Warlock (1959 film)

Infobox Film
name = Warlock


caption = 1959 movie poster
director = Edward Dmytryk
producer = Edward Dmytryk
writer = Robert Alan Aurthur
based on the novel by
Oakley Hall
starring = Richard Widmark
Henry Fonda
Anthony Quinn
Dorothy Malone
Dolores Michaels
music = Leigh Harline
cinematography = Joseph MacDonald
editing =
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = April 1, 1959
runtime = 122 minutes
country = United States
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:53398
imdb_id = 53434

"Warlock" is a 1959 film, released by Twentieth Century Fox and shot in colour and CinemaScope. It is a Western adapted from the novel by Oakley Hall (screenplay written by Robert Alan Aurthur). Directed by Edward Dmytryk, it stars Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn.

The supporting cast includes DeForest Kelley who was a regular in Western films before becoming best known for "Star Trek".

Reputation

It is not often mentioned as a classic of the genre, perhaps because the dark psychological moorings in the plot uncomfortably recall the witch-hunt hysteria of the Cold War era that had left a bitter imprint on Hollywood (as shown in the similar "High Noon"). Another reason for its neglect may well be the fact that Dmytryk, one of the original 'Hollywood Ten' (he had served time in prison and gone into exile in Europe), was regarded as a heavily compromised figure ever since he had named names to the HUAC. Despite such misgivings, "Warlock"'s multi-layered storyline of twisting loyalties makes it one of the great Westerns.

The film is almost forgotten today, but it has had some high-powered admirers. It is one of the films 'quoted' by Sergio Leone in "Once Upon a Time in the West". Some consider it one of Dmytryk's best efforts and lament its lack of classic status. It is occasionally shown on TV.

Plot

Warlock is a small Utah mining town of the early 1880s. A group of local cowboys led by Abe McQuown (Tom Drake) often comes into town to shoot the place up, kill on just a whim, and beat up and humiliate any lawman who tries to stand up to them.

The Citizens Committee decides to hire Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda), a renowned gunfighter, as marshal in spite of the misgivings of some, such as old Judge Holloway (Wallace Ford) who insists that the situation should be handled within the law (though he admits that a loophole prevents it from being done effectively). Blaisedell is famous for his golden-handled guns.

Blaisedell arrives with his devoted friend, Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn), his hero-worshipping, club-footed right-hand who is no slouch with a gun himself. Morgan has a reputation as a heavy-drinking gambler, but Blaisedell insists that he is part of the package. They even take over the local saloon and rename it the French Palace (something they appear to have done in previous towns, since they bring the signboard with them).

Their first encounter with McQuown's men goes without bloodshed, though the cowboys are humiliated and one of them, Johnny Gannon (Richard Widmark), stays behind. He has been put off by the gang's activities for some time now and resolves to be more law-abiding.

Some time later Morgan learns that an old flame called Lily Dollar (Dorothy Malone) is coming to town on the stagecoach accompanied by Bob Nicholson (Sol Gorss), the brother of Big Ben Nicholson who was recently killed by Blaisedell. Lily had left Morgan for Big Ben and knows that Morgan pushed Ben into challenging Blaisedell, who killed him as a result.

Morgan sets out to meet the coach which is ambushed by some of McQuown's men as he watches from a distance. He takes advantage of the situation to kill Bob Nicholson unseen. Lily arrives in town and sees Morgan there. She believes that he pulled the trigger, though this is based on intuition rather than evidence.

The robbers are arrested, sent to Bright City for trial, and subsequently cleared by a jury intimidated by McQuown. In the meantime, the Bright City sheriff, who disapproves of Blaisedell, appoints Johnny Gannon as official deputy. Although he was once a thug himself, Gannon takes his law enforcement duties seriously.

The scene is set for a number of confrontations between Gannon, Morgan, Blaisedell, and the McQuown gang.

Wanting revenge for their arrests, the released robbers, led by Johnny Gannon's brother Billy (Frank Gorshin), go to Warlock to confront Blaisedell and Morgan. The deputy urgently asks them to leave, and tells Billy, "I ain't backin' him, because you're my brother, and I ain't backin' you, because you're wrong." The outlaws proceed to provoke Blaisedell, and he kills two, including Billy. Soon after, the remaining outlaws try to give themselves legitimacy by posting notices declaring themselves "regulators," mocking Blaisedell's quasi-legal status as hired marshal in a town where a sheriff and deputies theoretically enforce the law.

