☆ ☆ ☆
The
Sundowners (1950) – G. Templeton
I was actually looking for the Robert
Mitchum Australian sheep-ranching drama but ended up renting this one by
accident. It’s a classic B-western with
familiar themes, shot in some early version of technicolor (but well-faded and
rather murky in this print). Robert Sterling is a Texas rancher who is losing many
of his cattle to rustling – that is, until the Wichita Kid (Robert Preston), a
notorious outlaw, shows up to help him out.
Soon, they have embarrassed the rustlers and Sterling and his younger
brother, Jeff (John Barrymore Jr), are indebted to Wichita. That is, until they discover that he has been
up to no good, interloping with Cathy Downs (who is married to Jack Elam but an
object of affection for Sterling) as well as doing some rustling of his own
(with Jeff in his posse). Soon, both
Elam and the Sheriff are dead and Sterling has to face the Wichita Kid – who turns
out to be his own brother. As I said,
this is purely B fare, although the plot is a bit more intense than is standard
for the bottom of the bill and Preston’s charisma does elevate things. But it was a helluva murky print.
No comments:
Post a Comment