Barricade

source: Barricade

Moviecut—Barricade

Barricade

An anti tyranny allegory from a Jack London novel by way of Bill Sackheim and all wrapped up in a western. Don't know 'bout you but that's not how I like my political allegories. Or my westerns, come to think of it. Makes for some heavy, stiff passages with lots of Shakespeare quoting, Wise Sayings ("Some men can't live without integrity") and cardboard characters who are either pure or pure evil. Still, there are a couple things that elevate this film a bit above the mediocrity line, chief among them Raymond Massey's fine performance as a power mad, sadistic psycho, kind of a combination Macbeth and Hitler (he's given a German last name). Indeed, Massey is such a good bad guy that I'm surprised he didn't do more of these villainous turns instead of the faintly dull Doc Gillespie/Abe Lincoln stuff. Give it a generous C plus, mostly for Massie.

Loosely based on jack london's story sea wolf, another man versus nature... or in this case... man versus large figure in charge. When judith (ruth roman) and her new friend milburn (robert douglas) show up at a gold miner's camp , the foreman (ray massey, in a rare, regular guy role! ) gives them temporary work. But things are a bit off ... everyone is afraid of the foreman, who runs a tight ship, and things go off the rails fast. When a crooked judge dies, they realize they can't go along with the way things are in town. The corrupt foreman is a viscious killer and doesn't care who gets in the way. Then nature intervenes. Like it always does in a london or hemingway story. Directed by peter godfrey, for warner brothers. Filmed at vasquez rocks and griffith park. It's pretty good. Not sure what the lesson is, but nature always seems to play a role.

Bob Peters (Dane Clark) is hiding from the law. He would rather keep moving but he's offered a job with mining Boss Kruger (Raymond Massey). He finds the job worst than expected and Kruger a ruthless tyrant. Escaped prisoner Judith Burns (Ruth Roman) arrives in town and makes a run for it on a runaway stage coach. She crashes and recuperates at the mine. This is apparently adapted from the Jack London novel "The Sea Wolf". This is an interesting western. Raymond Massey is a great actor although I would like him to be scarier. It's interesting to take the point of view from folks on the run from the law. There are some fair action and some less impressive action. It's interesting.

I've always liked this film. The main reason is because the script is written in a way that none of the main cast dominates the action. Some of them are off screen for stretches of time, while the others take over the story. And as this happens, it gives minor supporting players a chance to step up and shine. Another reason I enjoy this film so much is because Robert Douglas gives a realistic portrayal of a man with an agonizing disability. Also the two stars of the picture, Dane Clark and Ruth Roman, seem to have a respectful give and take in all their moments on screen. The direction is flawless, and the writing (based on Jack London's THE SEA WOLF) provides a strong set of conflicts that motivates all of them in a setting that can best be described as their mutual hell. The reigning tyrant, or devil in such a hell, is given humanness by Raymond Massey who understands that the other characters and an audience sometimes needs someone to hate, intensely.