The Violent Men (1955)

Directed by Rudolph Maté; produced by Lewis J Rachmil

John Parrish (Glenn Ford), a veteran of the American Civil War, had travelled west for his health, hoping to recover from a serious bullet wound. He not only recovered, but prospered, in a small way, founding a ranch and earning respect from his neighbours. His plans to return east after marrying his fiancée (May Winn), however, are endangered by the greed of land-owner Lew Wilkison (Edward G Robinson) and his wife (Barbara Stanwyck).

Despite the synopsis sounding like a great many other westerns of the era, The Violent Men turns out to be of a higher calibre than the average oater. For this, the credit should probably go to the writing and direction.

The story has the usual villains, a young psychopathic gunman (Richard Jaeckel) and Wilkison’s cunning brother, Cole (Brian Keith), but these are varied by Robinson’s and Stanwyck’s characters. Lew Wilkison is tough, but doesn’t really care for violence and has hesitated to go far enough to win his war against smaller land-owners. He’s a man with scruples, who has admiration for Parrish. While he has his agenda, his wife has another and Cole has a third; sometimes they work together, sometimes against each other

Parrish’s counter-offensive against the Wilkisons’ murderous campaign is interesting in that it makes use of the veteran’s expertise from the army. He figures into his plans his side’s smaller numbers, and uses topography against his enemies. As well as tactics, he has a strategy that is much more than the usual simple shoot-ups found in westerns.

In a twist on the standard battle-lines, farmers (‘to the south’) are not seen as a threat by the smaller ranchers; indeed, they become allies against Wilkison. There is some consideration given to the dynamics of the situation.

Director Maté made his name as a cinematographer, though he added some impressive credits to his resumé in his later profession, too, including D.O.A. and When Worlds Collide. The Violent Men is not his best work, but is pretty good, providing exciting fight scenes and tension when needed. There is a swift gun-fight that pits speed against accuracy, another unusual element in westerns. Another change is that the movie was filmed in colour not far from snow-covered mountains, providing a difference from the familiar desert badlands.

The acting is very good, though with the players it has, this is to be expected. Stanwyck comes off least well of the stars, though perhaps only because she has the least to work with, in terms of her talent. Most decent actresses could have filled her rôle. Ford is suitably steadfast, and Robinson elicits sympathy for several reasons, not the normal audience reaction to a villain. Keith effectively coats a vicious personality with seeming apathy.

Over all, The Violent Men, while it has aspects borrowed from other pictures of the genre, is an exciting and well-made cowboy movie, higher in grade than many.