 |
If you're a western bore like me then this will be right up your valley. It's a superior western programmer from 1946, neatly scripted and put together in that polished-but-stilted style so typical of that time. Again typically, the best acting comes from the supporting players, a gallery of strong character performances headed by the fantastic Brian Donlevy as the villain Trampas. They just don't make bad guys like him any more, the film would have been better with more of him. In the title role is a relatively young Joel McCrea, displaying his stolid, charmingly wooden screen persona that he stuck with throughout his career. He does the job. The really interesting thing (SNORE ALERT) for me is that the film is based on the 1903 book by Owen Wister, which is widely acknowledged as the starting point of the western genre (ie cowboy as knight of the plains, guardian of morality/community etc etc). However, for all it's cultural significance, the book is a bit of bore, and Mr Wister was a writer of limited talent. Happily, the dreary stuff has been largely dispensed with to produce an 84 minute chunk of splendid light entertainment. The first half does drag a bit in places, but then we get going and it all gallups along nicely to the climactic showdown. Yes - the book was also the inspiration for The Virginian TV show of the 60s, in which Trampas was a good guy (played by the late Doug McClure, like McCrea another of Hollywood's loveable planks). BTW - Watch out for the line "when you call me that, smile" near the beginning - it's in the original book and is one of the (if not THE) first great western one-liners. You can almost see Clint Eastwood riding over the horizon. I'll go away now because I know I'm far more enthusiastic about this stuff than is healthy for a grown man, but what can you do? Hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did.Read full review
another film I was glad to see on Ebay. I have always been a great fan of Joel Mc Crea & hi did not let me down in this film.
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in DVDs & Blu-rays
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVDs & Blu-rays
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
![The Virginian [DVD] - DVD N7VG The Cheap Fast Free Post - Picture 1 of 2](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3BsAAOSw0EZkn~Tn/s-l500.jpg)
![The Virginian [DVD] - DVD N7VG The Cheap Fast Free Post - Picture 2 of 2](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/M-0AAOSw-iBkn~To/s-l500.jpg)
