Shooting starts at midnight
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Shooting starts at midnight |
| Original title | The Cheyenne Social Club |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1970 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Gene Kelly |
| script | James Lee Barrett |
| production | James Lee Barrett Gene Kelly |
| music | Walter Scharf |
| camera | William H. Clothier |
| cut | Adrienne Fazan |
| occupation | |
| |
Shooting starts from midnight (original title The Cheyenne Social Club ) is an American western comedy by Gene Kelly from 1970. In the last direction of the former musical star, the leading roles are James Stewart , Henry Fonda , Shirley Jones and Sue Ane Langdon interprets. The overall quite pleasant film fun was not a great success in its home country.
action
The aging Texas cowboy John O'Hanlan receives news that his deceased brother in the Wyoming commune of Cheyenne has bequeathed the Cheyenne Social Club building to him. Together with his long-term partner Harley Sullivan, he is on the long journey. After an arduous ride, determined by Sullivan's constant chatter, the two finally arrive in Cheyenne, but soon discover that their club is not a locality, but a posh brothel occupied by six females. This fact leads to resentment between the buddies, because O'Hanlan has no interest in a continuation of the "light commercial" use, while Sullivan sees no problems and quickly befriends Opal Ann. On the other hand, O'Hanlan, who has meanwhile dressed in new clothes, is reserved towards Jenny, who is happy about the newcomers and who is a little bit the spokesperson.
The two strangers are treated benevolently on their first pub crawl, but the next morning the mood in the club changes because O'Hanlan announces the closure of the establishment over breakfast with the prostitutes; the six women react shocked and annoyed because they had absolutely not expected such a measure, especially since O'Hanlan's brother was a big patron of the house. The alienation of the cowboys is also increasing, and when O'Hanlan enters the glamorous Great Plains Saloon again, the innkeeper, who was very courteous the night before, refuses him any drink and sends him to the restaurant opposite. There, too, O'Hanlan has an encounter with a very angry city honor and even has to use his fists for the first time. Although the Texan cannot explain this behavior that calls his property into question, it does not help at all at the moment, and when he returns to the nightly club he learns that Jenny has been cruelly beaten in the meantime by the notorious bully Corey Bannister .
O'Hanlan, who is enraged, storms back into town knowing about the perpetrator and his whereabouts, followed by Sullivan. The villain lounging at the bar on the Great Plain cares little about the allegation and is not afraid of an armed conflict; in fact, O'Hanlan, untrained in the use of his revolver, should have little chance in an inevitable duel. But he likes his friend's quirk of cracking nuts with his bare hands; When he does that again, standing in a corner of the saloon, Bannister is disoriented for a moment, and the Texan kills him. In Cheyenne one is not necessarily sad about it, but this outcome now calls the relatives crying for revenge on the scene. The marshal informs the two of the imminent arrival of the deceased's uncle and cousins, only to run away under an excuse. So does Sullivan, who reminds his disappointed friend that there is no chance in a shootout. But O'Hanlan, who blames himself for Jenny, wants to defend the house and the whores.
On his way out, Sullivan encounters the Bannister clan around Corey's uncle Charlie, who shortly afterwards begin to siege the club. O'Hanlan and Hilde are able to hold off the attackers to Jenny, who has recovered halfway, and when Sullivan comes back and shoots the rifle from a water tower, the attackers are defeated. One survived, however, and when the marshal informs the duo again that a much larger delegation of the widespread clan can be expected next time, O'Hanlan draws the consequences and transfers the Cheyenne Social Club to Jenny. He couldn't have made it into a pension anyway, because there was a final agreement with the railroad that the house would only remain in O'Hanlan ownership as long as it was used as a brothel. After the two cowboys have returned to their homeland, O'Hanlan receives a letter from the very grateful Jenny; he burns it, and Sullivan is downright pissed off about it.
production
Locations
The film was in July 1969 in Santa Fe ( New Mexico ) and Salt Lake City ( Utah ) and in the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood rotated.
Music in the film
- Rolling Stone , music and text Walter Scharf, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, lecture: Henry Fonda
- One Dream , music and lyrics as before
publication
The film premiered in the United States on June 12, 1970. It was published in the UK and Australia in the same year, and in 1971 in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria and Japan. On December 23, 1971 he was seen for the first time in the Federal Republic of Germany.
It had its television premiere in Spain in 1977. It has also been published in Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Soviet Union and Turkey.
criticism
“Westerns staged at a leisurely pace with humorous parodic intentions; not always sure of taste. ”- Lexicon of international film
"(...); two humorous old stars in carefree roles. ”(Rating: 2½ out of 4 possible stars = above average) - Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz in Lexicon“ Films on TV ”
John J. Puccio wrote on August 14, 2006 on www.dvdtown.com that seldom had so many “high-class talents” achieved so little. The result seems "tiring" in places.
The Classic Film Guide praised the “humorous” dialogues and wrote that the film was “slightly above average Western comedy” as a western comedy.
Joe Hembus stated that the film was "a nice joke about two nice, naive cowboys and their amazement at what there is in the West."
Phil Hardy criticized the film quickly collapsing into silliness, Barrett's script was "slippery", Kelly's direction was "theatrical and flat". It lacks the wit and unique style that otherwise characterized Kelly's work.
Awards
James Lee Barrett was nominated in 1971 for the Writers Guild of America Award in the category "Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen".
Web links
- Shot from midnight in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The shooting starts at midnight at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Filming locations for The Cheyenne Social Club
- ↑ Shooting starts at midnight. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier, Berndt Schulz: Lexicon "Films on TV" . (Extended new edition.) Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 297
- ^ Critique by John J. Puccio ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Review in the Classic Film Guide
- ↑ Joe Hembus: Western Lexicon - 1272 films from 1894-1975. Carl Hanser Verlag Munich Vienna 2nd edition 1977. ISBN 3-446-12189-7 . P. 239.
- ^ Phil Hardy: The Encyclopedia of Western Movies. Woodbury Press Minneapolis 1984. ISBN 0-8300-0405-X . P. 323