What is more, some of the inhabitants are getting tired of Blaisedell and Morgan, something which, based on previous experience, the pair had predicted would happen. Blaisedell, however, has started a relationship with local girl Jessie Marlow (Dolores Michaels) and decides to marry and settle down, much to the surprise of Morgan, who wants to move on to another town and insists that Clay is nothing without him.

Gannon, with some assistance from townsfolk, unexpectedly manages to break up the gang without the help of Blaisedell, who was kept away from the fight at gunpoint by Morgan. It appears that Warlock has outgrown its need for the two gunfighters, but Morgan cannot tolerate the idea that Gannon is now more of a hero than Blaisedell. In the course of an argument, Blaisedell learns the truth about the deaths of the Nicholson brothers, and turns his back on Morgan, who resorts to drinking.

That evening, in a drunken state, Morgan shoots up the town and calls for Gannon, but the deputy is locked into his own cell by Blaisedell who insists that "Tom Morgan's my responsibility". Morgan has insisted that he was always covering Blaisedell's back in almost all their confrontations with their enemies, and that he is the better gunman. To prove his point he shoots off Blaisedell's hat, and the other, on instinct, shoots back, killing Morgan. Satisfied that Blaisedell is a hero again, Morgan's dying words are "I won, Clay, I won!"

The grief-stricken Blaisedell carries his friend's body into the saloon which, to the sound of thunder in the sky, he burns down, giving Morgan a "Viking funeral". The humiliated Gannon tells Blaisedell that he will arrest him in the morning if he does not leave town.

After what has happened, Blaisedell can't face staying in Warlock and decides to leave anyway. Jessie, however, won't accompany him. She insists that she is no Tom Morgan. Lily Dollar, for her part, looks as if she takes little satisfaction in finally getting her revenge. She has in the meantime taken up with Gannon.

The next day Gannon and Blaisedell face one another, the latter wearing his famous golden-handled guns. Blaisedell outdraws Gannon, but then throws his guns into the sand, smiles at Gannon, mounts his horse, and leaves town.

Inspiration

The relationship between Blaisedell and Morgan is described in the "" as "perhaps the most open depiction of homosexual love in the classic Western". Other critics agree with this view, pointing out the preference the two men have for silk sheets. However, the inspiration for Blaisedell, Morgan and Lily Dollar probably comes from one of the West's most (in)famous trios: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Kate Fisher.

*Like Blaisedell, Earp had a reputation as a wanderer (Ellsworth, Dodge City, Tombstone) who took up law enforcement for short periods of time. He would clean the place up in an often dubious way and earned far more than the average lawman's pay. Some critics have likened his methods to "protection". "Pictorial History of the Wild West" by James D. Horan and Paul Sann ISBN-10:0600031039, ISBN-13:978-0600031031]

*While Morgan walks with a limp, Doc Holliday suffered from tuberculosis, but that did not make him any less a gunman or a killer. He was also a heavy drinker and notorious gambler. He was very close to Earp, and Bat Masterson, who knew them well, is quoted as saying that "Doc idolized him".

*The name Lily Dollar implies that it is a pseudonym with obvious implications, and indeed it is revealed that she "worked" whenever Morgan was short of money. "Kate Fisher" was also an assumed name, and she was also allegedly a prostitute. Blaisedell tells how Lily once set fire to a house to help him and Morgan escape some enemies; Fisher is said to have done the same thing for Earp and Holliday. "Pictorial History of the Wild West" by James D. Horan and Paul Sann ISBN-10:0600031039, ISBN-13:978-0600031031] On the other hand, there does not seem to be a record of Fisher eventually turning against her two friends.

Alternate Titles

*"L'homme aux colts d'or" - French title - (translation: "The Man with the Golden Colts")

References

External links

*
*amg title | id=1:53398 | title=Warlock
*tcmdb title | id=95103 | title=Warlock
* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1603warl.html DVD Savant] Comprehensive film/DVD review by Glenn Erickson at [http://www.dvdtalk.com DVD Talk]
* [http://dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=58284 DVD Review] Nice review by Eamonn McCusker at [http://dvdtimes.co.uk DVD Times]