Die fünf Geächteten (1967)
55KDie fünf Geächteten: Directed by John Sturges. With James Garner, Jason Robards, Robert Ryan, Albert Salmi. Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton’s thugs kill the Marshal’s brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.
“For Sturges, the West was a manu0026#39;s world, and his cool, hard, detached style, emphasizing action, excitement and the rugged environment of the frontier, endorsed the point u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSturges believed there were three essentials to every Western: 1. Isolation a man standing alone with no hope of help from outside (e.g. Spencer Tracyu0026#39;s predicament in u0026quot;Bad Day at Black Rock when the telegraph lines are cut). 2. A man, or group of men compulsively take law and justice, rightly or wrongly, into their own hands (e.g. u0026quot;The Magnificent Sevenu0026quot;). 3. The issues are resolved by violence in the form of gunplay (e.g. u0026quot;Gunfight at the OK Corral,u0026quot; u0026quot;Hour of the Gunu0026quot;). He followed this up by saying: u0026#39;A Western is a controlled, disciplined, formal kind of entertainment. Thereu0026#39;s good and bad; clearly defined issues; thereu0026#39;s chase; thereu0026#39;s a gunfight.u0026#39;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Hour of the Gunu0026quot; covers the period just after the famous gun battle The film is well done but there are some downfalls: It shows only one face of Wyatt his u0026quot;officialu0026quot; law abiding side, with no women in his life And also no Johnny Ringothe main bad guy and rival of Doc Holliday u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are solid performances all around, beginning with James Garner who plays a hero with a badge, and is powerful in his intensity Wyattu0026#39;s vengeance for the murder of his brother show the primal potency of violence u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRobards plays John Hollidayan ordinary man dying of tuberculosis who becomes one of Wyattu0026#39;s most loyal allies with an insatiable greed for drinking, gambling and fighting Robards is quite good in his character, and does deliver a couple of colorful lines to Earp The relationship and chemistry between the two men is unique Itu0026#39;s difficult to outline, but itu0026#39;s like these two were old souls who would go through hell with/for each other and never need to wonder or to argue it u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRyan, as a Westerner, has played straight as well as crooked his hunted killer in u0026quot;The Naked Spuru0026quot; and his ageing lawman (losing his vision at crucial moments) in u0026quot;The Proud Onesu0026quot; being equally memorable In more recent roles he has been basically sympathetic as the horse-handler in u0026quot;The Professionals,u0026quot; as William Holdenu0026#39;s weary, reluctant pursuer in u0026quot;The Wild Bunch,u0026quot; as the pacifist sheriff in u0026quot;Lawmanu0026quot; the exception being u0026quot;Hour of the Gun,u0026quot; in which once again he was the outlaw on the run, this time with a relentless Wyatt Earp in pursuit Ryan has perhaps achieved more as an actor in other genres, but the Western would have been the poorer without him”
