Massacre (1957)

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Movie
German title massacre
Original title Dragoon Wells Massacre
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1957
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Harold D. Schuster
script Original Warren Douglas
Story Oliver Drake
production Lindsley Parsons
music Paul Dunlap
camera William H. Clothier
cut Maurice Wright
occupation

Massacre (Original title: Dragoon Wells Massacre , reference title: The gallows must wait ) is an American western from 1957 directed by Harold D. Schuster . In addition to Barry Sullivan and Dennis O'Keefe, the main roles are cast with Mona Freeman and Katy Jurado .

action

Around 1860, a prison car carrying the killers Link Ferris and Tioga from Fort Smith is traveling through the Apache area towards Dragoon Wells, where they are to be tried. The car is accompanied by Marshal Bill Haney and his deputy Tom and his driver Jud. Also at the same time are the Indian trader Jonah McAdam and Capt. Matt Riordan, who was ambushed by the Apaches with his cavalry force and their leader Chief Yellow Claw, on the same route. Riordan is the only survivor. He insists that McAdam take him to the fort at Dragoon Wells in his car. Just as the men are about to load the dead soldiers into the car, the prison car approaches them. And just a few minutes later, a stagecoach is approaching with Ann Bradley, Matt's former lover, her fiancé Phillip Scott and the Mexican entertainer Mara Fay. Assuming they face another attack, Riordan orders the criminals to be released from their shackles so that if one has to defend again, they can help. The three carriages have barely started moving again when they come under fire again from a small group of Apaches. In one of the carriages, a wheel is so badly damaged that it is impossible for this vehicle to continue. Since the heavy prison car is not suitable for a quick onward journey, only McAdam's carriage remains as a travel vehicle. Three of the men have to ride. When you take a rest at night, Marshal Haney Ann tells that Link Ferris killed eight men and, most recently, a Marshal. But he also mentions that each and every one of these men actually deserved death.

The next morning, McAdam stabbed Jud, who was on guard, and then tried to escape in his car. It is Ferris, of all people, who jumps on the car to stop McAdam. The car overturns and falls. Ferris pounces on McAdam, but is prevented by Riordan from shooting him. In the overturned car they discover a false floor under which McAdam had hidden rifles, ammunition and whiskey for the Apaches. Another attack by Yellow Claw and his warriors kills Tom. McAdam is then used by Riordan to threaten Yellow Claw that he will kill him. Since the Indians fear that they will no longer receive arms and whiskey deliveries, they withdraw for the time being. Now that McAdam's car is no longer available, the group continues on foot in the hope of reaching the relay station about 15 miles away in order to call for help.

On the way Ann tells Riordan that she will marry Scott primarily because he is rich and also willing to grant her certain freedoms. However, the pretty woman also attracts the attention of Ferris and Tioga. The not very handsome man, an outsider, tries to give her a necklace, to which Ann reacts completely exaggerated. The group is pursued further by the Apaches, who kill one after the other of them. After they also killed Hopi Charlie, who was driving the stagecoach, it looks like they also set the relay station on fire. The last concern of the fatally injured wife of the station master is her daughter Susan. Tioga finds the little girl huddled in a kind of basement shed in the ward and makes friends with the little one. When Susan and Ann later fell asleep in the camp and an Apache sneaks into the camp to kidnap Susan, Tioga saves the child at the cost of his own life. Only now does everyone realize how Tioga really was and Ann, ashamed, accepts the necklace she had previously rejected from the dying man. After the remaining group has reached the fortress, they are horrified to discover that they too have been attacked, the crew has been massacred and the water has been salty. Riordan sees only the possibility that a man alone can get help from Fort Bennington, about 50 miles away. The men draw cards to determine who should try the best horse.

The night Mara flirts with Matt, Scott and Ann speak out, with her fiancé telling her outright that she is incapable of loving anyone other than herself. Link Ferris has been chosen to help the night before to fetch. But he is captured by Yellow Claw, who wants Matt in exchange for him, who is to be brought to him by McAdam. Ann tends to Link's wounds, with both of them growing closer. Matt and Link then discuss an escape plan. Link sneaks into the Indian camp and overhears McAdam inciting the Indians to kill the last remaining travelers. Link then raises his gun and kills McAdam, then leads his pursuers into an ambush, where Matt and the others manage to kill Yellow Claw and the rest of the Indians. They manage to reach the fort with the Indians' horses. Mara and Matt have fallen in love and, just before the group has reached the safe fortress, Haney gives Link Ferris his freedom in gratitude for their rescue. Ann decides to accompany Link on his further journey.

Production and Background

Filming began in early July and ended in early August 1956. The exterior shots were taken near Kanab , Utah , within sight of the Arizona border . A place that is also referred to as Little Hollywood, because many productions from the film city, preferably westerns, were made there. The film was shot in Kanab Canyon, Johnson Canyon, an existing local replica of an army fort, and a trading post called The Gap, located in Cameron, Arizona. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Scott Betenson, a theater owner from Kanab, was one of the cast. Warren Douglas, who wrote the script, plays the role of driver Jud in the film.

