THE BRAVADOS: Blu-ray (2oth Century-Fox, 1958) Twilight Time

Given Gregory Peck’s public persona as the noble every man, a quality, I might add, Mr. Peck possessed in spades in private life, it is fairly remarkable how many times he was afforded the opportunity to play less than upright characters on the big screen. His turn as the notorious Lewt McCanles in Selznick’s opus magnum western, Duel in the Sun (1946) immediately comes to mind, as does his painfully deranged Brigadier General Frank Savage in 1942’s Twelve O’Clock High, and, reincarnation of Dr. Josef Mengele in 1978’s The Boys from Brazil – made at the end of the fashionable cycle in Hollywood’s yen for anti-heroes.  In Henry King’s The Bravados (1958), Peck is Jim Douglass – a much-revered but even more changed towering figure of masculinity, stricken by the specter of revenge against four men he believes are responsible for the brutal rape and murder of his beloved wife. In Peck’s portrayal – as in virtually all parts he was to play in his long and memorable career, we have the ‘thinking man’ – intelligent, occasionally self-critical, but always locked in deep contemplation over the outcome of his actions. This is a quality Peck had ripened to near perfection by the time he went before the cameras in this gorgeously photographed western, shot by ‘crabby’ cameraman, Leon Shamroy. Aside: Shamroy’s desire for perfection was oft misdiagnosed as mere gruffness.  Herein, Peck offers us yet another example of the masculine western figure astride his steed, tricked out in buckskin and gun belt, rifle at his side. Yet, there is nothing even remotely principled about Jim Douglass’ knight’s errand into Rio Arriba – a tiny hamlet nestled in the rugged hills, with one whoppingly huge cathedral of a church as its centerpiece.

No, Peck’s Douglass is out for blood – or rather, some sick and twisted satisfaction to see Alfonso Parral (Lee Van Cleef), Bill Zachary (Stephen Boyd), Ed Taylor (Albert Salmi) and Lujan (Henry Silva), whom he blindly suspects are responsible for his wife’s savage murder, hanged in the public square for extenuating crimes against humanity. At the start of our story it is unclear what Douglass’ motives are – precisely. Does he plan to exact his revenge before the hangman can have his due? Or has he merely come, as he claims, to witness the public execution, hoping for some sort of closure to calm his tortured self? Douglass is, after all, a broken man and Peck, in close-ups, exquisitely conveys the wounded bitterness and frustrated passions of this basically good man, teetering on the edge of losing his soul. The town’s padre (Andrew Duggan) recognizes this fight for self-preservation brewing from within and does his valiant best to discourage Douglass from holding onto any lasting resentment. And, in Josefa Velarde (Joan Collins), a one-time paramour and owner of one of the most prosperous cattle ranches, who rather idiotically turned down his proposal of marriage long ago, Douglass just might have a fighting chance at redemption.

As scripted by Philip Yordan, The Bravados takes some liberties with Frank O’Rourke’s sprawling novel, distilled into an hour and thirty-eight minutes of reasonably taut action after our foursome manage to brutally attack Sheriff Eloy Sanchez (Herbert Rudley) with the aid of a fifth conspirator working on the outside (future Three Stooges’ replacement, Joe DeRita); the unnamed assassin, impersonating the hangman, Mr. Simms, whom he has murdered just beyond the town. Under the cover of night, Alfonso, Bill, Ed and Lujan manage their daring escape while the whole town is at church, taking as hostage, Emma Steinmetz (Kathleen Gallant), whose affluent father, Gus (George Voskovec) and aspiring fiancé, Tom (Barry Coe) immediately organize a posse to retrieve her unharmed. Earlier, Gus had politely – if somewhat rather cruelly – deflated Tom’s ambitions to wed his daughter, suggesting Emma has been groomed as a consort for any wealthy gentleman who can give her all the pleasures of life Tom cannot. Unhappily, Gus’ dreams to see his girl free from this small town that gave her blossom, are dashed when Bill rapes Emma inside a remote cabin. A tarnished reputation will never do for the wife of a ‘gentleman’ of stature.

The Bravados is primarily driven by Gregory Peck’s forecasting man of integrity; his steely-eyed and silent, unquenchable thirst for vengeance affording Jim Douglass a sort of matchless clarity as he sets about picking off the desperados, one at a time, and well ahead of the otherwise misguided posse, loosely assembled to bring the bad boys to justice. Douglass is not out to satisfy the moral good. He just wants blood – and has nearly all he can stomach, right up to the final showdown against Lujan, whose home life uncannily parallels his own. Joan Collins, then a Fox contract player, at least in hindsight was generally ill-served by her time served within the studio-system; perpetually cast as the undeniably gorgeous sexpot, but with virtually zero opportunities to break out and become a major player on the Hollywood scene. It would take her small-screen debut as Alexis Morell Carrington Colby on TV’s Dynasty (1981-89) to make Collins a household word. In The Bravados, Collins is miscast as the one-time love interest who, again, might find romantic satisfaction in the arms of the only man she willingly gave away so long ago. Alas, playing maternal to Douglass’ young daughter, Helen (María Gracia) is not exactly Collins’ thing. One can no more imagine the sultry Collins naturally falling into the métier of a doting stepmother, with fresh baby spittle upon her sultry shoulders, than imagine her riding a pogo stick naked down Benedict Canyon, tossing Beverly Hills’ telephone directories to the unsuspecting hoi poloi inhabiting these fashionable abodes. 

