I'm surprised by some of the high ratings here for The Proud ones, a solid western with adult dialogue but a rather static atmosphere, a bit like a TV western, it seems studio bound. I didn't get the feeling I was in the wild west but on a film set. That said, it made a good play, as if I could be watching in a theatre so in spite of that it does have some gripping performances. Most noticeable is Robert Ryan, one of the great serious character stars of the golden age. He plays the lawman out to close down the local saloon owner and town bully played by the venomous and slick Robert Middleton so often seen in this role in westerns of the fifties. Ryan is engaged to one of my favourite actresses of any decade, the beautiful Virginia Mayo, who has some of the best scenes, although briefly as she is absent for most of the second half, but when she's on screen, she's hard to ignore. Jeffrey Hunter who I remember died way too young in real life, is the wannabe young gun who Ryan takes on as his deputy, but subsequently he has to watch his own back because Ryan's the guy responsible for the death of Hunter's father before the film has even started, so we don't see that. Arthur O'Connell is another deputy who brings some realism to a minor role of a man who's wife is expecting their first baby and it's made him lose his nerve for doing his job. The great Walter Brennan is wasted in another minor part as another deputy who spends most of the film reading his paper although he's still charismatic when he's not doing much. Some good gun fights although Hunter is a bit too flashy so unrealistic. Helped by cinemascope, this passes the time quite well but doesn't quite capture the authentic feel of a western town like High Noon did so much better. Even so, some good lines for the actors and Robert Ryan can't be faulted in the lead.
Review of The Proud Ones
