Westerns of 1950

This is an essay I never intended to write. But among the films I watched for my Errol Flynn retrospective were two midcentury Westerns: the first — a high-spirited Technicolor extravaganza taking on a subject Hollywood unfathomably found fascinating (cattlemen vs. sheep herders) — was ghastly; the other — a moody black-and-white tone poem about a ragtag group of Confederate soldiers torn between duty and decency — was splendid. The disparity in budget, approach, look and quality prompted me to idly wonder, “How many other Westerns were released that year?” It’s the kind of question Wikipedia lives for, and it had a ready answer: 112 of them, ranging from big-budget features to Poverty Row programmers.

Errol Flynn Goes to War (part 2)

The second half of my look back at the 33 films Errol Flynn did for Warner Bros. between 1935 to 1950: from his first starring role (in Captain Blood) to his final film before he began to explore freelance options, Rocky Mountain. (In 1947, Warner Bros. signed a new contract with Flynn giving him the right to make one film annually away from the studio, beginning in 1950. In 1954, they terminated his contract.) For the first 18 films (through They Died With Their Boots On) — and my appraisal of Flynn’s formidable talents — click here. We now resume with our nation’s entry into World War II, and sadly, one of Flynn’s biggest stinkers.

Dissecting William Dieterle

I can’t think of a Classic Hollywood director whose reputation has been as tarnished by time as William Dieterle. He helmed his first two Hollywood films in 1931 and, by year’s end, was already being praised as a prodigy. (The New York Times applauded his “artistry and fertile brain,” predicting he “could make a poor story interesting and a good story a masterpiece.” Variety forecast “a worthy spot in the megaphoning field.”) By the time 1932 drew to a close, he had another half-dozen titles in release, and the response from critics grew reverential. They eyed him as an original: a storyteller with a keen understanding of human nature; a jack-of-all-trades who excelled in every genre, from romantic comedy to costume drama; and an innovator whose camera roamed with impressive freedom, at a time when the technical constraints of the early sound era typically held movement to a minimum.