Blowing Wild

excellent 50's adventure film noir
i must respectfully disagree with mr. maltin on this one. what he considers"plodding" i would describe as dark drama. barbara stanwyck was at her most evil, gary cooper at his most distressed since"high noon", anthony quinn did well in a career enhancing role for him at that time, ward bond solid as usual and ruth roman an attractive and fine actress. the scenic locations enhance the excellent photography and the local actors as bandits were believably threatening. however the one flaw for me was the score and frankie laine's insistent and repetitive singing of the picture's theme song,"blowing wild" sorry, that was NOT in "high noon" class. in an era when john wayne remade the same picture a dozen times "blowing wild" stands out.

A Strange Cooper vehicle
What a strange movie this is. Not quite a genre movie, not quite a soap opera, not quite high drama. It starts out as a loose reworking of TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE, then veers into WAGES OF FEAR territory, before becoming a dark romantic drama, and finally ending as high adventure. Whether it works depends on one's feelings about just how much latitude a movie has in refashioning itself as the story unfolds. For me, I can watch this and almost laugh outloud at the absurd going's-on, and then watch it another time and find it absolutely fascinating. Its very weirdness becomes hallucinatory. Cooper, Stanwyck and Quinn are all very good, though you wonder how they kept their roles straight as it bounced from one type movie to another. There's a side of me that believes this movie has improved with age. Because it breaks so many story-telling "rules", it plays better in today's market. Indeed, there is almost something independent-looking about the entire production...

"I COMMITTED MURDER TO GET YOU"!!!!!!!!
Thus says Barbara Stanwyck as only she can to Gary Cooper who then proceeds to nearly choke the liver out of her!! This film is lambasted by most critics (who don't know anything). But it is a fun movie to watch from start to finish! The characterizations by the principals are first-rate with Stanwyck the stand out. No one could beat her in a Western. And she's a baddie to boot, rotten to the core. Quinn and Cooper are excellent as well! With a haunting score (Frankie Laine singing the title song)this Western is a dandy.

Click to Editorial Reviews