Blowing Wild (1953)

i must respectfully disagree with mr. maltin on this one. what he considers"plodding" i would describe as dark drama. barbara stanwyck was at her most evil, gary cooper at his most distressed since"high noon", anthony quinn did well in a career enhancing role for him at that time, ward bond solid as usual and ruth roman an attractive and fine actress. the scenic locations enhance the excellent photography and the local actors as bandits were believably threatening. however the one flaw for me was the score and frankie laine's insistent and repetitive singing of the picture's theme song,"blowing wild" sorry, that was NOT in "high noon" class. in an era when john wayne remade the same picture a dozen times "blowing wild" stands out.

What a strange movie this is. Not quite a genre movie, not quite a soap opera, not quite high drama. It starts out as a loose reworking of TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE, then veers into WAGES OF FEAR territory, before becoming a dark romantic drama, and finally ending as high adventure. Whether it works depends on one's feelings about just how much latitude a movie has in refashioning itself as the story unfolds. For me, I can watch this and almost laugh outloud at the absurd going's-on, and then watch it another time and find it absolutely fascinating. Its very weirdness becomes hallucinatory. Cooper, Stanwyck and Quinn are all very good, though you wonder how they kept their roles straight as it bounced from one type movie to another. There's a side of me that believes this movie has improved with age. Because it breaks so many story-telling "rules", it plays better in today's market. Indeed, there is almost something independent-looking about the entire production. But since Cooper was the number one box office star in the world in 1953, had just snagged his second Academy Award (HIGH NOON), it is hard to believe this was an indy. But, HIGH NOON was an indy, why not this? Take a chance on it.

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Thus says Barbara Stanwyck as only she can to Gary Cooper who then proceeds to nearly choke the liver out of her!! This film is lambasted by most critics (who don't know anything). But it is a fun movie to watch from start to finish! The characterizations by the principals are first-rate with Stanwyck the stand out. No one could beat her in a Western. And she's a baddie to boot, rotten to the core. Quinn and Cooper are excellent as well! With a haunting score (Frankie Laine singing the title song)this Western is a dandy.

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Gary Cooper was never more Gary Cooperish than in this rugged modern western. Here, Cooper plays Jeff Dawson, a hapless oil speculator in South America whose misadventures reunite him with an old friend, Paco (played strongly by Anthony Quinn). Unfortunately for Jeff, Paco's wife is bad-news, man-eating Marina (the ever hot Barbara Stanwyck), the lover Jeff ran away from years ago, undoubtedly knowing that despite his lust for her, she was just no good. And Marina is as sexy as ever despite her iron gray hair and flat out cruelty to Paco, whom she plainly considers a wimp.

Nonstop action follows as Jeff fights the elements--including banditos and the heat--and, MUCH more importantly, his hormones. A scene in which Cooper and his sidekick Dutch (Ward Bond) navigate a hot, bumpy road in a truck full of explosives, with banditos trailing them all the way, might be a metaphor for Jeff's romantic entanglements: Marina chases Jeff like a hungry animal, and though he could never love such a vulture, the passion is palpable and explosive. So he flees into the arms of Sal (Ruth Roman), a pretty woman he meets along the way and soon falls for.

The main characters are expertly written and acted--especially Paco, who (we learn) used to be mister tough guy but now likes to play it safe seeing as he's got a wife and a fortune to protect. Alas, his caution only triggers his wife's contempt. Quinn is so good here he might have stolen the movie had the leading parts been played by other than the likes of Cooper and Stanwyck.

As Jeff, Cooper has to walk a tightrope: we've got to believe that bad girl Marina turns him on, but also that he's a good guy who wants to do right by his buddy Paco. As usual, Cooper succeeds in this delicate balance.

An aging Stanwyck simply personifies lust as Marina, despite Marina's lack of a single other redeeming virtue. In the fifties, Stanwyck would play a lot of these western Lady Macbeth types--thoroughly rotten, all fire and ice, and yet somehow irresistible to men. Not very nuanced roles, but nobody--and I mean nobody--could have done them better.

Supporting characters Dutch and Sal don't really get to develop as much as I'd hoped. Both have some interesting scenes early on, but the second half of the movie belongs solely to Cooper, Stanwyck, and Quinn. Still, Bond and Roman both do a great job.

A word about the dialogue: very good and avoids cliché. The setting too is interesting and fresh. Strongly recommended.

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I did not know a thing about this movie when I ordered it, but any flick with Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Anthony Quinn, and Ward Bond couldn't be that bad, could it?? Well I watched it last night twice and was blown away by its genre bending script and style. What a fun flick...............Barbara channels Martha Ivers and her great Double Indemnity femme fatale role as one brassy broad. Gary Cooper underplays his role as always with magnificent results. Ruth Roman almost steals the movie as Cooper's grifter girlfriend. The best scene in the flick is the woman to woman talk between her and Stanwyck.........................meow meow!

I easily counted Treasure of The Sierra Madre, Wages of Hear, Double Indemnity, and Out of the Past as movies that influenced this effort.....Ruth Roman has a very Jane Greer like quality in this movie.

As always Olive Films presents this movie ia a very pristine transfer..................Highly recommended for film noir buffs..a pure delight.

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