Three Faces West

[mrsl]

Naturally I watched this thinking it was going to be a western. I actually taped it last week and watched today. It was set in North Dakota and Oregon, but I was surprised to see the very first camera shot was of a tall New York type of building, and thought 'what the heck?'

Vienna born Dr. Charles Coburn and his daughter, a snippy Sigrid Gurie whom I had never seen before or since were on the radio requesting invitations from small towns in need of doctors. Of course they go to John Wayne's town. I'm glad the Duke and Coburn were in this because the rest of the people were total unknowns, except the minister but I can't quite place him. When I read the description in the TV guide, about people moving from ND to OR I assumed by covered wagon, but no, this was during the 'dust bowl' storms, so they went by truck. There was one guy trying to take over from the Duke and lead the folks to California, but after a little persuasion he shuts up. John and Sigrid fall for each other, but she was engaged to a guy in Vienna, but heard he was dead, so she followed PaPa to America before WWII broke out. Later she learns he's alive and goes to meet him.

In all it was a good movie, and good story. The director focused on the people rather than the surrounding scenery. It was made in 1940 when the Duke was really coming into his own, no longer stiff, or so much in that learning mode. He was relaxed and confident with himself.

I was sorry it wasn't my normal kind of western but still a pleasant hour and a half.
.

[movieman1957]

The title is a little misleading but, like you say, it is a pleasant enough film. I think this was my first exposure to Charles Coburn when I saw it a long time ago. If I recall the storms were pretty well done and it is pretty evocative, for an east coast resident, of what life in the northern plains might seem like in that day.

I imagine that Wayne must have enjoyed mot being in one of those cheap westerns for a change.

[MissGoddess]

I am a fan of this little movie. It provides a pleasant break for Wayne from his routine oaters and though I am no fan of Sigried Gurie, she and Wayne do effect a touching love story. It's kind of interesting to see Wayne playing a character who is the one bringing forward new advanced ideas to a traditional mindset (he wants to introduce more progressive farming techniques to avoid the issues magnified by the topsoil erosion in the "Dust Bowl" areas).

Coburn is, of course, wonderful as always. My appreciation of this man's contributions to movies grows and grows. I'm hoping my recorder picked this movie up okay, I haven't checked it yet.

[moira finnie]

I loved this story, and thought that the film made a good, unpretentious B movie companion piece to The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and that the John Wayne movie incorporated some (perhaps one too many) ideas from the period into this brief flick, avoiding too much schmaltz along the way. I wrote a bit more about Three Faces West (1940) here, if you are interested. It is available on DVD.


I'm a sucker for any movies that address the Great Depression and the events surrounding it, whether they are in a Western or not. Some other recent discoveries for me in this area were Love on a Bet (1936-Leigh Jason), with, believe it or not, a likable Gene Raymond* (!), and Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939-Ricardo Cortez), which marked the first time that Glenn Ford played a lead, supported very well by Jean Rogers, Nicholas (later Richard) Conte, and the inimitables, Raymond Walburn and Marjorie Rambeau. That last movie has what may be one of the worst movie titles this side of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948-Norman Foster)! Love on a Bet is a very rare movie that I saw after a friend loaned me his vhs copy, but Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence has been broadcast on FMC. I don't think that any of this trio of movies has ever been issued on a dvd.

_________________________
*I usually find Raymond one of the most annoying actors ever, but in the magical Zoo in Budapest (1932-Rowland Lee) he was very good opposite an incandescent Loretta Young and in a screwball comedy with the delightful Ann Sothern called Walking On Air (1936-Joseph Santley), he seemed to be a good, light comedian. I now wonder if there are other Gene Raymond movies in which he was better than he usually appears?

[movieman1957]

Moira:

You write the most interesting detailed articles. After looking through some recent Morlocks offerings I had to wonder if an edict from on high came down about Gloria Grahame. I don't think I have seen so many articles on one person anywhere. I haven't had time to read them but I'll get an education.

At the risk of sounding lazy I hope you will add links to your articles more often. I'll be recording Oct. 1.

[MissGoddess]

Oh, that lineup of films on October 1st sounds terrific.

[moira finnie]

After looking through some recent Morlocks offerings I had to wonder if an edict from on high came down about Gloria Grahame.

