Customer Reviews

Garden of Evil (NTSC All Region Import)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
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Garden of Evil (1954) ranks along with The Searchers and Shane as one of the greatest mythic westerns ever filmed. A superb script is matched by flawless performances by Richard Widmark, Susan Hayward, and Gary Cooper, who all seem to have been born to play these roles. In the hands of lesser talent, this film would have come off as vastly overly pretentious, but the absolute sincerity and conviction of the cast and director send this film into the highest levels of mythic art.

The story is simple, but classic. On a trip around Cape Horn to the California gold fields, three Americans (an ex-lawman, a gambler and a bounty hunter) are stranded in a sleepy Mexican village. An American woman walks into the bar they're in and asks for help to save her husband, who's trapped in a gold mine deep in hostile Indian country. The three Americans and a lone Mexican go, for a variety of reasons, and few return. The territory they cover along the way is as psychological as it is physical, and as archetypal as it is visceral.

Garden of Evil also features some of the most unusual and unique imagery ever seen in a western. Filmed on location in Mexico against a background of the ocean, palm trees, volcanos, a near impossible mountain pass and a village covered in lava with only the church steeple rising above it, the visuals have no trouble matching the quality of the performances.

The music is by Bernard Herrmann, one of the greatest soundtrack composers (with Citizen Kane, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Taxi Driver to his credit) and this is one of his best scores (and justly available on CD).

There are many classic lines in this film, but the last line, spoken by Gary Cooper against a stunning sunset sums up the movie (...and life?) very nicely, "The Garden of Evil. If the Earth were made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt."

This movie is hard to find, but worth the effort. Don't miss it. There's nothing like this one.

While Cooper's career spanned ninety-two feature films, in which he appeared as everything from a masked Cossack to an Italian Renaissance explorer, a foreign legionnaire, a baseball great and countless sophisticated romantic adventurers, he is best remembered as a Western star...

'Garden of Evil' tells the story of three American adventurers (Cooper, Widmark, and Mitchell) who are stranded in a Mexican fishing village after the ship that was taking them to California is put out of commission...

All three were headed for the Californian gold rush... Instead, they are now in Puerto Miguel, approached by a woman in trouble, a Spanish-speaking American woman, Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward), who offers to pay them handsomely if they escort her through hazardous Indian territory to rescue her husband who is hurt and trapped in a gold mine up there in the hills...

The mention of gold makes them agree and, together with a Mexican macho man named Vicente (Victor Manuel Mendoza), begin their long, arduous journey...

Emotions become tense when Leah discovers Vicente marking trails and, later, finds herself fighting off the crude advances of one of the three soldiers of fortune...

When the group arrives at what the Indians call the Garden of Evil, a sacred grounds atop a high mountain where the mine is located, they found Fuller (Hugh Marlowe) still alive, but embittered and with a broken leg...

The group's troubles grow when they discover they are in danger, practically harassed by savage Indians...

"Garden of Evil" was Cooper first motion picture in CinemaScope... Along the way, he proves himself a powerful leader with a commanding performance...

Susan Hayward kept her thoughts and her affections pretty much of a secret, remaining skeptical about her motives... This was her second movie with Gary Cooper since her appearance in William A. Wellman's superb, high adventure 'Beau Geste,' and her third with director Hathaway...

Richard Widmark proceeds his ways of gambling with a neat line in cynical cracks; Cameron Mitchell fails in his unwelcome sexual advances; Hugh Marlowe uses a variety of both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with his angry feelings; Victor Manuel Mendoza gets intensely angry after being hit; and Rita Moreno delights the environment with her sweet voice...

Hathaway was one of the great Hollywood veterans still in harness, a versatile director whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films... Filmed on location in Mexico, his 'Garden of Evil' is a beautiful spectacle to behold... The vistas are strikingly clear and vivid... The film is a well-done character piece, concentrating on the relationships of the characters as on the evil influence of gold...

GARDEN OF EVIL is a Western rich with characterization that seems stereotypical on the surface, but on analysis, runs much deeper. Susan Hayward (an enigmatic heroine) hires a group of stranded travelers in a Mexican waterfront town to follow her to a remote mine where her husband is trapped. The adventurous group is comprised of Gary Cooper (the upright, moralistic hero), Richard Widmark (a cynical witticism spouting gambler), Victor Manuel Mendoza (the good-natured Mexican guide) and Cameron Mitchell (the back-shooting kid gunslinger). They must traverse perilous and dangerous Indian territory to get to the mine, but their motives are unclear. Is it the trapped man, the lure of gold or the subdued sexual attraction that Hayward exudes that drives them? The narrative is a study of personalities in conflict, their motivations, loyalties, cowardice and heroism. Richard Widmark's character comes off as the most interesting. He lingers in the viewer's mind long after the film is over and the question is raised - which is the more honorable: the moralistic hero or the dubiously elegant yet noble rogue? Henry Hathaway is a director known for atmosphere, character and authentic locations. He combines mood and action. This film has all those elements. It is beautifully photographed, yet the picturesque landscapes are juxtaposed with disturbingly photographed death scenes, menacing ever-lurking Indians (always photographed from a distance) and even mysterious looking set designs. The church bell tower sprouting up from the dried lava is all that remains of the town outside the mine and is symbolically ominous in appearance. Frank Fenton's screenplay is filled with vague dialog and only adds to the total feeling of uneasiness that permeates this film. Bernard Herrmann's score accentuates the moodiness of this haunting adventure tale, itself also vague and non-specific. It is very untypical of the Hollywood Western. He achieved a recurrent sense of ominous fate throughout this entire film without the score ever entering into the psychological realm. This is by no means a minor score by Herrmann and I rank this as one of his great scores. GARDEN OF EVIL under Henry Hathaway's direction intelligently yet emotionally integrates the psychological aspects of his characters and even the threatening locale into the action elements found in the standard Western genre to create an unnerving and very thought provoking experience.

