weezeralfalfa
The familiar plot explores the problem of a mature man, ready to settle down after an outlaw youth, but the justice system won't let him. In some films, such as "The Tall Men" and "The Bend in the River", the man is able to escape the reach of the law and presumably accomplish his transformation. In others, such as this, he is doomed to die trying.Fugitive badman Wes McQueen(Joel McCrea) and feisty tomboyish femme fatal Colorado(Virginia Mayo) have high hopes of 'busting out' of his past baggage and making a new start together as ranchers in Mexico, hopefully out of reach of pursuing US lawmen. But, McQueen is contracted to lead one last train heist as a condition of help in his Missouri jail break, and to provide start up money for their future. This puts him on the radar as the #1 western badman, leading to the quick demise of both. Yep, it's presented as a tragic too late love story. McQueen seems like too nice a guy in most ways to fit his outlaw side. Clearly, Colorado is fatally infatuated by his combination of dangerousness and decency. Yep, he's her man and she will follow him to the grave.Although officially a remake of "High Sierra" in a western setting, McQueen seems loosely modeled on Jesse James, who reputedly was planning to give up his outlaw ways after one more robbery, when he was assassinated by a gang member. It also repeats some key features of the previous "Duel in the Sun". It lacks any substantial musical or humorous elements, being a hard-driving drama and love story. The photography is excellent, much of it in darkened settings, in crisp B&W. In addition to the canyonland settings, the train robbery sequence was done with the Durango-Silverton railway in the SW Colorado mountains. It supposedly takes place when Colorado was a territory, from 1861-76.This is yet another western where the leading man(dare I claim hero?) gets involved with 2 new beautiful single women: one conventionally prim, often newly arrived from the East, and the other a 'bad' flamboyant extraordinary beauty. Probably, in most films, the leading man(who often has a tainted past himself) eventually ends up with the 'good' girl. In Anthony Man's "The Far Country", clearly the 'bad' woman is made for Jeff, but she dies defending him in a gun battle. Hence, he is left with the 'good' girl, whom he considers too young and naive. In the present film, the choice is made more complicated by the reversal of the characterization of the two women during the film. Thus, when Julie(Dorothy Malone) learns that the tall handsome man who earlier saved her from a stagecoach bandit holdup is actually a notorious escaped convict with a $20,000. reward for his capture, she tries to open the door and tell the posse that McQueen is inside, so she can collect the reward.(Jesse James's capture topped out at only $10,000. during the same era!). A cat fight ensues, as Colorado tries to keep her from informing the posse. Previous to this, Colorado expertly extracted a bullet lodged in McQueen's shoulder with doctor's tweezer's, as if she had performed many such operations(?), cauterizing the wound by lighting a bit of gunpowder!. Yes, this is a historically legitimate procedure, but has to be done expertly for a good result! Obviously, from this point on, Colorado is the woman McQueen can trust to back him up. Like Tracy, in "Harry Tracy, Desperado", McQueen tells his girl that he now has to go it alone, knowing that he will resist recapture to the death. Once McQueen is trapped by the posse in what clearly looks like the spectacular Canyon de Chelly(AZ)(which they ominously dub 'The Canyon of Death'), it's pretty obvious he's not coming out alive, especially since he can hold his rifle with only one arm. Unlike Tracy's girl, Colorado feels she must die taking a measure of revenge on the posse.Before they split, McQueen gives Colorado essentially all the stolen money. She stuffs some in the offering box in the old Spanish mission and hides the rest nearby, before praying at the alter. Presumably, this is what the friar meant in the closing scene when he said this backwater village was renewed by this happy couple who passed through. The posse has no idea where to look for the money, and the friars probably won't find the major part for some time.Although his past says he's a habitual desperado, McQueen comes across as one of the few characters we can trust, along with Julie's father(played by perennial scene stealer Henry Hull) and Colorado. Julie, McQueen's other partners in the holdup: Reno and Duke, as well as associates Pluthner and Wallace, clearly are untrustworthy backstabbers. Viginia Mayo is winsome as the knockout fancy-free badman's moll, with cat-like gleaming eyes. She would revisit her passionate tomboy persona in the later excellent Raoul Walsh western "Along the Great Divide", where she has another meaty role in trying to save her father from a lynching or court-ordered hanging as an alleged murderer, as well as rustler.
csp46
While there may be a few cracks in this movie, overall it is a magnificent work. Some of it could have been shot by Ansel Adams. Few of the situations are forced and the script flows without some of the interruptions of irrationality noted in many westerns. The acting is universally excellent and production values are superb,something characteristic of Warner Bros. About the only complaint one may have about the cast is that Virginia Mayo's beauty is not as evident as it should be, for she is, in my opinion, one of the GREAT beauties to ever grace the screen. The twists and turns in this movie keep you in suspense. If you are a fan of the westerns, this one should allow you to exit the theater "justified".
dougdoepke
Scenic remake of gangster classic High Sierra. This time, it's cowboy Joel McCrea hooking up with no-account henchmen to rob a train carrying valuables. Along the way, he meets up with attractive good girl Dorothy Malone who stands for family and a stable farm life, but will that be enough to reform his outlaw side. Then too, add good-bad girl Virginia Mayo, the gang's moll, who's as morally unstable as McCrea and we've got another interesting conflict. We want McCrea to reform since he acts honorably even when his henchmen don't. Then too, no one was better at conveying quiet dignity and manliness than actor McCrea. As a Western hero, he was a natural. So, in effect, he's playing subtly against type.The massive rock monoliths of Arizona furnish a riveting backdrop and are nicely filmed, even in b&w. They also work well for the final scene, which is rather eerie given the distances involved. Comparisons with the original are inevitable, and while this cowboy version doesn't manage the tragic poignancy of the original (mainly because Mayo lacks Lupino's soulful skills), it's still a good story, with well-staged action and lots to look at. And for a Western, that's a hard combination to beat.
MartinHafer
HIGH SIERRA was an exceptional Bogart film and it helped to make him a bonafied star. However, like Hollywood tended to do in the 30s and 40s, they remade this film less than a decade later! However, considering how good HIGH SIERRA was, Colorado TERRITORY can't help but come up a bit short even if it is still a good film.Joel McCrea gets the unenviable task of repeating Bogie's role, though in this case the film is set in the Old West. The plot is basically the same and everyone associated with the film did a fine job--but I still am asking why bother remaking such a good film? It's worth seeing, but unless you are a huge Western or McCrea fan, it's skip-able.By the way, in an unusual move, director Raoul Walsh was at the helm of the original AND this re-make.