No, Chris, no "edict from on high came down about Gloria Grahame", but our editor asked which one of the Summer Under the Stars choices we might wish to have a blogathon on this year.

All the contributors to the blog voted and Gloria Grahame won, (though I found out more about the lady than I may have wanted to know, I think she was a great film noir actress). I had voted for Jennifer Jones and Glenn Ford, but now sort of wished I'd pulled for Sterling Hayden, since I've been watching more and more of his movies since falling hard for Crime Wave (1954-André de Toth) recently. Ah well, I wrote about Ford anyway, found here.

I don't think I have seen so many articles on one person anywhere. I haven't had time to read them but I'll get an education.

We've done a couple of blogathons in the last year. Last summer the SUtS blogathon focused on Fred MacMurray in August, which coincided with his 100th birthday that month. We also had a blogathon on Halloween themes at the end of October, 2008, and I did a piece on Dwight Frye, inspired a bit by our pal Mongo's repeated photos of the man. Look for a very special blogathon on a figure who is a SSO fave this November.

Btw, this Saturday we may have our fill of the eccentric but often interesting Sterling Hayden when several of his Westerns show up, including Johnny Guitar. If you haven't seen it, you might want to catch Terror in a Texas Town (1958-Joseph Lewis) too at 7:30 AM. It is one of Hayden's more outlandish offerings, when he plays a guy carrying a harpoon around a dusty cow town. How much would you want to bet that the seadog took the part not just for the money, as he often did, but just because it brought the life of the sailor into a Western? It's an intriguing premise, and Joseph Lewis' last feature film, but this movie just might disorient you for the rest of the day!

At the risk of sounding lazy I hope you will add links to your articles more often. I'll be recording Oct. 1.

Thanks for the encouragement. Writing these is an ongoing education for me, (it's also fun, but don't tell anyone...Here's a link to a list of all the articles from the Movie Morlocks that have been published.

[MissGoddess]

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Manhandled is the one I'm most
curious about, but there are a few others I haven't seen. I really have a huge crush on Sterling.
What a man! So complicated, but nicely packaged. How could Maddy be so foolish to leave him?

[movieman1957]

Moira:

Thanks for the link to your work.

[moira finnie]

I've never seen Manhandled (1949) either, Miss G, but have just scheduled to record it thanks to your heads up. It sounds good and noirish. I think that Madeleine Carroll and Hayden must have been one of the oddest couples ever in Hollywood temperamentally--though they probably made quite a splash when they entered a room together, when both were at their golden haired best! What a shame most of Madeleine Carroll's films (especially those made at Paramount) seem unavailable for broadcast.

I'm looking forward to 2:30 PM ET on Saturday, when Zero Hour! (1957), one of the aeronautical movies that inspired those madcaps to make Airplane! (1980) will appear on the schedule. Besides, Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell together for the last time on screen? Gotta catch it, even if I know Ben Mankiewicz may goof on it before and after the broadcast.

I've heard hilarious things about Five Steps To Danger (1957) at 11am ET too, when Ruth Roman and Sterling Hayden fight commies (I think one is played by Werner Klemperer) in the southwestern desert.

[movieman1957]

I've seen "Zero Hour" and if you love "Airplane" it is hard to watch without picking out the scenes that are lifted right into "Airplane."

[mrsl]

While watching Zero Hour last time I saw it, I nearly screamed in frustration trying to figure out where I had seen it before, I knew it wasn't Airplane although you're right, some scenes are pulled directly from it. It wasn't until months later, I realized it was not a movie I saw, but the book, Runway Zero Eight from which Zero Hour was taken. The book is very short and the movie follows almost scene for scene from beginning to end.
.

[jdb1]

Man, Lloyd Bridges, in Airplane!, virtually tracks ever gesture and expression, and manner of speech of S. Hayden. I just couldn't help laughing a little this afternoon watching Zero Hour!

[ChiO]

Man, Lloyd Bridges, in Airplane!, virtually tracks ever gesture and expression, and manner of speech of S. Hayden. I just couldn't help laughing a little this afternoon watching Zero Hour!

I was smiling through the movie, albeit somewhat uncomfortably when the pilot put his arm around the boy and asked, Have you ever been in a cockpit?, until...Sterling Hayden said, Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking. Then I lost it.