling other ranchers' cattle. John McIntire plays Bonniwell, adding to the actor's rogues' gallery of memorable bad guys (see also WINCHESTER '73 and THE FAR COUNTRY). Donna Reed is quite good as the opportunistic widow who can't quite determine if she's more loyal to Slater or the gold.

Trivia Note: William Campbell's character name, Johnny Cool, was the name of a 1963 crime thriller starring Henry Silva as the title character. Silva had earlier appeared in another tough 1950s western, THE TALL T (1957), in which Skip Homeier played an outlaw character named Billy Jack, which was later the name of a 1971 counterculture hit starring Tom Laughlin.

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

Backlash (1956) is directed by John Sturges and adapted by Borden Chase from the novel written by Frank Gruber. It stars Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, John McIntire & William Campbell. It's shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg on location in Tuscon, Arizona.

1870 Arizona, and Jim Slater (Widmark) is searching for the truth about what happened to his father during the Apache ambush at Gila Valley. This brings him into contact with strong willed Karyl Orton (Reed), who courtesy of her missing husband also has an interest in the events of that raid. Missing family members and missing gold, the can is now open and worms are pouring out every where.

It's about the writing and the characters here. From the off it should be known that this is no high octane actioner. We are dealing in a mystery, with what amounts to a detective story played out in a Western theme. It's a touch unusual but never less than interesting as Chases' unconventional script gives birth to a myriad of characters, some complex, others just stock genre story fleshers. There's some clichés spliced within the piece, but they are off set by some nice twists in the story. And while this is no Anthony Mann/Borden Chase psychologically tinted production, it doesn't cop out with its big decisions. Glassberg's cinematography is first class, really vibrant and bursting out from the screen as they nicely film it on location of where the story is set. The cast is real strong. Widmark is excellent as the tough as nails hero and Reed looks stunning whilst neatly essaying a prickly femme fatale type. McIntire gives another classy supporting turn and Campbell is enjoyably OTT as hothead gunslinger Johnny Cool.

The principals have all done far better work in the genre, but this is a nice change of pace for all of them. It's unlikely to raise the pulses of the action seeking fan, but for those of a more literary persuasion this should hit the spot. 7/10

"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.