Last night I watched a Western with an interesting premise. In 1871, six escaped convicts survive a harrowing climb over the Sierra Nevada mountains during a blizzard, to arrive in a small valley near Owens Lake. Night has fallen and they see the light from a community of log cabins. Their leader (Glenn Ford) suggests they play it safe by posing as miners. They're hungry and need shelter from the storm. But when they reach the cabin village, they see that only women are present. One convict (Zachary Scott, the most cunning of the bunch) tries to take advantage but finds out quickly that the ladies are handy with guns. Gene Tierny points a rifle at Scott and threatens to blow his head off.
The movie was called "The Secret of Convict Lake"(1951), and it's something of a women's picture, as the ladies in the village have to fend for themselves throughout this encounter. Their husbands are all away in the silver mines.
During the initial standoff, Tierney notices a leg iron on one of the men. Their cover is blown and the women become even more fearful. Ethyl Barrymore, the eldest and most resolute of the ladies, joins Tierney and trains her pistol on the convicts. "I realise the weather's not conducive to traveling, so we'll let you bunk down here for the night. But it's gonna be in the empty cabin way down at the end of this row. One of us'll bring you something to eat later on. In the morning I want you out of here. If you try anything you'll find out how good we are with these guns".
Ford sizes up the situation, tells Scott to back down, and orders the group to do as they've been told. "We'll figure something out once we're alone", he mutters. But secretly, he already has a plan worked out in his head. The convicts haven't arrived at the cabins by chance. Ford led them there deliberately, without telling them he wants revenge on a man he believes lives there : the man who framed him for murder.
Now, Zach Scott has a hunch that Ford knows something he's not telling. "What about that forty thousand you've got hidden? Is it here"? Prisoners share stories, so Scott's aware of Ford's crime and conviction. In addition to murder, Ford was sentenced for a bank robbery that netted 40 Gees. "You'd better fess up", Scott tells him, "cause if I find you're holdin' out on me I'll kill ya". Scott's a loose cannon who challenges Ford for group leadership. On his side is a tough thug named "Matt" (Jack Lambert). Of course, nobody threatens Glenn Ford and gets away with it, even if they're bigger and crazier. Ford swears he knows nothing about what happened to the money. "I didn't hide it and I have no idea where it is". That turns out to be the truth. The only reason Ford's here is to get even.
The next morning, Ford questions Tierney. "Does a man named Rudy live here by any chance"?
"Why do you ask that"?, she wonders.
"I heard one of you mention it last night". That's not true; nobody mentioned it. He already knows Rudy, who helped Ford commit the bank robbery. Rudy was given immunity for testifying against Ford, and framed him for the murder he committed. Rudy is also Gene Tierney's fiance. "There's no one here by that name", she replies. Ford suspects different, and has another card to play to buy the men more time in the village. The youngest of the convicts has a fever. "He won't last long in the mountains if you throw us out today", Ford says to Ethyl Barrymore. She agrees to let them stay until the kid's fever breaks. "But the same rules apply", she advises. "As soon as he's better, you're gone".
Meanwhile, Zach Scott's getting uppity. He wants to try and take away the women's guns. He's also hot for one of them, the spinsterish Ann Dvorak. On the second night he gets her alone and pins her up against a wall, saying more or less "you know you want me". She's terrified and slaps his face. It's a sexually threatening scene that leads to what comes next. Dvorak becomes so nervous that she accidentally starts a fire in the barn. The convicts come running, to man the water buckets. They also pull the horses to safety. This wins them sympathy from Barrymore, who lightens up a little and allows them to stay for the time being.
