Recently (November 2017) a friend told me his favorite Western novelist is Luke Short. Strictly on his recommendation, I got a Luke Short novel, titled "Donovan's Gun," and I am very impressed. Short is now my own second favorite Western novelist, right after Elmer Kelton.
"Albuquerque," my favorite city in these United States, is the setting for this movie although reportedly it was shot in Chatsworth, California, now very urbanized, and Sedona, Arizona.
Perhaps the story is rather slight, maybe even predictable, but the dialogue and the number of important characters raises it 'way above the average.
Well, heck, Randolph Scott is the star (and in one of his most likable roles) so I was predisposed to like it. But Lon Chaney Jr. gives another of his excellent performances. He became an even better actor than his father, without the make-up.
Oh, yes, as the Wolfman he used both his acting talent and make-up, but later roles, such as this and in "High Noon" and "Of Mice and Men," he proved to any doubters he was indeed an actor.
Russell Hayden was a busy man, having 80 credits here at IMDb, but in "Albuquerque" he doesn't have to do a lot.
But his "sister," played by Catherine Craig does. What a beautiful and talented woman. She should have had many more than 38 credits.
Barbara Britton is billed higher and had a longer career, and is also lovely and talented.
Usually playing a grandpa or uncle, and usually a likable codger, George Cleveland, in a Lionel Barrymore-reminiscent wheelchair, is a really horrible villain. Anyone wondering about his acting talent needs to see him in this. Remarkable performance!
Nearly stealing the whole movie, as he usually did, was George "Gabby" Hayes, who had some of the best lines, and whose character owned two mules named, grandly, "Damon" and "Pythias."
His character, "Juke," also got to make Bible references, even if he did sometimes rather garble them, but it was this kind of dialogue that made "Albuquerque" such an excellent movie, even more than the action.
Unfortunately, sometimes the action was made less than exciting because of too many rear-screen projection shots. That is my only carp about the movie.
My other carp is about some of the reviews. It is not really a "review" if the would-be reviewer merely recounts the plot, and especially when not warning readers of spoilers.
One reviewer, in addition, sneered at the fact a stage-coach driver and his supposed "co-driver," who was actually a passenger, not a "co- driver," were unarmed when the bandits held them up.
Juke told the bandits there was no cash box aboard, so nothing to steal -- he not knowing passengers might have valuables -- and he told the hold-up men that's why he was unarmed. So some reviewers really ought to watch the movie before commenting.
I do have one other complaint: There are, at this writing, three versions of "Albuquerque" at YouTube -- and every one is pretty bad to terrible.
The one I finally decided upon was out of focus and about half-way through even out of synch! Why people upload such junk is beyond me.
Another has a picture of John Wayne, which seems a fairly common bit of fraud on the YouTube audience, and the YouTube owners -- Amazon? -- really ought to be ashamed to allow such dishonesty.
One of the others has the movie cut off at top and bottom.
"Albuquerque" is a good movie, one I highly recommend, but if you try to watch at YouTube, choose carefully.
"Albuquerque," my favorite city in these United States, is the setting for this movie although reportedly it was shot in Chatsworth, California, now very urbanized, and Sedona, Arizona.
Perhaps the story is rather slight, maybe even predictable, but the dialogue and the number of important characters raises it 'way above the average.
Well, heck, Randolph Scott is the star (and in one of his most likable roles) so I was predisposed to like it. But Lon Chaney Jr. gives another of his excellent performances. He became an even better actor than his father, without the make-up.
Oh, yes, as the Wolfman he used both his acting talent and make-up, but later roles, such as this and in "High Noon" and "Of Mice and Men," he proved to any doubters he was indeed an actor.
Russell Hayden was a busy man, having 80 credits here at IMDb, but in "Albuquerque" he doesn't have to do a lot.
But his "sister," played by Catherine Craig does. What a beautiful and talented woman. She should have had many more than 38 credits.
Barbara Britton is billed higher and had a longer career, and is also lovely and talented.
Usually playing a grandpa or uncle, and usually a likable codger, George Cleveland, in a Lionel Barrymore-reminiscent wheelchair, is a really horrible villain. Anyone wondering about his acting talent needs to see him in this. Remarkable performance!
Nearly stealing the whole movie, as he usually did, was George "Gabby" Hayes, who had some of the best lines, and whose character owned two mules named, grandly, "Damon" and "Pythias."
His character, "Juke," also got to make Bible references, even if he did sometimes rather garble them, but it was this kind of dialogue that made "Albuquerque" such an excellent movie, even more than the action.
Unfortunately, sometimes the action was made less than exciting because of too many rear-screen projection shots. That is my only carp about the movie.
My other carp is about some of the reviews. It is not really a "review" if the would-be reviewer merely recounts the plot, and especially when not warning readers of spoilers.
One reviewer, in addition, sneered at the fact a stage-coach driver and his supposed "co-driver," who was actually a passenger, not a "co- driver," were unarmed when the bandits held them up.
Juke told the bandits there was no cash box aboard, so nothing to steal -- he not knowing passengers might have valuables -- and he told the hold-up men that's why he was unarmed. So some reviewers really ought to watch the movie before commenting.
I do have one other complaint: There are, at this writing, three versions of "Albuquerque" at YouTube -- and every one is pretty bad to terrible.
The one I finally decided upon was out of focus and about half-way through even out of synch! Why people upload such junk is beyond me.
Another has a picture of John Wayne, which seems a fairly common bit of fraud on the YouTube audience, and the YouTube owners -- Amazon? -- really ought to be ashamed to allow such dishonesty.
One of the others has the movie cut off at top and bottom.
"Albuquerque" is a good movie, one I highly recommend, but if you try to watch at YouTube, choose carefully.