The production company was Lindsley Parsons Productions Inc., the sales company was Allied Artists Pictures Corp. In the USA the film was first seen in cinemas on April 28, 1957, in the United Kingdom it also opened in 1957. In the Federal Republic of Germany it was released on February 28, 1958. On German television it was first broadcast by Sat.1 on January 28, 1996 under the title Der Galgen muss Wait .

The film is preceded by the following words: “One of the peculiar and largely unknown stories of the West is that of the prison car, the“ steppe witch ”, as he was called. Sent out from Fort Smith , Arkansas , he drove through the vast plains of Texas and the endless deserts of Arizona . He picked up the outlaws, the gunslingers and the murderers. The car drifted from place to place, like the bushes after which it was named. And as with the steppe witch, something stuck to him all by itself: men like Link Ferris and Tioga. He handed them over to the most feared man of his time: Judge Isaac C. Parker, who was basically an executioner. "

Harold Schuster was considered a terrific film editor before he switched to directing and was responsible for editing the multi-award-winning silent film Sunrise - Song of Two People (1927) by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau . One of his best-known directing works is the film Flicka from 1943, a story about a little boy and his horse. Schuster was known for being particularly fond of filming outdoors.

DVD

The film was released on DVD on May 15, 2015 by AL! Ve.

criticism

At timeout , the film received a very good rating, you spoke of a "highly pleasing film" which had been "set a very good performance" by William Clothier. Warren Douglas' script was also praised, with the "good characterization" of the people being emphasized. The actors were certified as having "excellent performances". Particularly memorable is the figure of Elam, who is used to being treated by people as an ugly desperado. An orphaned child who turns to him trustingly shames all those people would pigeonhole.

Dennis Schwartz spoke of a "predictable story", but was also impressed by the "wonderful" camera work by William Clothier. The law enforcement officers in this story are forced to ally themselves with the prisoners in order to have a chance to survive.

Also Cinema set down on the cameraman William H. Clothier and recalled that he and the major Western directors John Ford , Raoul Walsh and Sam Peckinpah and 21 times with genre icon John Wayne was shooting. He wrote about Clothier: "Cinematographer William H. Clothier created thirsty desert scenes". The conclusion was: "Leading action with occasional lulls"

The lexicon of international films dismissed the film as follows: “Every night a white man is killed by the Apaches. The love and jealousy stories within the group should provide additional tension. Series-produced western. (TV title: 'The gallows must wait') "

In the film echo , Ernst Bohlius was very impressed by the film in a contemporary review from 1958: “A colorful western that once again clearly proves that new variants are still possible in this genre. The course of the game always takes surprising turns and so there really is a real tension here. ”Bohlius praised the“ atmospheric shots of the bizarre rocky deserts of Arizona ”, which are an important part of the plot. He also found that Barry Sullivan embodied “a convincing jack-of-all-trades” who knew how to use “mouth and revolver always at the right moment”. Dennis O'Keefe is the "prudent taciturn leader of the persecuted". “The blonde Mona Freeman and the black curly haired Katy Jurado show themselves to be equal partners and different rivals.” “The other types [are] well met”. Bohlius summarized his judgment in the sentence: "A top class Western with the best business prospects."

The criticism at the time in the Wiesbadener Kurier was not without a certain mockery: “The director skillfully increases the tension: In the end, those who are determined for the happy end of fate and the script reach the fort. And the death row inmate from the prisoner car is allowed to go with the bride, his Manhood, ride out on the prairie into a new future. "

During the film week one could read at the time: “Director Harold Schuster knelt down hard and did a great job. Barry Sullivan also proves himself to be an old clearer. He meets two women: the cold-hearted adventurer Mona Freeman and the bartender Katy Jurado. Instead of guns, they fight with their fists. So the western was given what the western is. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Massacre - The gallows must wait - The booklet for the film by Reiner Boller (2015), p. 5
  2. ^ Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957) - Notes. Retrieved March 29, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b massacre. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 29, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ Massacre - The gallows must wait Fig. DVD case see page alive-ag.de
  5. ↑ Dragoon Wells Massacre In: TimeOut (English). Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  6. ^ Dennis Schwartz: Dragoon Wells Massacre. In: Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. April 29, 2015, accessed March 29, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Western massacre about a bloody Indian revolt . In: Cinema.de (with pictures of the film). Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  8. ^ Ernst Bohlius: Massaker In: Film-Echo, March 15, 1958.
  9. ^ Massacre In: Wiesbadener Kurier, March 22, 1958.
  10. ^ Massacre In: Filmwoche, Karlsruhe, April 19, 1958.