Backlash

From Universal International Pictures shows this thrilling and exciting Western with great cast, lots of action, duels to death and suspense that cuts like a whip. It deals with Jim Slater, Richard Widmark, who seeks a survivor of an Apache massacre and while he meets a beautiful wife : Donna Reed, looking for his husband. Slater is a gunslinger out to find his father's killer. Along the way, he faces off hard-riding outlaws, Apache raiders and he becomes involved into a range warfare between two land barons, John McIntire and Roy Roberts. Was the sixth man the secret to the five empty graves?.. The answer waited in a woman's lips and watched from the shadows of a frightened town! Nice western with a twisted and complex plot by the prestigious and Western expert Borden Chase. Well financed by the notorius producer Aaron Rosenberg who also produced the succcesful James Stewart Westerns as Winchester 73, The far country, Bend the river, Night passage. This is a tough and certain winner John Sturges Western with touches of mystery and suspense to find out a real culprit. It includes good helpings of ordinary gundown, Indian attacks, ambushes and anything else. The screenplay is unusually well worked-out for an oater, delivering interest and entertainment enough. It packs one or two first-rate twists and surprises in the closing reel. Finely starred by the two-fisted Richard Widmark playing in his usual style and co-starred by the gorgeous Donna Reed. Being very well accompanied by an awesome support cast such as : William Campbell, John McIntire, Henry Morgan, Barton McLane, Robert J Wilke, Roy Roberts, Edward Platt, among others. Filmed in brilliant technicolor amid the grandeur and espectacle of high sierras. This busiest western was well directed by John Sturges, though it is inferior than his other Western entries. Sturges was a good director who shot some nice and classic Westerns, such as : The Walking Hills, Gunfight at OK Corral, The magnificent seven, Escape from Fort Bravo, The law and Jake Wade, The last train from Gun Hill, Three sergeants, Halelujah trail, Hour of the gun, and a semi-western : Bad day at Black Rock, among others. Rating 6.5. Decent Western that will appeal to Richard Widmark fans. Well worth watching.

54 miles from any civilization or help and Donna Reed dismounts never bothers to tie up her horse. Not too smart. She must also have been the best dressed gal in the west, always in new, clean clothes. The various "cowboys" clothing is right out of 1950, not 1850. Good scenery and atmosphere, but pretty corny.

This screenplay tosses in as many Western tropes as can fit in the running time: a man (that Hollywood invention, a gunfighter) ranging for revenge; a woman of ambiguous fidelity; a war between ranchers for control of a town; a flashy punk to challenge the gunfighter; gold; Apaches (much mentioned, not seen). Everyone except Widmark looks as if they are soaking up the local color at a dude ranch — most of the cast sport bandanas in a range of designer hues and tones around their necks and are attired in notably neat, clean clothes. Reed, who looks as if she is ready for a glamour photo session, wears several carefully tailored and colorful outfits, including a getup, complete with a hat tilted at a saucy angle, right out of "Johnny Guitar" (that calculatedly stylized Western, which this film might have taken some of its cues from). (Where does she keep all those clothes?) Widmark also has a tasteful bandana, but the rest of his outfit at least looks as if it could be worn in the Old West without being looked askance at. Widmark and Reed start out at cross purposes, but soon enough get a yen for each other. That is perhaps because both are supposed to be from the South (he from Texas, she from Georgia), although they sound just like they came from Iowa. (Reed did come from Iowa; Widmark from Minnesota.) When things threaten to slow down or seem too absurd, there is another Hollywood invention — the fast-draw showdown. There are four, or maybe five, including the not-quite-a-showdown at the end. A sign of how misguided this film is can be seen in its having the congenitally likable Harry Morgan as a badass dude (he gets plugged by the black leather-wearing flashy punk, who is named...Johnny Cool). Widmark does solid work, and has some snappy lines as the roving avenger. Reed does the best she can, but at times seems to be thinking ahead to settling down in the suburbs as the wife of a pediatrician, which she would do a few years later on her own television show. The filmmakers may have been trying to have it both ways here: serving up slickly done clichés to satisfy the fan of Westerns while casting sideways winks to those who might be attuned to the camp aspects of the affair. Even in this generous assessment, it doesn't quite work. When Nicholas Ray & co. decided to do something different with the Western film in "Johnny Guitar", they made the result strikingly theatrical and as expressionistic as the inherently realistic genre could be. In this film, things oscillate between rugged earnestness and ludicrousness. Everyone involved in this farrago was apparently picking up some work between more interesting projects.

