1960. More relevant though is the ease in which Curtis was able to suddenly glide from comedy to drama and back again, especially in scenes with the frequently underrated Dean Martin. Tony Curtis always knew he had solid acting ability. It took some of us a while to realize that, too.

September 28, 2010

The Bravados

Henry King - 1958
20th Century-Fox Region 1 DVD

"I'm a stranger here myself." The line spoken by Sterling Hayden in Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, is repeated four years later by Gregory Peck. The screenplays for that film and The Bravados were both by Philip Yordan. That it appears in a film directed by Henry King may be a nod towards Ray's recycling some dramatic footage from King's Jesse James for a scene in Ray'sTrue Story of Jesse James. The Bravados fits in thematically with Henry King's other films about characters who are driven by a singular thought, although it twists that theme from one of pursuit of a higher ideal to one of a personal descent.

There is what I think of as a visual correlative that works on two levels. Much of the film takes place at twilight, and frequently the characters are filmed in shadow or in silhouette. This motif serves as a reminder of the ambiguity of the main characters, the presumed hero, Gregory Peck, is not entirely good or altruistically motivated, while the bad guys, particularly Lee Van Cleef and Henry Silva, reveal redeeming qualities. Additionally, one might interpret the film as a reflection of a filmmaker who