tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post6995774962846453272..comments2024-01-27T00:19:36.912-08:00Comments on Coleman's Corner in Cinema...: Fort Massacre (1958)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...http://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-35883677030523864182008-12-28T12:09:00.000-08:002008-12-28T12:09:00.000-08:00Thank you, Sergei. One thing about this and so man...Thank you, Sergei. One thing about this and so many other films, westerns or not, from the 1950s prove is that the ill-informed concept of the 1950s as a thoroughly sedate, naive and whitely innocent time period is quite woefully fallacious.<BR/><BR/>As I discuss in my review of <A HREF="http://colemancornerincinema.blogspot.com/2008/08/big-heat-1953.html" REL="nofollow"><I>The Big Heat</I></A>, the 1950s were brimming with subversiveness and discontent. And there were numerous mainstream pictures like <I>Some Came Running</I> that cast small-town American morality in an (at the very least) ambiguous light.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-81152240557526681362008-12-28T11:37:00.000-08:002008-12-28T11:37:00.000-08:00Exquisite review, Alexander of a movie I have neve...Exquisite review, Alexander of a movie I have never seen. You have certainly made me interested in it however. Thank you for linking it in your GRAN TORINO review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-40903641290615754822008-10-17T10:55:00.000-07:002008-10-17T10:55:00.000-07:00You're most welcome, Tony, and thank you.You're most welcome, Tony, and thank you.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-31633298616347322002008-10-16T15:44:00.000-07:002008-10-16T15:44:00.000-07:00Thanks Alexander for your detailed reply. Your ela...Thanks Alexander for your detailed reply. Your elaboration definitely makes it more interesting.Tony D'Ambrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359495250856189815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-16486403229891243092008-10-16T15:06:00.000-07:002008-10-16T15:06:00.000-07:00Thank you, Tony.Well, that was a point I was makin...Thank you, Tony.<BR/><BR/>Well, that was a point I was making with the opening paragraph. These westerns of 1958 were often expressing commentary about the westerns that had preceded them, and in this film, the American Indian is certainly viewed by the protagonist as "the other," a dark savage that should be put down. (Late in the film, a character will voice the opinion that the only good Indian is a dead one.)<BR/><BR/>However, one supporting character here is an Indian scout named Moving Cloud who aids the soldiers. A soldier tells the scout that he's nothing but a backwards savage as the Indian applies war paint to his face. The Indian says, "Tell me. You're a Christian," he says, pointing to the soldier's weapon, "but you carry a gun." Later, something will occur that forces the soldier in question to confront his truer feelings about this American Indian, and it's actually rather touching.<BR/><BR/>And, again, the men under Vinson's command view his murderous action as at best unfortunate, and some seem genuinely appalled, such as John Russell's character, who cannot keep his mouth shut about it, prompting Vinson's response.<BR/><BR/>So, it's an interesting film because it simultaneously captures the hatred at the heart of the "hero" while commenting on it, which helps to make the comparison to <I>The Searchers</I> valid.<BR/><BR/>(There are two American Indians toward the end of the film of a different tribe, the Paiutes, who are drawn with sympathy and some admittedly misjudged but very brief campy comic relief.)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-12585131423718106552008-10-16T14:40:00.000-07:002008-10-16T14:40:00.000-07:00Alexander, you certainly have piqued my interest o...Alexander, you certainly have piqued my interest on this one.<BR/><BR/>Apart from noirs, I consult both Halliwell and Scheuer before deciding on watching a movie - their 'shot' reviews are usually good pointers. In this case both give desultory assessments.<BR/><BR/>In any event, it sounds like another western where the Indian is the dark other, and I really don't want to ever again watch another movie like that. From a very young age, I was appalled each time I saw Indian braves indifferently shot down like you swat flies...Tony D'Ambrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359495250856189815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-11026259101616606362008-10-16T12:15:00.000-07:002008-10-16T12:15:00.000-07:00Ah, now there is a film that stands as a fine piec...Ah, now there is a film that stands as a fine piece of work that at this time does not receive the love it deserves. <BR/><BR/>I will always remember Bogart's line. "<I>You should have starved</I>."Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-17961558890282094632008-10-16T12:09:00.000-07:002008-10-16T12:09:00.000-07:00Ah, DEAD END!! Indeed Alexander, indeed!!!Ah, DEAD END!! Indeed Alexander, indeed!