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This little western caught me unaware, which ultimately turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s not just brief, but I hadn’t heard about most of the actors apart from James Coburn, who makes his entrance in a debut supporting role. But this is much more than a story outline, it is a tightly knit, action oriented tale that does not dwell on the cliches of Westerns that have always spoiled the genre for me.
“Ben Brigade,” a bounty hunter, is portrayed in the film by Randolph Scott. He is in pursuit of his latest prize, Santa Cruz murderer, Billy John, played by James Best. He was reluctantly deciding to turn himself in but was asking one of his friends to notify his brother Frank. The two of them stop at a coach station after which it is decided whether Frank sends him or not. It seems like everything is going smoothly until ticket agent Carrie Lane played by Karen Steele, the coach master’s wife, bursts onto the scene with a firearm pointed towards them. “Sam Boone” and his partner “Whit,” played by Parnell Roberts and James Coburn respectively, don’t seem to add any value to the equation. Carrie sure hopes they would leave since she has no idea who they are. She only brought the gun on the assumption they were acting sinisterly. Along with Carrie, it was Boone and Whit who wanted to put the show. Boone as well as Whit were able to figure out that Boone and Whit had intended to hijack the latter coach. On the other hand, Brigade understood that Boone and Whit had come to the station to rob the next coach.
It is a good thing because the subsequent coach had been ambushed by fighters from the Mescalero tribe and was filled with corpses on arrival. After that, Carrie Lane realizes that her spouse has also been murdered by the Mescaleros. So when Brigade leaves with Billy John the following day, she does join Boone and Whit and comes along.
While moving around, Boone keeps mentioning to Brigade that he is just playing nice for now as it is evident that Brigade can assist the group reach Santa Cruz safely. Regardless, he means to beat Brigade to claiming the bounty on Billy, and indeed intends to fight him for it later. Brigade does not care much for this. Brigade does, indeed, appear to be very relaxed. It is like he wants to make the journey longer than it has to be. Even when Whit confirms that Billy’s brother, Frank, is pursuing them, Brigade refuses to increase the pace. Why, it’s all but as if Brigade is interested in allowing Frank to pursue them. What’s the deal with that?
You do figure out what’s behind it, and I have to say that I’m glad it will not be revealed. You also find out who wins the tender of Billy in the end – and it is a pleasing epilogue where each and everyone achieves what they wished for in the first place. Well, almost everyone. Carrie is a rather new widowed woman adrift, but judging from her sadly short appearance, she is a strong woman and we are sure she is going to be alright.
My personal biggest problem with Carrie’s characterization is that director Budd Boetticher casts her as a piece of meat in multiple scenes with the camera focusing on her profile so as to accentuate her body. Boone and Whit Both take great pleasure in slowly scrutinizing her figure. But at least they keep their hands off, which is good, and, as a rule, Carrie’s glassy stare is enough to make the boys quit and look away.
The film also does not forget that she is a recently bereaved person. The narrative neglects to offer a scene in which she turns to someone seeking solace only to be rebuffed or melts into an emotional outburst. She is keeping people at distance. At one point she finds out that Brigade himself is a widower and seems to identify him as a sympathetic figure instead of a possible husband. Additionally, she lacks that much interest in Boone or Whit, either. In addition, it is not like she is a frail woman that the film’s many chase or even the shootout has her as a beat person. Instead, she actively participates with her own rifle and is able to take out some of the attacking team. Brigade comes off as a “sullen solitary gunman’s” role as a casting but to some extent closer to Shane, but the difference is in this case one does get his history. For example, from Shane, but the difference is in this case one does get his history. One learns that silence is a calculated move on his part, for example, if Boone or Whit are not privy to his plan, they cannot attempt to prevent him from executing it.
So it is a western and for a change it omits many of the cliches I have issues with, all the characters have reasonable objectives and it is an interesting, deliberate and short range story. I am happy I was able to get someone.
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