Reviews

...although that's not the most interesting part of the movie. The family dynamics between Wayne. O'Hara, and Jarman dominate the movie, each vying for the affections of the two others all the way through. The scenes between Wayne and O'Hara speak for themselves; I especially like the scenes where Wayne tries to reconnect with Jarman, whom military duty has kept him from for eighteen years. Jarman, Ben Johnson, and Dobie Carey are also a delight as three troopers who eventually thwart the Indian raid while providing any comedy that Victor McLaughlin misses. I love the scene where Wayne sneaks a look at a beaten and bruised Jarman, who has lost a "soldier's fight", and smiles knowing his son has stood up for himself and for his commanding officer. The songs are provided by the Sons of th Pioneers, featuring Ken Curtis, who also has a line or two in other scenes. It way not have the stars and grandeur of Fort Apache or the color of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but this is my favorite of the Ford Cavalry Trilogy.

Mitchum hires on as a town tamer to rid Sheridan of a land grabbing rancher. But why is he there in the first place? He's tracked his ex-wife to town to find our about his estranged daughter whom he hasn't seen in three years, after Jan Sterling, fed up with his gunplay, takes her to Ohio to stay with her parents. Mitchum will stay on, not because he's been hired, but because Sterling refuses to tell him about the daughter. When he finds out she died during a cold winter, he becomes the viscous character he always had the potential to be, and sets the rest of the picture in motion. For me, this is the interesting part of the story, not the gunplay, although Mitchum mows down both Claude Akins and Leo Gordon. It looks to me like a Mitchum film noir in the dust.

Son of Dracula is an intelligent mystery in which the vampire plays a relatively minor role. Lon Chaney isn't on screen for very long because his character isn't really needed; the film is an occult mystery that could have been just as well served by using a witch, minor demon, or other satanic figure. A young woman wants her fiancée to join her in eternal life and attempts to double cross the vampire after the process is complete. The use of Dracula (or whoever he is) reduces the need for background explanation other than the minute or two Kay gives Frank in his jail cell. Chaney is given some trite dialog and wisely doesn't attempt an accent. In fact, although the film is set somewhere in the American southeast, no one has any accent at all. The real star is the set decorator, as the swampy land around Dark Oaks rises and falls, and looks genuinely muddy and dank. Special effects are simple but effective, especially the use of mist for the vampires' method of travel. A very good film, unfairly overlooked by UMU enthusiasts.

Must have been made by people who are all heart and no mind. Martin Milner actually tries to make the case that a recently fed carnivore is no danger to the public until he gets hungry again, then says he has trained riflemen with tranquilizer guns who can render all the escaped animals harmless. Milner and Andy Devine give it a good try, and the underlying idea is heartwarming, but escaped wild animals are still highly dangerous, making the events ridiculous. Skip this and go hug your puppy.