Although this production hadn't a big budge, it might a B-picture, thus the whole thing is supported by fine casting, guided by a wise screenplay and of course directed by a top notch as John Sturges, just these elements are enough to make something valuable at least, the plot summarized is about a man Jim Slater (Widmark) who never saw his absent father which he was involved in 60.000 dollars gold at Gila Valley, however many other relatives of the partner members are on the tracks, suddenly appears a beauty woman Karyl Orton (Donna Reed) who in fact looking for his husband that disappears since the war is over, after follow many clues they find what are looking for and wasn't as they expect, it seems an usual western, but isn't, has something more, Slater never got any interest in the gold, he wants to find his father or revenge him if was found death, curiosity the final acting took place on a remarkable city, so many picture were made there, Rio Bravo, The Badlanders, Eldorado, Walk the Proud Land and others countless movies, what a scenario!!! Resume: First watch: 2010 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Backlash (1956) is directed by John Sturges and adapted by Borden Chase from the novel written by Frank Gruber. It stars Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, John McIntire & William Campbell. It's shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg on location in Tuscon, Arizona. 1870 Arizona, and Jim Slater (Widmark) is searching for the truth about what happened to his father during the Apache ambush at Gila Valley. This brings him into contact with strong willed Karyl Orton (Reed), who courtesy of her missing husband also has an interest in the events of that raid. Missing family members and missing gold, the can is now open and worms are pouring out every where. It's about the writing and the characters here. From the off it should be known that this is no high octane actioner. We are dealing in a mystery, with what amounts to a detective story played out in a Western theme. It's a touch unusual but never less than interesting as Chases' unconventional script gives birth to a myriad of characters, some complex, others just stock genre story fleshers. There's some clichés spliced within the piece, but they are off set by some nice twists in the story. And while this is no Anthony Mann/Borden Chase psychologically tinted production, it doesn't cop out with its big decisions. Glassberg's cinematography is first class, really vibrant and bursting out from the screen as they nicely film it on location of where the story is set. The cast is real strong. Widmark is excellent as the tough as nails hero and Reed looks stunning whilst neatly essaying a prickly femme fatale type. McIntire gives another classy supporting turn and Campbell is enjoyably OTT as hothead gunslinger Johnny Cool. The principals have all done far better work in the genre, but this is a nice change of pace for all of them. It's unlikely to raise the pulses of the action seeking fan, but for those of a more literary persuasion this should hit the spot. 7/10

When you think of A-List Western Stars the names that pop up are Cooper, Glenn Ford, Wayne, Stewart, Marvin, Scott, Peck, Ladd, Stanwyck and Eastwood. Then there is Richard Widmark. People do not identify him with Westerns, but he did do 18 of them and is in the Western Performers Hall Of Fame, so they should. Backlish is the rarest of the theatrical movies of Widmark's but well worth seeing. It is a not only a western but a mystery as well, because Jim Slater ( Widmark) tries to find out who killed his father years ago, and why. Widmark ( when he is the hero and he is here), usually plays tormented and conflicted characters, and he certainly is here. It is especially true ( spoilers ahead) when he finds out his father is not only alive but an evil man ( John McIntire), and he must stop him or 100 men will die. Excellent performances by Donna Reed as love interest Karyl Orton, and William Campbell as psychotic gunman Johnny Cool. Widmark is in almost every scene so if people reading this are Widmark fans this should be a must see. 10/10 stars.

