The Silver Screen Oasis

Is a great noirish Western Directed by Henry King with great performances by Gregory Peck and the underrated Millard Mitchell. I wish that it was available on DVD.

Such a terrific diversion for Gregory Peck! Did you know that he grew that mustache because he felt that his face was too smooth for a gunfighter, so he grew the mustache to make him remember to look mean. He hated it.

Anne

Anne:

Mustaches were quite the fashion during that time. I think more men had them than not.

Ken:

The last place I saw this film to play was on the Encore Westerns channel but that probably goes back to late last year.

Movieman1957,
Thanks for the info in regard to Encore Western channel.

I really like this movie. I think "High Noon" borrowed heavily from it, particularly the hero waiting for the bad guys to arrive in town. I really like the scene in which Peck bluffs the kid into thinking he has a gun beneath the table. Karl Malden and Millard Mitchell are superb in supporting roles, but then the whole cast is very good.

Hi MikeBSG,
Thanks for dropping in--I hope that you'll continue to visit sometimes. Your knowledgeable voice is welcome here. Hope that you'll leave your distinctive mark on many threads.

Karl Malden and Millard Mitchell are superb in supporting roles, but then the whole cast is very good.

Did Millard Mitchell ever give a less than good performance in his brief Hollywood career? Happily his role as the compassionate lawman in The Gunfighter fit him like a worn glove. I also like Richard Jaeckel as the young tough who challenges Peck in this film.

moirafinnie wrote:
Did Millard Mitchell ever give a less than good performance in his brief Hollywood career? Happily his role as the compassionate lawman in The Gunfighter fit him like a worn glove. I also like Richard Jaeckel as the young tough who challenges Peck in this film.

I don't know what Mitchell did for a long time but he goes all the way back (1931?) to a short starring Cary Grant called "Singapore Sue." He didn't have his hair then either.

Enjoyed him most in "The Gunfighter" and "12 O'Clock High."

I don't know what Mitchell did for a long time but he goes all the way back (1931?) to a short starring Cary Grant called "Singapore Sue." He didn't have his hair then either.

Chris,
Millard Mitchell appeared in dozens of plays on Broadway, in repertory companies and road shows, as well as on numerous radio shows. His Broadway credits go back to 1925. You can access details about some of the great shows that he was a part of on Ibdb.com, (internet broadway database). Among the plays that later became movies that he was involved in were Broadway, Penny Arcade, Three Men on a Horse, The More the Merrier, and Yellow Jack, working with such later movie greats as James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, and James Stewart at the very start of their careers. Many of the plays featuring Mitchell that made it to Broadway were failures there, but made better movies.

The fact that he didn't become more involved in movies earlier in his life is a puzzlement, but he may have valued the artistic freedom of the stage, his own independence, or perhaps he just preferred theatre work, as many hard working actors do. Whatever the reason, it's peculiarly unjust that his skill was only recorded briefly, but at least we have some sterling work as the Westerns Winchester '73, The Gunfighter, and The Naked Spur, as well as my own personal favorite performances of his in A Foreign Affair and Thieves' Highway. He had a casual manner and authority in most roles, a nicely beat up face, and a great way with a sarcastic line. If he shows up in a scene it's probably going to be about 3x better than written.

I've yet to see My Six Convicts, which others have told me may contain his best performance on film. Has anyone else seen this one?

Moira:

Thanks so much fo the info. Unheralded but always necessary he sure added a great deal to any movie.

I've seen "My Six Convicts" but it was a long time ago. Probably long enough that I didn't appreciate who he was.

SHolmes wrote:

moirafinnie wrote: I also like Richard Jaeckel as the young tough who challenges Peck in this film.

Richard was good for the roles he played. But it always seemed to me that he played nothing but that snotty nosed little punk who deserved exactly what Millard gave him--a kick in the teeth.

Skip Homeier is the "squirt " that gets kicked in the teeth by Millard Mitchell. Richard Jaeckel has an " encounter " with Peck very early in the film.

IMHO The Gunfighter is the best film Henry King directed in the sound era. I wish his Ramona starring Don Ameche & Loretta Young were available on DVD.