Do not pass up Garden of Evil. It has Susan Hayward leading Gary Cooper and Richard Widmark into the garden of evil, along with Cameron Mitchell and others. There are big shoot outs, ravines to ride over, bandits to tangle with,a lost husband full of hate, forgotten churches, a strange priest(we never see him) who gave Susan H and her husband a map to a gold mine(played with savage brillance by the underrated Hugh Marlowe,) and who tells them it will bring them death, yet, gives them the map; there are dark scenes of betrayal, and death by crucifixion. And, to top it all off, it is in Cinemascope as you have never seen Cinemascope, and a Bernard Hermann score(he did most of the music for the great Hitchcock films, e.g. Psycho), that drives this film forward at a break neck pace.

There is dialogue that is illogical, but written purposelly this way to underscore the meaninglessness of the entire thing..a lust for gold.

Henry Hathaway directs, and he throws the raw meat at you always. Don't miss this one when it comes out on Region 1 DVD. Why it is not out, and why there never was video tape is another mystery.

See this one! Note: Rita Moreno in the opening, singing fuill tilt at 10 am in the morning in a cantina with three people! Show Biz was never like this.

When you think aboout the talent involved in this movie ,on both sides of the camera,it must ,despite its many merits be considered to be slightly disappointing ,being a somewhat meandering and even ,in places,rather dull movie.

Susan Hayward stars as a young woman who hires a trio of adventurers ,played by Gary Cooper,Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell to escort her through hostile Indian country to rescue her husband (HughMarlowe)who is trapped in a gold mine he has discovered .Unfortunately ,it just happens to be located on ground sacred to the Indians and they are not best pleased with the situation.The rescue prooves easy enough but the group's problems begin with the return trip .The Indians attack and the group become riven by greed for the gold they are carrying ,a doublw whammy which ineviatably takes its toll upon the group,

The last part of the movie has definite traces of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre about it as the group begins to unravel but this movie loses badly by the comparison .Its not a bad picture by any means and all the stars give good value performances with Cameron Mitchell especially outstanding as a chicken hearted gunman .

It is just a tad too long and the script lacks sharpness while the normally reliable Henry Hathaway. directs in a languid ,lacklustre manner.Its not bad ;just not quite as good as the cast and its decent production values suggest it might have been

Garden of Evil is a western rich with characterization that seems stereotypical on the surface, but on analysis, runs much deeper. Susan Hayward (an enigmatic heroine) hires a group of stranded travelers in a Mexican waterfront town to follow her to a remote mine where her husband is trapped. The adventurous group is comprised of Gary Cooper (the upright, moralistic hero), Richard Widmark (a cynical witticism spouting gambler), Victor Manuel Mendoza (the good-natured Mexican guide) and Cameron Mitchell (the back-shooting kid gunslinger). They must traverse perilous and dangerous Indian territory to get to the mine, but their motives are unclear. Is it the trapped man, the lure of gold or the subdued sexual attraction that Hayward exudes that drives them? The narrative is a study of personalities in conflict, their motivations, loyalties, cowardice and heroism. Richard Widmark's character comes off as the most interesting. He lingers in the viewer's mind long after the film is over and the question is raised - which is the more honorable: the moralistic hero or the dubiously elegant yet noble rogue? Henry Hathaway is a director known for atmosphere, character and authentic locations. He combines mood and action. This film has all those elements. It is beautifully photographed, yet the picturesque landscapes are juxtaposed with disturbingly photographed death scenes, menacing ever-lurking Indians (always photographed from a distance) and even mysterious looking set designs. The church bell tower sprouting up from the dried lava is all that remains of the town outside the mine and is symbolically ominous in appearance. Frank Fenton's screenplay is filled with vague dialog and only adds to the total feeling of uneasiness that permeates this film. Bernard Herrmann's score accentuates the moodiness of this haunting adventure tale, itself also vague and non-specific. It is very untypical of the Hollywood western. This is by no means a minor score by Herrmann. He achieved a recurrent sense of ominous fate throughout this entire film without the score ever entering into the psychological realm. I rank this as one of his great scores.

I never was much of a fan of Westerns, but I'd say this film was one that caught and held my attention. The reason I bought it in the first place was I had purchased a CD of the soundtrack a couple of weeks before (I am a Bernard Herrmann) fan and I wanted to experience the film with the music in context and I never once regretted making this purchase.

I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys and appreciates A) old Westerns, B) a great film score, C) Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Susan Hayward or any of the other actors back in the day who were in this film. The film was well-acted and it didn't bog down in the story line. I'm also glad this film was made in color. The panoramic scenes in the film just wouldn't have the same effect if they were in B&W.

If you don't know who Gary Cooper was you should! If you do know and haven't seen this then buy it now you won't be sorry!!!

A surpurb film (good movies like this aren't made anymore). Glad i have this film in my collection.

Film got here without that much delay.

Steve Baird

I certainly did enjoy seeing this movie again as Gary Cooper and the beautiful Susan Hayward worked well together. Not to mention Richard Widmark. All three of my favorite actors and this movie is a great western. A classic for sure.