I said before that I couldn't really characterize William Wyler's directorial style. Now I must be getting the hang of it, because as I watched TBC, I thought of two others: Friendly Persuasion and The Westerner. They're all set in the 19th century and have protagonists who are big on peace.
Rather unusually for a western, the hero in this one, James McKay (Gregory Peck), is a ship captain -- and a fish out of water. He comes to the frontier because it's home to Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), his intended. Apparently, no one warned him that her wealthy father, Henry (Charles Bickford), is leading one side of a feud with the rugged Hannassey clan, led by Rufus (Burl Ives), over access to a waterhole on land owned by Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who's on good terms with Jim and Pat but unwilling to sell to either patriarch. Like Julie, Jim doesn't let social closeness color his judgment of the situation. But to call him neutral would be misleading; he simply seeks a third option....
Showing posts with label burl ives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burl ives. Show all posts
Monday, September 18, 2017
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Our Man in Havana (1959)
My prior experience of director Carol Reed, while pretty good, did not whet my appetite for more. But when I saw that he got back together with author Graham Greene, I thought that this might be the closest I'd get to another The Third Man.
Shot shortly after the Cuban Revolution but set slightly before it, the film focuses on a transplanted English vacuum cleaner salesman, Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness). A member of the British Secret Service invites him to become a spy, because such a man doesn't arouse much suspicion. Netflix says he "unwittingly" agrees, but that's misleading: He knows what his employer is and what it expects of him; he just bites off more than he can chew, failing to recruit a team. Too desperate for money to admit defeat -- thanks largely to extravagant young adult daughter Milly, despite her dating the generous local despot (Ernie Kovacs) -- Wormold lies about both recruits and discoveries in espionage. By the time he receives some actual teammates, most notably his secretary (Maureen O'Hara), he starts to worry he'll be found out. But that shouldn't be his biggest worry, seeing as an unnamed enemy agency takes him as seriously as his own does. Burl Ives has a supporting role as a German friend who meets the enemy.
Shot shortly after the Cuban Revolution but set slightly before it, the film focuses on a transplanted English vacuum cleaner salesman, Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness). A member of the British Secret Service invites him to become a spy, because such a man doesn't arouse much suspicion. Netflix says he "unwittingly" agrees, but that's misleading: He knows what his employer is and what it expects of him; he just bites off more than he can chew, failing to recruit a team. Too desperate for money to admit defeat -- thanks largely to extravagant young adult daughter Milly, despite her dating the generous local despot (Ernie Kovacs) -- Wormold lies about both recruits and discoveries in espionage. By the time he receives some actual teammates, most notably his secretary (Maureen O'Hara), he starts to worry he'll be found out. But that shouldn't be his biggest worry, seeing as an unnamed enemy agency takes him as seriously as his own does. Burl Ives has a supporting role as a German friend who meets the enemy.
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