As a second-string love interest, Collins gets by, but that’s about all. She is undeniably a very handsome woman to ogle, and, with solid acting range to boot. But the character never allows Collins to trespass beyond doe-eyed yearnings of affection for Jim, hopefully to park his stallion in her stable for at least a little while. Their penultimate reconciliation, Douglass having regained his faith in God, humanity and the prospect of settling down anew, is a tad too optimistic. Most of The Bravados is dark and brooding – a sagebrush labyrinth as soulless as the hunt. The chief hurdle, never entirely overcome, remains the fact Douglass discovers, fairly early on, Alfonso, Bill, Ed and Lujan are not the men responsible for his wife’s murder. Make no mistake: this foursome has inflicted pain and misery on others in their wake – quite enough to warrant their hanging in a public square. But they have done absolutely nothing to Douglass.  Knowing this and still choosing to exact his frustrations upon them is a blight on Peck’s otherwise Teflon-coated figurehead; despite, Douglass’ penultimate humility shown towards the townsfolk, whom he asks to pray for him.

Our story begins in the rugged hills just beyond the sleepy settlement of Rio Arriba (a name that has always reminded me of a Speedy Gonzales cartoon).  A stoic Jim Douglass is stopped at the pass by Primo (Ken Scott), the Deputy Sheriff. Primo has been given strict instructions not to let anyone enter Rio Arriba until after the public hanging of four outlaws, presently awaiting their fate in the county jail. Douglass, however, refuses to budge. After all, he has traveled nearly 100 miles. Reluctantly, Primo escorts Douglass into town, after first availing him of his gun belt and rifle. Sheriff Eloy Sanchez is not exactly pleased with Primo disobeying his direct orders. He is even less enthused about having this ‘unwanted’ visitor in attendance. Disarmed, and therefore of no immediate threat to anyone, Douglass is granted permission by Sanchez to see the prisoners in their cell. His dispassionate observance slightly unnerves the incarcerated men. Alas, it also ruffles a few feathers from the locals. Diffusing a confrontational situation between Douglass and several of the town’s folk in the public square, Sanchez urges Douglass to remain quietly tucked away at the hotel until the hanging.  From across the road, the Padre of the Catholic church takes notice. Indeed, he knows too well the likely reason for Jim’s arrival in town. It seems Douglass’ ranch was terrorized by men who fit the description of these four prisoners who raped and murdered Douglass’ wife.

Recognizing Douglass as he heads into the hotel’s bar, Josefa Velarde – a prosperous rancher – attempts to rekindle their friendship. Actually, it was a bit more than that. It seems before Douglass met his late wife he proposed marriage to Josefa. She turned him down. Now, Josefa would like to begin anew. Only Douglass’ heart is still in the past – too mired in rage and an intent to exact his revenge to be of any romantic use.  Departing rather hastily from their ‘cute meet’, Douglass meets a man calling himself ‘Simms’ – reportedly, the hangman hired to perform these executions. Actually, the real Simms has already been murdered on the outskirts; this imposter, plotting with the prisoners to break them out of jail. Douglass is cool toward the man calling himself Simms. Later, as night falls, the entire town assembles at church to pray for mercy and salvation. Local wealthy merchant, Gus Steimmetz and his daughter, Emma are among the attendees, accompanied by Tom, an amiable young buck who would very much like to be considered Emma’s fiancé. Alas, Gus has greater plans for his only daughter – to see the wide world, but only if she marries the right wealthy man.

At the prison, Simms pretends to evaluate the men. Instead, he pulls a knife and plunges it into the Sanchez’s back. Bill grabs Sanchez around the neck, holding him hostage until he loses consciousness. Believing Sanchez is dead, the prisoners free themselves and make for Steimmetz General Store for a few badly needed supplies. Too late, they find Emma already there, preparing the store. Bill takes the girl by force with lascivious plans to follow later. Meanwhile, Sanchez, having only just regained consciousness, stumbles into church and collapses near the altar – attended by the locals who suddenly realize something is terribly wrong. Gus is the first to understand his daughter has gone missing. Together with Tom’s help, Gus amasses a posse to go in search of Emma. As the others blindly follow this cue, Douglass instead calmly reasons nothing can be done until the break of dawn. His is the wisest voice of opinion. Indeed, by dawns early light, several of the posse’s men are picked off by Ed who has been ordered to remain behind and distract the ambitious towns’ folk from their pursuit.