I noticed from the other reviews that a lot of people apparently like this film. And, while I did enjoy it, I was far from excited about BACKLASH--mostly because the writing, at times, seemed trite. The film begins with Richard Widmark in the western desert. A dark-haired Donna Reed approaches him and soon appears to set him up to be killed. A bit later in the film, the same thing happens again--at which point Widmark smacks her across the face. Now it never was 100% certain that she meant to do this both times, but it sure appeared that way. So, if this was any NORMAL couple, what would you never, ever expect in a bazillion years?! Yep, by the end of the film they'd be ga-ga in love with each other. This trite resolution impaired my enjoyment of an otherwise decent film. It's all about a massacre where a group of five men were killed by Indians. However, Widmark has the idea that there had been a sixth person who abandoned his "friends" and ran to save his butt. Who this was and what exactly happened to his father and Reed's husband (who were in the group massacred) is the theme of the film. And, after some research, it looks like either of these two dead people COULD have been the one who betrayed everyone and is still very much alive. An interesting concept. Overall, the acting is very good and the people in the film give it their best. But because the film has a few clichés and sometimes seems too coincidental and contrived, it suffers a bit and can't seriously be considered among the best of the genre. Good but far from great.

Always found "Back Lash" very entertaining and enjoyable production. Viewed it more that 4 times . Again this week on AMC and while watching it i noticed chairs around the fireplace Donna Reed sat in one....in scene where confrontation where Slater learns about his father...Any ways i was taken back with the fact that a chair would get my attention as i have a similer chair..Why am i bringing this to IMDb attention? Thought i'd seek some advise from persons in props department or advise on companies that supply props like the furniture used in "Back Lash". In particular, period furniture used in Ranch house scene, the 3 chairs used around that room .. I am aware that this request is not what IMDb is about. But, i'm hoping i could get some direction on my research. Those chairs in the Movie motivated me to seek out some info.. on them.. Thanks!! John.

One of my favorite directors…in fact maybe my absolute favorite director…is John Sturges. I will not take the time to list all of the Sturges movies I like, but I am particularly fond of his westerns. Recently, I had the chance to catch one of his oaters that I haven't seen before. Backlash, from 1956, is excellent! I had not heard of the film until I came across it on Encore Westerns, but I am glad I found it! The movie stars (the underrated, in my opinion) Richard Widmark, joined by Donna Reed. I will not give too much away regarding the plot (no spoilers here), and will only say that the story revolves around Widmark searching for the man who left a group of men stranded. This man ran off with quite a sum of gold, leaving others behind to be slaughtered by Apaches. The search for this man, and the quest to learn his identity, is well handled and very suspenseful. In fact, the premise, and suspense that stems from it, has caused some reviewers to classify this film as a "psychological western." This subgenre is known for building slow burning suspense, relying more on tension rather than scenes of action (the original 3:10 to Yuma is a good example). Backlash certainly has elements of this, but make no mistake, there is a ton of action in this picture! In fact, I was amazed at just how many gunfights there were. The film practically opens up with one, and never slows down. Widmark battles a band of gunfighting brothers, Apaches, hired gunhands, and a ruthless cattle rancher. The film is only 90 minutes, and the story moves along at a brisk pace with little to no filler. It's a lean, action-packed gem of a western with excellent pacing, an exciting story, and great acting. I am not sure why this movie is not more well-known, or why it has not received a wide DVD release. It is a forgotten treasure that every western fan should see. It's just the type of movie I love, and while not a masterpiece of epic filmmaking or groundbreaking, I give it a perfect 10.

then this movie is great one to watch. I really don't understand all the love for this movie, but accept that it is what it is. For me, the script and screen writing is pure high school level. There is simply no rhythm to this film. The acting, given the quality of script, is not bad, though wasted. The relationship between Reed and Widmark develops implausibly. In fact, every relationship in this less than epic oater develops with with an expedition better suited to humor an audience than to lasso them into believability. A sample: The scene where Widmark takes the dead deputy into Silver City is ridiculous. The "sheriff" (Ed Platt) doesn't even ask the circumstances surrounding the death of his deputy and makes force-less demands of Widmark to remove his gun. Next thing you know, Widmark and Reed are ordered out of town. For what?? Defending themselves?? What does not make sense here is that Platt is demanding accountability from Widmark and Reed, but none from aggrieved brothers of the dead deputy. Silly. The whole film is loaded with these sorts of inconsistencies. Reed is gorgeous and thus competes agreeably with the natural beauty of the western landscape where this film was shot. A lot of stars perform in this effort, but not a lot of stars in my rating.