The Sundowners (1950)

Simply Perfect

Overrated and overhyped

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Director: GEORGE TEMPLETON. Screenplay: Alan Le May. Based on his 1934 novel, Thunder in the Dust. Photography: Winton C. Hoch. Color by Technicolor. Film editor: Jack Ogilvie. Art director: John B. Goodman. Music: Leonid Raab, Rudolph Schrager. Music director: Irvin Talbot. Orchestrated by Joseph Nussbaum, George Parrish, Leonid Raab. "O'Riley's Song" (Preston) by Al Colombo (music) and Alan Le May (lyrics). Wardrobe: Byron Munson. Technicolor color consultant: Mitchell Kovaleski. Assistant directors: Harry Templeton, James Paisley. Sound recording: Gene Garvin, Harry Lindgren. Producer: Alan Le May. A Le May—Templeton Production.Copyright 31 December 1949 by Nuys Theatre Corporation. U.S. release through Eagle Lion: 1 February 1950. New York opening at the Palace: 4 May 1950. Australian release through British Empire Films: 30 November 1951. 85 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An outlaw joins a law-abiding rancher to combat a group of cattle rustlers.NOTES: George "Dink" Templeton directed only three features in his lifetime, of which this is the first. He followed with "Quebec" in 1951 and "A Gift for Heidi" in 1958. He also directed seven shorts from 1944 through 1946 and episodes of the TV "Rawhide" series in 1959. Most of his career was spent as an assistant director. Notable films in this capacity were Road to Singapore, The Great McGinty, Christmas in July, Ministry of Fear, The Affairs of Susan, Variety Girl and Tap Roots. The star of his first short, Trailin' West (1944), was Chill Wills. It's also interesting to note that Jack Elam also figured in the cast.COMMENT: An odd western, filmed on actual locations in Texas, "The Sundowners" incorporates some potentially interesting story ideas with vibrant, stimulating characters, yet adds up to considerably less than the sum of its parts. Templeton's direction throughout is often regrettably loose, even weak, but the chief fault undoubtedly lies in the casting of colorless Robert Sterling in the key role of the ambivalent rancher who cannot make up his mind whether to accept or reject the outlaw's offer of help. This is a genuine dilemma, but Sterling plays the hero as such a pallid personality, we really don't care what he does. This lack of audience identification weakens the story-line almost fatally, particularly as Robert Preston takes up the slack to make the charismatic outlaw the central focus of our attention. John Drew Barrymore (in his movie debut) struggles gamely to regain the initiative for the good side, but is defeated by shallow writing that switches attention to yet another ambivalent character, Kathleen Boyce (the wife of a neighboring rancher), played with understandable uncertainty by Cathy Downs. We're also never sure whether Jack Elam, who always plays bad guys, is actually on the right side in this movie. Nor do our doubts stop with the Boyces. The sheriff (Don Haggerty) is yet another player in the drama who seems to be playing both ends against the middle. At least John Litel knows where he stands. He actually makes his confession, in fact. This is one of the film's most impressive scenes. A turning point, we feel. But then the Litel character virtually disappears, allowing Preston to ride roughshod until the final long-anticipated climax with the weak-kneed Sterling. For all its faults, The Sundowners boasts some fine Technicolor photography, and will certainly prove a treat for Robert Preston's fans. He sings too!OTHER VIEWS: This ambitious "B" western is almost scuttled by one fatal flaw: An audience simply cannot identify with lead characters that are weak, pallid fence-sitters who lack the drive to put their ideals into action. One or two such waverers may be tolerable in a psychological western, but this movie assembles six or seven: our hero (Sterling), brother (Barrymore), self-appointed friend (Wills), neighbor (Elam), the neighbor's wife (Downs), sheriff (Haggerty), and maybe the sheriff's dad (Litel). Far too many negatives for one movie. Only the villain radiates self-confidence. That's bad!

Plot-- Mysterious Kid Wichita arrives to help two brothers Tom and Jeff defend their ranch from cattle rustlers. Trouble is the Kid creates more problems than he solves. So why does straight arrow Tom put up with him.Anyone doubting that Texas has a scenic part needs to see this Western. The Palo Dura Canyon in the Texas panhandle looks like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon of Arizona and makes an eye-catching backdrop. In fact, the movie skillfully weaves the action into the red rock slabs, especially the big shoot-out, bull whip and all. There're a lot of cross currents to the plot, making the story sometimes difficult to follow, but the central characters—Preston and Sterling—remain clearly drawn. The script only fills in important information in dribs and drabs, which means we have to keep up with why some people are doing what they do as best we can. Thus some patience is needed, but I think it does pay off.Preston is obviously enjoying his charming bad-guy role, playing it for all it's worth. His Kid Wichita may be one of the biggest, most booming, personalities in Western annals and probably the only singing villain. Wisely, his opposite number, Sterling, underplays his part as Tom, the reluctant good guy. This makes for a good dramatic contrast and helps build tension for the inevitable showdown. Apparently, Jack Elam helped get financing for the film (IMDB) and so got his first acting part. He sounds a little shaky, but then his cuckolded husband, Earl, is supposed to be. And, of course, there's Chill Wills lending his reliable "aw- shucks" brand of character color.Anyway, there's a lot of entertainment in both the scenery and the characters, making this a generally under-rated little Western.

I was kind of surprised that a low budget studio like Eagle-Lion would actually fork out the cost of Technicolor film (expensive) and on-location filming in Texas (also expensive) for what is essentially an A- (minus) western. An A- western being something that had more money spent on it than a B western, but lacks the star power an "A western" would usually carry. It's not bad although the plot seems a little disjointed at times. It could be because of what an earlier reviewer had said about the studio atrociously editing down the running time of the film, even after all the money they seemed to have spent on it.Robert Sterling and his "Younger Brother" (played by the recently departed John Drew Barrymore) are caught between competing ranch interests (led by John Litel) who want to lay claim to his land. The sheriff (Litel's son, played by Don Haggerty) even goes so far as to have one of Sterling's ranch hands killed. In walks Sterling's long lost brother, "Kid Wichita" (Robert Preston) who decides to do a little killing for his brother on his own. Sterling even weirdly agrees to it at first but then sees it getting out of hand and decides he has to kill his brother.There is one memorable scene of Preston being whipped by one of Litel's men as he hides under a rock outcropping, then he grabs the end of the whip and the man tumbles over the ledge to his death, but otherwise this is fairly dreary stuff. Even near the end where Sterling confronts Preston in a draw only to have Sterling's ranch hand Sam Beers (Chill Wills) shoot Preston from the side, seems anti-climatic. It's as if everyone was sleepwalking through their parts, except for Chill Wills and the young Barrymore, who spends most of his time grimacing at the camera, making faces like he's trying to act too hard. But hell, he was only 18 at the time and it was his first film so I guess that's understandable.Also notable for as an early role for Jack Elam as Earl Boyce, a neighboring rancher that Preston guns down in his own house, and Cathy Downs plays Elam's wife who may (or may not) have a thing for Sterling. That love interest looks like one of the things edited out of this film.The Texas scenery is more interesting than the film itself and gives the viewer a break from the usual California locations that we've seen a thousand times before. VCI used a pretty good print for their DVD with minor blemishes and scratches. Considering the film stock's age, it looks in pretty good shape.Worth a look. I'd give it a 5½ out of 10.

Sterling and younger brother try to survive on land, being squeezed by big cattlemen. When 'rogue' brother Preston arrives, a moral dilemma ensues. John 'Drew' Barrymore steals the show as the younger, impressionable brother-Barrymore shows signs here that he could have been an acting powerhouse. Moves at a nice pace to an exciting climax.