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-64950909379259404862008-10-16T11:56:00.000-07:002008-10-16T11:56:00.000-07:00Thank you for that highly stimulating response, Sa...Thank you for that highly stimulating response, Sam.<BR/><BR/>Yes, between this, <I>Fitzcarraldo</I> and <I>The Ascent</I>, I have interestingly taken on films that in disparate ways chronicled the conflict between man and nature. It was planned that way all along, I tell you, haha.<BR/><BR/>I too consider <I>This Island Earth</I> to be a wonderful "guilty pleasure" of sorts. <BR/><BR/>And Guthrie's cinematography of the vistas is, as you say, Sam, quintessential to the film's success, capturing the beauty and anguish of the setting so brilliantly. <BR/><BR/>I agree that McCrea's Vinson, no matter how well performed by McCrea--whose name makes me gush almost as much as you, Sam (and not just for his later work but also for his today somewhat more under-appreciated turns in films such as William Wyler's <I>Dead End</I> with Humphrey Bogart)--cannot compare to Ethan Edwards, whose complexity and towering status in cinematic history is indeed unrivaled, at least in the context of material in this vein. <BR/><BR/>Thank you again for the great reply to the piece, Sam.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-76927466804259811812008-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:002008-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00I am happy to say that your review here of a relat...I am happy to say that your review here of a relatively obscure Western has not left me in the dark. I saw FORT MASSACRE years back on VHS, and I didn't forget it, as I had at one time a modest interest in the director, Joseph M. Newman, who helmed a science fiction film I always considered a guilty pleasure, THIS ISLAND EARTH.(as you note in your review here) You do an exhaustive job here with thematic discussion, and I must say I love that FITZCARALDO link, which embellishes the entire Man vs. Nature strain, within the disperate civilizations.<BR/> Of course, prior to that your lead-in is polished and it mentions some titles that would raise anyone's excitement levels-- THE BIG COUNTRY, TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN, MAN OF THE WEST et al.<BR/> Likewise I appreciate the rightful acknowledgement of the cinematographer, Carl E. Guthrie, whose widescreen cinemascope vistas are surely among the film's most delectable attributes.<BR/> And when you mention Mr. McCrea, ah well....I gush....I will never forget his performance in Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, which I have held close to my heart for years...ah, that final scene....here he is exemplary too, although I can't quite agree with you on the Ethan Edwards comparison--not that I don't think a comparison is inviting or warranted, but that Edwards has become part of movi legend, with that existential, iconic screen performance, which is not matched by any other (in that regard anyway) But on the other hand, I applaud you for seeing some similarity and including in the discussion.<BR/> My final verdict is that this is a terrific piece of film criticism, large as a result of teh obscure subject, but mainly because of the utterly magisterial treatment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-36354996486559178672008-10-16T11:48:00.000-07:002008-10-16T11:48:00.000-07:00Needless to say, it is nowhere near Moby Dick in q...Needless to say, it is nowhere near <I>Moby Dick</I> in quality. Yet the effort merits respectable applause.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-88439424242601056522008-10-16T11:47:00.000-07:002008-10-16T11:47:00.000-07:00Thank you both. I watched this late last night on ...Thank you both. <BR/><BR/>I watched this late last night on my Blu-ray after DVR-ing it from Turner Classic Movies. I found it interesting, so I wrote about it.<BR/><BR/>It's worth seeing at least for McCrea's performance. Considered a "B-western" by many now, it is one of the more pungent westerns of that period and deserves some consideration.<BR/><BR/>It is like the cavalry western version of <I>Moby Dick</I>, with the harsh elements of the southwest replacing the rapacious treachery of the sea.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-57145457700298196362008-10-16T04:47:00.001-07:002008-10-16T04:47:00.001-07:00I haven't seen this, Alexander, one I never got ar...I haven't seen this, Alexander, one I never got around to. Very nice piece, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-41694290324712390472008-10-16T04:47:00.000-07:002008-10-16T04:47:00.000-07:00Most interesting choice here Alexander! I greatly...Most interesting choice here Alexander! I greatly look forward to reading it at school later this morning and on injecting my two cents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com