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To me, the height of Hollywood occurred in the 1950s, that decade was its golden era. Twentieth Century Fox was at it greatest, in my opinion. For the Twentieth Fox gold-colored logo and its accompanying fanfare to burst onto the screen means one thing: Hollywood movie entertainment. At this time Cinemascope, still a relatively new technology, was in vogue. In this decade, audiences attended movies shown in palatial theaters. Famous of this decade are a host of iconic actors, men, and women, who graced the movie screen, bringing to life characters of the stories in which they play.
Despite a three-year war in Korea, though the U.S. cold war with the Soviet Union was heating up to the point of near mass public paranoia, and never forget the McCarthy hearings, this decade was America’s utopian dream come true, the decade of prosperity following a devastating war. It was good times for most people, especially if one was white, straight, and male. So it was the best of times for many people as it was the worst of times for other people. Amid all this, during this decade, great movies were made. One of those movies is this one, The Bravados, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins.
The story starts out simple enough: A stranger, wearing dark clothes, rides his horse into a sleepy little, prairie town, one preparing itself for a hanging. So small this town, so unfamiliar the stranger, that his presence receives immediate attention. A once sleepy town now comes awake. It is the day before the hanging. We learn our hero, the stranger in town, that he is here in order to witness tomorrow’s hanging of four bad-guys. His manner is aloof, a man of few words, not icy but cool towards anyone friendly enough to extend a hand of friendship. Peck plays our hero, the protagonist, who will turn out to be somewhat an anti-hero. His character demonstrates dimensions of complexity as the story unfolds.
Through prearranged plotting with an outsider, the criminals, the jailed criminals, are able to escape from the local jail. With stolen horses, guns, and with a local girl, kidnapped, they ride into the open country confident they will successfully escape.
Well, that begins our hero’s journey. He with men of the town, in posse, ride off after the jail-breakers. Our hero has a vendetta to fulfill as we will learn with the story’s development. Upon its conclusion arises an unexpected irony making the story unexpectedly interesting.
As a whole, this western story is very good. The scenes were shot in wonderful country settings, thinking maybe Yellowstone? The acting of actors in supporting roles is something left wanting. At times, the screenplay exposes it own story holes in the very story it is meant to convey. But Peck’s acting is very good, maybe remarkable. Joan Collins seen in her youth is a tremendous beauty. Her character is weak, partly not a fault of her won due to the scrawny screenplay writing with which she had to work, with which to flesh out a character, succeeding at portraying a very two-dimensional character.
Without a doubt, this movie is entertaining. Its story interesting. The acting of the leading man is done admirably well. Movie cinematography is typical of that era, panoramic, vibrant with vivid colors, straight on filming, nothing fancy. The Bravados is an unexpectedly good western, recommended highly.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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August 1, 2005 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $11.80 | $10.21 |
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April 28, 2017 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $18.51 | $9.88 |
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