Warlock

I’ve just caught up with Warlock, a 1959 western starring Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn and Richard Widmark (and DeForest Kelley who played Bones in Star Trek in an overtly camp performance – with that and the relationship between Fonda and Quinn, no wonder a Sunday Times critic was moved to reference Brokeback Mountain!). It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, who made some terrific film noirs during the 1940s including Farewell My Lovely, Crossfire and Cornered. Bar a couple of scenes, Warlock isn’t one of his finest moments. What’s interesting about it is the sheer number of western clichés it manages to pack into one film: a one street town, a gang of lawless cowboys, a saloon complete with a long bar, a gunman for hire brought to the town to be marshall, the Grand Canyon, a stage coach robbery and an endless number of fast draw style duels. Best of all, and hilariously, is the scene in which a lynch mob invades a jail where members of the gang are being held and you notice that they are carrying burning torches! Still, it’s worth a watch and The Knowledge will return to Dmytryk who is a constantly surprising director.