Blowing Wild

Blowing Wild

It's been many years since I watched Blowing Wind. One of those in-between films that a cast of fine actors can't turn into a memorable entertainment effort. Even the great Barbara Stanwyck couldn't save this one. Cooper and Quinn were coming off their Oscar wins for High Noon and Viva Zapata, respectively, yet neither actor rises above mediocre. Two quality character actors, Ward Bond and Ruth Roman, were wasted in this film. I would expect more from a Philip Yordan script too. I think this one might have shown better in color. The drabness of the cinematography and the lackluster script makes for a forgettable movie. The direction is nothing to brag about either. Worth a look, nothing more.

We in the UK can thank again the Free-to-Air channels that put out these otherwise lost little movies, and once again here is one that is not at all bad. Set in 1930s Mehico with Coop and Ward Bond as oil bums down on their luck; Anthony Quinn in a typical rough, lusty role who's a dupe husband of mad Barbara Stanwyck (who's an old flame of Coop); the lovely Ruth Roman is in it as a con woman with a heart of gold; great Frankie Laine title song pops up constantly; nasty banditos about.... The fun is in comparing with other films; I immediately thought of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "Gilda", "Wages of Fear", "High Noon", "Warlock"; even dangerous trek/buddy films like "Vera Cruz".... Script was by Philip Yordan; music Dimitri Tiomkim..a film with those credentials will always be worth a look.

Talk about an all star cast -- Cooper and Bond are oil rig wildcatters, hoping to hit it big in oil. But they run into trouble with the local bandits. So they take a job transporting explosives. Great pay but dangerous work! Cooper runs into an old flame (Stanwyck), who is married to an old friend. Stanwyck was pretty busy in the 1950s... this is just one of FIVE of her films released in 1953. It's a good one. All the challenges the guys face; the bandits, dangerous work, and a very aggressive married woman who keeps throwing herself at Coop. Showing on the Cinemoi channel. Directed by argentinian director Hugo Fregonese, and written by Phil Yordan. He had some pretty big things made into film. Even an oscar for Broken Lance.

This is a far cry from the two undisputed classics which had paired Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck twelve years earlier and Hugo Fregonese is not in the same league as Messrs. Capra and Hawks whilst Philip Yordan's script is way below his best. The old chemistry between Cooper and Stanwyck is still there of course and as a bonus we have the strong presence of Anthony Quinn, one of Cinema's genuine characters who worked very hard to develop and improve his craft whilst Ruth Roman's subtle sensuality offers a much needed contrast to the film's machismo and Miss Stanwyck's passionate intensity. The film benefits from Dimitri Tiomkin's score, the cinematography of Sidney Hickox and most particularly its momentum for which editor Alan Crosland merits a special mention. In effect this opus represents a prime example of talented, professional artistes rising above their material.

Anthony Quinn for once plays his actual nationality in this Hollywood hokum shot in Mexico but which cautiously declares it's setting 'South America'. The title song by Frankie Laine set to music by Dimitri Tiomkin was probably added to liven up the film; but keeps promising more than the film can deliver and gets annoying after a while. The basic situation of 'The Wages of Fear' is dashed off in just fifteen minutes before the movie finally fully displays it's biggest asset - Barbara Stanwyck on horseback in jodhpurs with a riding crop - when it finally gets interesting. (But your attention still wanders during the continued, dismayingly lengthy, stretches when she's not about.)

Gary Cooper is looking for work somewhere in South America when he meets an old friend with a succesful oil-digging company. His wife, however, is an old love from Cooper and the tension can only lead to bad things. On top of it all, the country suffers from bandits who destroy and rob all material. The story has a negative undertone about the failure Americans have when trying to make it big outside their motherland just like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Bogart. The characters are well thought-out and all of them have a solid background. Gary Cooper's character has a past he'd rather forget and it made me think about his character in High Noon. Unfortunately the movie seems to be made in a rush, but due to the story, drama and character studies I give this a 7 out of 10! And for me that's rather a lot!

From the acting of Anthony Quinn to the exquisitely overblown melodramatic elements, Blowing Wild is a great relatively unknown gem of a modern western. In the current trend of films that must have happy endings and uplifting themes I found it just so refreshing to watch something where it all goes wrong. The heroic sensible character does not win the day, there is no overcoming of difficult circumstances although there is certainly bravery and doggedness. The art of the tragedy bares it's garish colours in Blowing Wild. With so many of today's directors chasing the ghosts of "modern" themes, trying to speak to "modern" audiences, they would do well to study a film such as this, and other's of the older period. They seem to have far more to say to us "moderns" than current offerings that seem to have regressed to some kind of prepubescent state.

I remember seeing this as a14 year old in England when it was first released. It has stuck in my mind ever since. The combination of Gary Cooper's world weary persona, Dimitri Tiomkin's evocative score, the great rendition of the title song by Frankie Laine and the powerful sense of loss and what might have been all combine to make a fantastic couple of hours. One thought did occur when I watched it again last night was how old the characters all were... We take it for granted today that most roles are played by 25-35 year old actors (and actresses)that to see Cooper, Stanwyck, Quinn, Bond etc. brings one up with start. Lovely film, though, and I look forward to seeing it again.