I found that plausible, because even though the men are escaped convicts, Ford has been speaking for the gang in a quiet, respectful way for the most part. But after the barn scene, what I found difficult to believe was the abruptness of the change of heart by two of the ladies, primarily Ann Dvorak. Her character is mistrustful of men, never having had a relationship. When Zachary Scott confronts her, he uses macho charm rather than physical violence, but he's still acting as a sexual aggressor. He doesn't hurt Dvorak, but scares her nevertheless. In the 1950s-style melodramatic plot, the unspoken undercurrent is that she's "turned on" by this, and the next thing you know, a day later, she throws herself at Scott. Suddenly they're in a classic Motion Picture Makeout Clinch, an she's ready to run away with him. To me, that just didn't add up, but as I say the film's a melodrama. Less questionable but still stretching credibility is Gene Tierney's about-face on the issue of the absent Rudy. Glenn Ford may be polite, but he's still a convicted killer. Tierney knows this by now, and though Ford tells her he was framed by Rudy (and isn't aware of Tierney's engagement to him), she slowly begins to believe him. Okay fine; Ford's story sounds legit. But like Ann Dvorak with Zach Scott, suddenly Tierney falls head over heels for Glenn Ford. It's asking too much, even in a '50s drama, for us to buy into these turnarounds.
I must stress, however, that that's a minor complaint. It doesn't adversely affect the quality of the film, which features a stellar cast and great acting from everyone mentioned. Dvorak in particular is very good. Her career goes back to the Silent era. You might remember her as Paul Muni's sister in the original "Scarface", and she's excellent here in a completely different role. Gene Tierney is good as well. She was underrated as an actress, I think, because of her beauty, but here she's without makeup and playing a frontier woman. It was one of her last roles before her nervous breakdown, which ultimately led to a diagnosis of manic depression and the decline of her career. But I digress...
I won't reveal what happens with Glenn Ford and Rudy, or if Zach Scott ever finds the truth about the hidden forty thousand dollars, but "The Secret of Convict Lake" is an engrossing film with well developed characters. This is heavy drama in the guise of a Western. Interestingly enough, it's based on a true story and there really is a Convict Lake in Northern California. I give the movie Two Big Thumbs Up and highly recommend it. Barring the implausible (yet dramatically understandable) romances, it's a story of strong independent women. ////
The previous night I saw "Secret of the Whistler"(1946). This time Richard Dix is an abstract painter married to a wealthy older woman who's also his patron. The other artists in his circle attend his parties but talk behind his back. They think he's a no-talent dullard and resent that he doesn't have to struggle financially.
His wife has a heart condition and cannot leave her bed. Dix sits by her side but longs to be among the In Crowd, so after consoling her he leaves for another party. There he approaches a model (Leslie Brooks, a blonde bombshell) to ask if she'll pose for him. Brooks accepts and, over the course of the painting, finds out about his wife's poor health. She uses her charms to snake her way close to him, and Dix - thrilled by her attention - falls for it. Brooks only wants him for his money. She's banking on becoming his wife after the current one dies, knowing Dix will inherit the woman's fortune.
Hey, didn't we just review a similar plot in another Whistler or Crime Doctor? Well anyhow, the thing with Richard Dix in these movies is that, anytime chicks start playing him, they never realise that he's playing them too. And this time he's having it both ways, because he's telling his wife how much he loves her and then saying the same thing to Leslie Brooks. And the wife is getting better, because of all the love! Soon she's well enough to leave the house, and you can guess what happens next : she goes to Dix's studio saying "I just wanted to surprise you, my darling". And of course he's there with his girlfriend Leslie Brooks, who tells him "it's me or her". So Dix decides to get rid of his wife.
Cue our pal The Whistler, who tells him he's making a big mistake.
You'll have to watch the film to see why, and it's up to the standards of previous Whistlers. I give it Two Big Thumbs Up, but man does Dix ever screw up in this one. /////
That's all I've got for the moment. My prog album for the day was "Caravan and the New Symphonia". I also found out about a second album from Arch/Matheos called "Winter Ethereal", released in 2019. Jim Matheos is the guitarist and main writer for a band called Fates Warning. I'm not a huge fan, but they made an all-time classic metal album in 1986 called "Awaken the Guardian" with John Arch on lead vocals. His voice is what grabbed me the most about the music, it's high pitched and eccentric - the way he phrases his lyrics and jumps around from pitch to pitch. Arch quit Fates in the 1990s and retired from the music business, but in 2011 he made a comeback with Jim Matheos. I have the first first album by those guys and it's pretty good, though not a classic like "Awaken the Guardian". But the new one sounds awesome, so I'm gonna order it on CD. I love me some John Arch! He's a one-of-a-kind singer, check him out on "Awaken" to see what I mean.
Have a great evening. I send you tons of love as always! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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