I didn't think the acting was as bad as others thought - this was early TV and live and it was stage acting, not more modern TV acting which is more restrained. But wow, how many dopey Southern women can you put in one production, and then you go and make the dopiest one the heroine? I was cheering for Max the Murderer - not a bunch of people I'd care to have in my life.
3 Reviews
I don't care if this is Faulkner, it stinks!
planktonrules27 June 2013
archive.org and 60 minutes (including ads), not 30 misread lines Paul Henreid, Mary Astor, Evelyn Keyes and Richard Long star in this episode of "Climax!"--a show presented by Chrysler. It's the story of an opportunist (Henreid)--a guy who will woo just about anyone to make his fortune. After wooing the daughter, the creep then dumps her to pursue her mother (Astor) when he learns that SHE controls the family fortune. It's all quite sleazy--with Astor and Henreid turning in very livid performances.
When I travel, I often watch public domain movies and TV shows that I've loaded onto my computer--and most of them come from archive.org. However, I don't recommend you go to that site for this one, as "Wild Stallion" is a terrible story--even if it was originally from a William Faulkner story ("Night's Gambit"). Now I don't know how much blame you can place on Faulkner--much of the problem seems to be with the production. Like most TV movies of the era, this one was presented live--and a few kinescope copies of such live performances have survived. I usually love these shows, but this one suffers from some sloppy acting (with misread lines and some overacting). It also turns out to be rather tedious, as an hour time slot (not 30 minutes like it says on IMDb) is too much to sustain this story about nasty Southern folks acting nasty.
When I travel, I often watch public domain movies and TV shows that I've loaded onto my computer--and most of them come from archive.org. However, I don't recommend you go to that site for this one, as "Wild Stallion" is a terrible story--even if it was originally from a William Faulkner story ("Night's Gambit"). Now I don't know how much blame you can place on Faulkner--much of the problem seems to be with the production. Like most TV movies of the era, this one was presented live--and a few kinescope copies of such live performances have survived. I usually love these shows, but this one suffers from some sloppy acting (with misread lines and some overacting). It also turns out to be rather tedious, as an hour time slot (not 30 minutes like it says on IMDb) is too much to sustain this story about nasty Southern folks acting nasty.
Sounds better than it is
HotToastyRag12 March 2019
The synopsis sounded better than the movie turned out, but since Wild Stallion was an hour-long live television broadcast on the program Climax!, I did make allowances for it. I like watching these short, live plays that were popular during the 1950s, because they often attracted major stars whose heydays were in the 1930s and 1940s. While those movie stars seemed to have retired from the big screen, their careers continued on the small screen.
In Wild Stallion, Paul Henreid is engaged to Kathleen Crowley. He has no feeling for her and is only after her money. He has an arrangement with his girlfriend, Evelyn Keyes, who's also engaged to Kathleen's brother, so they can get twice as much money once they're ready to marry each other. The only obstacle comes when Paul discovers Kathleen has no power in the family, and that power resides with her mother, Mary Astor. Mary's closer to his age anyway, and he quickly transfers his false affections to her.
This one's a bit campy, and there are a few flubs, as live performances are known to have, but if you like the cast you can watch it. I was watching it for Mary Astor, but I liked her television performance of Sunset Boulevard much better.
In Wild Stallion, Paul Henreid is engaged to Kathleen Crowley. He has no feeling for her and is only after her money. He has an arrangement with his girlfriend, Evelyn Keyes, who's also engaged to Kathleen's brother, so they can get twice as much money once they're ready to marry each other. The only obstacle comes when Paul discovers Kathleen has no power in the family, and that power resides with her mother, Mary Astor. Mary's closer to his age anyway, and he quickly transfers his false affections to her.
This one's a bit campy, and there are a few flubs, as live performances are known to have, but if you like the cast you can watch it. I was watching it for Mary Astor, but I liked her television performance of Sunset Boulevard much better.
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