40 Gewehre (1957)

40 Gewehre: Directed by Samuel Fuller. With Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson. Showdown in Arizona between the Bonnell brothers, U.S.Marshals, and Jessica Drummond, the iron-fist rancher who controls the territory.

“I often record films off TCM or other film channels and Iu0026#39;ll nearly always record westerns. Often I donu0026#39;t get past the first few minutes but every now and then I come across a real classic. I wasnu0026#39;t aware of this film or its cult status when I watched it so I was able to form an opinion without a prior bias. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirstly I was impressed by the opening scene of Barbara Stanwyck and her forty horsemen thundering across the screen and richness of the black and white cinematography. The film itself immediately grabbed my interest and the dialogue was at times cheesy, at times full of sexual innuendo, but always interesting. It was only when it came to a scene where the Bonnell brothers are walking through Tombstone that I realised I was watching a single shot that went on and on and on. Thereu0026#39;s no merit in doing long tracking shots just for the hell of it but this was something that worked beautifully.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe composition of many shots and their realisation was quite magnificent and I would love to see this on a big screen now. One scene where a widow is shot from below and there is a long pan past the hearse to a singer under a tree and back again puts most modern music videos to shame. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt has to be said that this is also one of the silliest and campest films ever made with its emphasis, not to mention song, on a u0026quot;high riding woman with a whipu0026quot;. The general fondling of firearms and sexual references are so blatant that it seems surprising that this film wasnu0026#39;t universally condemned by the usual suspects on its release. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was also impressed by the cast who werenu0026#39;t what you might expect for a western. I especially liked Barry Sullivanu0026#39;s pre-Leone, pre-Eastwood portrayal of the gunslinger. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all a complete delight. Iu0026#39;m looking forward to watching it again.”