Deducing their ploy, Douglass sends most of the posse on a wild goose chase while he makes chase after the desperados. In short order, he finds Alfonso. Isolated from the others, Alfonso pleads for his life. Mercilessly, Douglass shoots him dead. Next, he pursues Ed on horseback, exhausting the killer’s supply of bullets before stringing him up by his ankles from a nearby tree. Not long thereafter, Gus and Tom make this grisly discovery. Meanwhile, the posse find the body of the real Mr. Simms, dead of a gunshot and left to rot in the tumbleweed. Bill and Lujan, still with Emma in tow, find their way to John Butler’s (Gene Evans) remote cabin. Demanding food and horses from Butler, Bill and Lujan also discover the man may be prospecting for gold. Bill shoots Butler dead as he attempts to flee with a satchel in his hand. Only now, Bill’s desire has shifted from money to rape. He brutalizes Emma inside the cabin while Lujan is allowed to examine the sack Butler had on him at the time of his death. Discovering gold in the satchel, Lujan ignores the rape. Afterwards, Bill and Lujan hightail it over the border.

Discovering Emma, wounded but still very much alive in the cabin, the girl is placed in Josefa’s care while Tom, Gus, Sanchez and Douglass march onward. Informed by Sanchez they have no jurisdiction to cross the border, Douglass goes it alone in search of the remaining two killers.  He finds Bill in a cantina Mexicali-way, and, after some threats assassinates him in the presence of other bar patrons. Lujan emerges from an adjacent room and makes a daring escape to his own homestead not so very far away. There, Lujan is reunited with his wife, Ángela (Alicia del Lago) and their young son. Lujan instructs his wife to hide the satchel while he goes to the well to fetch a pail of water. Regrettably, Douglass has discovered the family at home. Confronting Lujan with the story of his wife’s murder, Douglass is startled when Lujan honestly confides he has no recollection of Douglass’ wife or the crime of murder.

When Douglass points to the satchel in Lujan’s possession, claiming it belonged to his late wife - stolen by the men who killed her - Lujan admits he pried the sack loose from Butler’s cold dead hands. Douglass now realizes it was Butler who murdered his wife. Although, Bill, Lujan, Ed and Alfonso were guilty of other crimes worthy of hanging, they are not responsible for the massive grudge he has been harboring against them ever since. Realizing he is no better than the three he assassinated, Douglass retreats to Rio Arriba to pray for forgiveness. Josefa pledges herself anew to Douglass. Exiting the church, his regret momentarily lifted, Douglass is confronted by Rio Arriba’s grateful citizens. Sheepishly, Douglass accepts their accolades, but asks each and every one of them to pray for his forgiveness.

Running barely 1 ½ hrs., The Bravados packs a wallop into its sincerely Shakespearean actioner. On the whole, it is mostly a compelling entertainment with a side order of uncertainty intervening in the overall arc of its storytelling pleasure. It is premature to label The Bravados ‘a revisionist western’ as the time-honored trappings of the traditional Hollywood western are on full display throughout. This is a gorgeously photographed and expertly played melodrama with Gregory Peck offering more than is usual for our conflicted hero’s depth of conscience. A Peck trademark, we get something greater cast from the sum of Jim Douglass’ moral compass; an introspective rage. Perhaps there is something to be said of Peck’s penetrating stare. It fills the camera in close-up with a sneeringly critical admonishment for all those who trespass against the laws of God and man. It is a genuine pity, that the baddies of the piece are not given more mayhem to inflict. These disposable parts have been filled with some truly heavy-hitting talent who could have done much more. Particularly wasted are Stephen Boyd and Lee Van Cleef. Lionel Newman’s underscore contributes to the vastness and grandeur of the piece. Leon Shamroy’s cinematography positively glows off the screen.

The Bravados makes its debut via Twilight Time’s association with Fox Home Video. This is another superior Blu-ray remastering effort that only briefly suggests some untoward digital tinkering has occurred to get these film elements up to snuff in 1080p. Obviously derived from a new scan, the visuals suffer from a bad case of the Cinemascope mumps – a horizontal stretching of the image that bloats actors’ faces. I believe this anomaly, indigenous to the Bausch & Lomb lens employed in Cinemascope photography, could have been easily corrected digitally. Exactly why this was not herein remains a mystery. Color fidelity, on the whole, is quite startling – DeLuxe tones, lush and lovely throughout. Contrast is a curiosity, a smidgen low and darker than anticipated, though miraculously, without any loss in fine detail. The Bravados looks more than adequate on Blu-ray, with no sign of age-related dirt and scratches. Colors are rich and vibrant. Flesh tones always appear ruddy orange/brown. We will chalk this up to the arid desert locale and not a flaw in color balancing applied herein.  Two audio options: a remastered 5.1 DTS and re-imagined 4.0, closer to the ‘scope’ theatrical presentation. It is difficult, if not impossible, to deduce the differences. No kidding: Newman’s score sounds slightly more refined in 5.1. This disc features another isolated score track. We also get several snippets excised from Fox’s Movietone newsreels. Aside: could we just have the whole damn reel instead of these lopped off and compartmentalized bits and pieces?!? Finally, there is the original theatrical trailer to enjoy. Bottom line: recommended.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4

EXTRAS

2