Great Day in the Morning

Those in Denver, Colorado are conflicted as the United States Civil War brews, and erupts. The production values are above average for this kind of western, and it's strengthened by director Jacques Tourneur working with color choreography from William Snyder. Solemn performances from future television stars Robert Stack (as Owen Pentecost) and Raymond Burr (as Jumbo Means) give it an anachronistic air, somehow. There is an endearing kid performance, by Donald MacDonald (as Gary). But, the main attractions are two points of the "love triangle" Mr. Stack forms with pretty blonde Virginia Mayo (as Ann Merry Alaine) and attractive saloon owner Ruth Roman (as Boston Grant). Ms. Mayo certainly can fill a dress; she's both arousing and distracting.

****** Great Day in the Morning (5/16/56) Jacques Tourneur ~ Robert Stack, Virginia Mayo, Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr

An above average western, in its direction and writing rising above a fairly typical situational action picture. Stack is great as the profiteering Southerner unwillingly caught up in the foment of the Civil War, while he attempts to raise the son of the man he killed. Mayo is unremarkable as the "good" woman, but Roman puts in a memorable and sincere performance as one of the town's many "bad" girls. Tourneur's direction is what really makes this one memorable, though, from the crisp grandeur of the opening shootout at high altitudes to the concluding race with wagons through the hills of Colorado.

For Western fans, a great treat roughly in the tradition of Budd Boetticher's "Ranown" films with Randolph Scott.

Great Day in the Morning is directed by Jacques Tourneur and written by Lesser Samuels. It stars Robert Stack, Virginia Mayo, Raymond Burr, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Leo Gordon and Regis Toomey. Music is by Leith Stevens and cinematography by William E. Snyder.

A Technicolor/Superscope production, story is set in Colorado Territory 1861, a mining town just as The Civil War is to break out. North and South divisions, lustful passions and the hunger for power and gold, all reside here...

This would turn out to be the great Jacques Tourneur's last Western offering, thankfully for his fans it turned out pretty great. This is no all action piece, the action here is mainly focused on the human condition and all the shaky traits that come with such. This town is a powder-keg waiting to ignite, with Stack's (excellent) fence sitter (he's from the South but his affiliations are money based) Owen Pentecost firmly in the middle of things. Moral compasses are set at faulty, whilst loyalties and fancies of the heart bring much conflict of interest.

Tourneur and his charges serve up fine production value, starting with the location filming out of Silverton. The landscape that surrounds the town is gorgeous, itself a beautiful observer of the ugliness (Roman and Mayo's sexiness exempt of course) that unfolds. Ugliness that rears its most potent head via bouts of shocking violence, the majority of which takes one by surprise (one of the film's many strengths). The clever screenplay throws in memorable sequences, such as a heated debate backed by Roman tinkling the piano with tunes befitting the discourse, while odd visuals - like the main saloon being based on a circus tent (its actual name and it ties in with Burr's character) - strike good notes.

With a grumpy Stack on fine form it's dandy to find the support brings weighty worth as well. Roman and Mayo are given good female roles to play (no tokens here thanks), raising the emotional stakes as much as the temperature. To good effect Burr stomps around like a sulky bully, Nicol has a good presence, and then there's Gordon. Gordon makes his mark straight away, first section of pic you know he's the sort who wants a war before the war has started, and he nails it as a gruff hot-headed bastardo - putting one in mind of Robert Shaw later down the line. Touneur's eye for detail is backed by that of Snyder to round it off as a picture well worth tracking down. 7.5/10

Southerner Robert Stack wins a Denver saloon and bar girl (Ruth Roman) from crooked card dealer Raymond Burr on eve of Civil War. Trouble is that southerners are outnumbered in Union-leaning Colorado and need Stack's help to get big gold shipment to Dixie and the war effort. But Stack's only out for himself and is now in fat city with a saloon and a girl. So what's he going to do.

Good core plot, great Colorado scenery, ace director (Jacques Tourneur), and an A-picture budget, yet the results are mixed. For one thing, it looks like Stack's getting the big star build-up since he has to romance not only bar girl Roman but good girl Virginia Mayo too. That's about one girl too many for even the best Western. Here Mayo's part is really unnecessary and drags down the pacing. Besides, do we really care which movie star he ends up with. Still and all, it's fun to watch the girls' bra's duke it out in best 1950's uplift fashion. Also, subplot of orphaned boy (Donald McDonald) adds to what becomes a sprawling story that strays too far from the solid core.

Nonetheless, the cold-eyed Stack makes for a convincing gunman, while no movie with character great Leo Gordon could be a loss. Here he's in a typical role as a Union rowdy ready to fight at the proverbial drop of a hat. He's always reminded me of an early Lee Marvin, with the same virile presence and clarity of personality, but without Marvin's range. Also notable for fine support from the hulking Peter Whitney, a familiar Hollywood face for many years. His quiet scene with Stack remains the film's most intelligent and powerful.

The movie was made during that period when Hollywood had not yet learned to live with TV. Note that even budget-minded RKO comes up with a wide-screen process to show off the spectacular scenery that can't be done on TV. I expect the competition also accounts for the star-heavy treatment that ultimately crowds the plot and slows down events. But with a tighter script and leaner casting, this could have been a first-rate Western, especially considering the wonderfully done final scene.

This western starring the inimitable Robert Stack is quite good, overcoming a somewhat weak and syrupy script, which nonetheless contains some classic lines (my favorite is: When I first stepped out into the world, a drunkard took one look at me and shouted: 'the elephant is loose!' since then, an elephant has been my good luck charm. What's the secret to your remarkable charm? ANSWER: A complete indifference to Elephants.")

Not Jacques Tourneur's best film, but his direction is good and the technicolor outdoor fight sequences (especially the dramatic opening sequence, similar to that in Johnny Guitar) are beautiful.