Film buffs know Colorado Territory primarily as a Westernized re-make of High Sierra. The chief advantage to me of the later film is getting to watch Joel McCrea instead of Humphrey Bogart. McCrea plays Wes McQueen a train robber who breaks out of prison and plans to pull one last big job before going straight. He meets a hard luck rancher who has a pretty daughter (Dorothy Malone). He plans to marry the girl and use the loot from the robbery to stake himself in his new life. His schemes are complicated by his accomplices who want to kill him and take his share. There is also a "bad girl," nick-named Colorado,(Viriginia Mayo) who wants to shack up with him.
Never mind the horses and cowboy hats. This is film noir. In typical noir fashion, the hero is neither as good or as bad as Hollywood film poster copywriters would like. The good girl, is actually a bit of a greedy tramp and the bad girl turns out to practically a saint in disguise. Mayo and McCrea are really delicious together and true to the genre (noir that is) their supposedly illicit relationship is actually full of quaintness and purity-- they try to give the money from the heist to a mission church.
Director Raoul Walsh who also made High Sierra, and Gentleman Jim, keeps the tension ratcheted up till the inevitable shoot-out in a dead -end canyon. The ending made me think that Bob Dylan must have been watching this movie when he wrote Romance in Durango. That's as much of a spoiler as I'll give you, people.
I'm not sure why but Colorado Territory stuck with me for weeks after watching it. I found myself dressing in peasant tops and long skirts and bidding on Navajo jewelery on Ebay. Sometimes a really solid, well-made movie has more staying power than something more ambitious. Colorado Territory is just such a film.
9 comments:
I will watch ANYTHING that includes Joel McCrea. haha
I have to go check this out!
Jenny, enjoyed your post on "Colorado Territory." If it doesn't reach the heights of "High Sierra," it still provides some great entertainment. It was interesting to see the changes Walsh made to adapt the plot to the Western genre, streamlining the plot a bit in the process. Changing the setting of the finale from a mountaintop in the Sierra to a clifftop cave in the Southwest was a nice touch that really Westernized the film. Using McCrea in the Bogart role created a major distinction between the two films, since these actors had such different screen personas. Trivia note: Henry Hull, who played the doctor in "Sierra," plays Dorothy Malone's father here.
Millie: I hear ya. Joel McCrazy, I am.
R. D.: I didn't realize that Hull was in both movies. Cool. I agree McCrea and Bogart are really different. I've been trying to love Bogart more lately, though so who knows what strange things will come.
Hi, I saw your post. It is very nice. I can understand this. Keep posting like this.
social network for entrepreneurs
Thank you for sharing this post, hope to see more photos and mightystudent.com essay here.
Hi
the Post seems to be good i really gather lot of information from the Post thanks for sharing this Post
Get views on youtube
He plans to marry the lady and use the loot from the robbery to stake himself in his new life. the good girl My homework is truely a bit of a greedy tramp and the bad girl turns out to nearly a saint in cover.
Do you buy any other affiliate products? If you are going to buy any other affiliate products, especially if they are not from buy instagram followers, then you need to verify the seller's credentials first. You should also check their package prices to ensure you are not being overcharged for the shipping of your product. Sometimes, these package prices are misleading because they have added a lot of other items inside. You should only buy from a seller with a proven record of quality, so you can use their package prices to gauge whether or not they are truly offering genuine products at great value.
The downside to buy instagram followers ukis the cost of buying. Before you buy an Instagram Like for your account, make sure you compare costs between the various companies. Some companies may charge you per purchase or per like. Others will charge a flat fee for unlimited purchases and likes per account. If you use the account daily, you can probably save more by buying in bulk or as a bulk order.
Post a Comment