Edmond O’Brien – Tripping Through Gateways

Pike Bishop and his gang are hoping to retire. They plan a last big score, but are betrayed by ex-partner Deke Thorton. The last remaining survivors of the gang make the run to Mexico.

Staying in the hometown of gang member Angel, they find the town ruled by the cruel and brutal General Mapache. Their planned heist goes wrong and they run afoul of Mapache.

The over arching theme of the Wild Bunch is the death of the time of Outlaws. None of our characters are “heroes”. Holden’s Pike is a man who has lived outside of the law, and has reached a point where he has grown tired of it. But the reality is, the life of an outlaw is not one that allows you to exit gracefully.

The Wild Bunch is vicious and violent, but also an absolutely memorable western. Holden turns in a great world weary performance. He wants out, but getting out is not an easy road.

Visually, Peckinpah and his team built the film around rapid fire edits that combined normal and slow motion footage. This makes for a visually compelling technique.

Senator Ransom Stoddard and his wife have come back to their home town to pay respects to his late friend Tom Doniphon. Some wonder why a famous senator is attending the funeral of a man who seems not to really be of any note.

A persistent reporter convinces the reluctant senator to give him an interview. Stoddard made his name by killing the notorious Liberty Valance years earlier. But there is a dark secret hidden away and Stoddard is ready to put it on the record.

Buoyed by strong performances from Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, the Man Who shot Liberty Valance explores living a life on the foundation of a lie. Stewart’s Stoddard carries guilt over the circumstances involving Tom and Valance.

Valance is a pretty straight forward thug who wants to amass power, the film makes no real effort to get the audience on his side. You see Stoddard’s actions as fairly heroic, but information he learns later eats away at him as the years go by.

This is a terrific film and a classic of the genre. I say this as one who has never been a huge fan of John Wayne. Admittedly, some of that is annoyance with narratives about “where have the real men gone”. But I appreciate Wayne in this film. Tom is a sympathetic character, who finds Stoddard, in some ways, really interfered with his life.

Tag: Edmond O’Brien

Uncontrollable (The Wild Bunch, 1969)

The Haunting Past (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962)