The Gal Who Took the West (1949)

best movie i've ever seen.

An Exercise In Nonsense

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

...And who better to do it than slow eyed vamp Yvonne de Carlo, then exotic, exciting and new. She's the lily of the valley of the old west in this fun colorful western, a subject of confusion who three old codgers who can't agree on how their territory was settled. Regardless of what the truth is, one thing is clear. De Carlo doesn't have to go out and demand equal treatment in this man's world; she gets it simply by being smart, independent and determined...and a little bit of femininity didn't hurt either!Scott Brady and John Russell are the feuding cousins who vie for de Carlo's hand, adding to their already existing animosity. Trying to end this is their feisty big daddy like grandfather Charles Coburn, not because he wants to see them get together, but simply because unlike other generations of the family, in his mind, they don't have a genuine motive! Old codger Coburn is so sly and scheming himself, it's surprising that he doesn't make a play for Yvonne himself! As usual, Coburn is a masterful scene stealer.Getting to sing an Irish ditty, de Carlo sounds just like she would 22 years later when she introduced the Broadway standard "I'm Still Here!" in "Follies". Like that song, de Carlo often comes off as a bit camp, even breaking into a lively version of "Frankie and Johnny". Like her "McClintock" rival Maureen O'Hara, she's made for Technicolor, and every inch a man's equal. In fact, in westerns, she's just like what Barbara Stanwyck described women to be: just as important as the men out there settling the land. Colorful, funny and yet historically believable, this is a unique western in the sense that this could simply be set anywhere in the unsettled United States: north, south, east or west.

A clever framing device (flashbacks telling the story from the perspectives of three different characters, who however do not contradict but complete each other - each account gives one more piece of the puzzle) leads to some unusual moments: did you expect to see a helicopter in an Yvonne De Carlo Western?! And Yvonne herself has a role that suits her just fine, as it taps into her comedic side, and gives her two fun songs (in which she parodies "operatic" singing). The problem is with the story itself: it's really quite tiresome and repetitive (we get it, the two cousins don't like each other; now what?). And after a point you realize that this is a clear-cut comedy, and nobody is going to get (seriously) hurt anyway. ** out of 4.

Other than THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, I do not know of another Western that as accurately captures the true nature of the West - and the men and women who settled it. The plot is that of a romantic comedy, but the characters are wonderfully written and acted - far better than in most 'serious' films. The two brothers battling each other for the affection of one women is both funny - and dramatically believable. And the telling of the story from three different points of view is superbly done.In my opinion, this is one of the most under-rated films ever made in Hollywood.Don't miss it!

The fun of this film is telling the story from three different viewpoints -- each version diametrically opposed to the others -- what is the truth? probably a mixture of all of them -- it's a fun film with DeCarlo in fine form and the feuding brothers fighting it out for her affections is half the fun.