3 BAD MEN (1926)
Starring: George O'Brien, Olive Borden, Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi, J Farrell MacDonald, Frank Campeau, Priscilla Bonner, Otis Harlan, Phyllis Haver, George Harris, Alec Francis, Jay Hunt
Writer: John Stone (based on the novel "Over the Border" by Herman Whitaker
Cinematography: George Schneiderman
Music: SILENT (contemporary score by Dana Kaproff)
B&W, 1h 32m. 1.33:1 presentation.
Released on: August 28, 1926 by Fox Film Corporation.
My experience: Ford at Fox DVD box set
3 Bad Men is one of three versions of the same story made by John Ford in his career. First there was Marked Men in 1919 (the film is now lost) with Harry Carey, J Farrell MacDonald and Ted Brooks in the title roles. Twenty-nine years later, in 1948, he made 3 Godfathers, with John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz and Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr starring. In between, in 1926, he made 3 Bad Men, a film which was to be his last western for thirteen years, until he basically revolutionized the genre with Stagecoach.
Having seen the 1948 version about 15 years ago, I expected it to follow roughly the same plotline, which involves three outlaws stranded in the desert looking after a baby. Imagine my surprise, then, when there was nary a desert, and only fleeting glimpses of a baby to be seen! Rather, our three titular gunslingers are in the hills of the Dakotas helping a woman get ready for the land rush.
The movie opens with Lee Carleton (Olive Borden) and her father traveling across the western prairies when their wagon loses a wheel. Along comes free spirit horseman/harmonica player Dan O'Malley (George O'Brien), who helps them fix the wheel. Sparks fly between Dan and Lee, but father and daughter are heading west for the 1876 land rush, and the parties soon disperse. Later on, our titular bad men -- "Bull" Stanley (Tom Santschi), Mike Costigan (J Farrell MacDonald), and "Spade" Allen (Frank Campeau) -- who are horse thieves, are looking for some easy prey and come across the Carleton wagon. Before they have a chance to make a move, they witness another party attack the wagon and kill Lee's father. After dispensing of the intruders, Mike and Spade start making off with the horses, and Bull is about to dispatch the final victim, until it turns out to be Lee, in which he has an abrupt change of heart, and pledges his and his gang's loyalty to the broken hearted young woman until she gets some land.
The new Carleton contingent heads to a new temporary settlement that marks the starting point for the land rush. The sheriff of the town, Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen), has gotten tired of his girlfriend Millie (Priscilla Bonner), and treats her unconscionably. He is also a terribly bad seed, and is in the tradition of a long line of Fordian characters who occupy positions of exalt or responsibility only to turn out unworthy of their places in society. It's a running theme in Ford's pictures, the hypocrisy attendant in society. Other characters in the town include newspaper editor Zach Little (Otis Harlan, the voice of Happy in 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), local shopkeeper Joe Minsk (George Harris), the Reverend Benson (Alec B Francis), and saloon girl Lily (Phyllis Haver), who has set her eyes on Dan, who has wandered into the settlement and reconnected with Lee.
There are some fantastic things about 3 Bad Men, not the least of which is the cinematography by Schneiderman at the behest of Ford. The photography just keeps getting better with each film, and the outdoor scenes especially are a wonder to behold. The filming of the land rush is astonishing to behold, with the camera oftentimes being in the middle of the action, wagons and horses barrelling down on them and keeping us firmly in the action. There are scenes shot from inside a burning building looking towards the outside that are magisterial, and leave one wondering how on earth they filmed it without anybody getting hurt, let alone how amazing it all looks. The final shot of the film is filmed in such a way as to extract all the emotion possible out of the viewer, in a way that I'm saddened to say the film doesn't quite deserve. More on that in a bit.
3 Bad Men also has one of the funniest comedic set pieces I've come across in a Ford film so far, in which Mike and Spade are trying to find a man for Lee, and come across a bit of a dandy, who seems to get the wrong idea of how they're coming across. Pretty funny stuff. The performances are solid across the board, with MacDonald and the uncredited man playing the dandy standing out. Also standing out is Olive Borden, a silent film star whose career went downhill after talkies came into vogue and sadly died penniless on skid row in 1947 at the age of 41. In this film, she is radiant, and one is saddened that an actor with such attitude and expression ended up the way they did. Still, her luminosity was captured on film forever in 3 Bad Men, and she is remembered by silent film fans almost a hundred years later.
All that being said, there are some things that just didn't connect with me in this film. First and foremost is the casual racism thrown about in the film. One of the intertitles refers to Italians as Dagoes like it ain't no thang, and another one has a character casually mention about including Chinese people in the gang, "Not a Ch**k, they get shot too easily." The opening titles also downplay the fact that entire cultures were forced off their lands in order enable the land rush to occur. It's mentioned, but more in the vein of, "we put them all on reservations, they're fine, fugeddaboutit!" Didn't leave a great taste in my mouth, from a 21st century point of view.
I also didn't quite get why Bull had the change of heart he did. I could understand his not wanting to shoot Lee, as he has morals obviously. But when he decides to devote himself and his gang to her services it seems a bit too much of an about face, especially for a trio who is wanted by the law in multiple states and countries and could easily be found if not constantly on the move. And while *** SPOILER ALERT *** it's touching that the three men sacrifice themselves to save Dan and Lee, it just seems so unnecessary. The ending, set three or four years later, is quite touching, as mentioned before.
While 3 Bad Men has a very good reputation, I'm wondering if Ford didn't like the roteness and naivete of some of the characters, and found himself stagnating in a genre he couldn't find himself able to push forward for the time being. It did take him thirteen more years to make another western. For me, while I believe the film has its moments, it also has its issues, and while I definitely recommend it, you may want to keep your expectations lowered.
Seven benevolent baddies out of ten.
No comments:
Post a Comment