A top-billed Robert Ryan makes the most of his material, playing Cass Silver, a town marshal with a well-developed sense of responsibility. Then, into his town comes a gregarious businessman (Robert Middleton) with a variety of hired guns. Cass already bears a grudge against the man, but is willing to adopt a "wait and see" attitude in the hopes that Middleton and his men stay within the law. As we will see, he's right to have his doubts about them. Virginia Mayo (in an under-written role) is his concerned girlfriend, and the handsome Jeffrey Hunter is a young man who mistakenly believes that Cass unfairly murdered his father.
Scripted by Edmund North and Joseph Petracca, based on a novel by Verne Athanas, the story deals with a main character who could be seen as stubborn. It ruminates on the idea of the lengths people could go to, to defend their honour and pride. As it plays out, it delivers few surprises, taking predictable turns except for the fact that Cass is soon experiencing blurry vision due to a head wound he receives early in the film. Overall, "The Proud Ones" is exceptionally well made, and consistently entertaining. What makes the difference is the fact that Ryan is such a reliable presence, showing that he could play protagonists just as well as he could villains. Hunter is good at selling the anger of his character; although his father was a no-good type, he still feels a sense of injustice and suspicion towards Ryan.
It's also nice to see a cast that is stocked so well with top character actors. Middleton leads the pack as a subtle antagonist. You won't see any real scenery-chewing from him, but he does have an excellent presence. Also appearing are Walter Brennan and Arthur O'Connell as deputies, Ken Clark, Rodolfo Acosta, and George Mathews as assorted unsavoury types in Middleton's employ, Edward Platt as the local doctor, Whit Bissell as a store owner, and Jackie Coogan, Steve Darrell, Richard Deacon, Frank Gerstle, and Ken Terrell, to boot.
Nice music by Lionel Newman and fantastic widescreen photography also help make this a solid example of the genre.
Seven out of 10.
Scripted by Edmund North and Joseph Petracca, based on a novel by Verne Athanas, the story deals with a main character who could be seen as stubborn. It ruminates on the idea of the lengths people could go to, to defend their honour and pride. As it plays out, it delivers few surprises, taking predictable turns except for the fact that Cass is soon experiencing blurry vision due to a head wound he receives early in the film. Overall, "The Proud Ones" is exceptionally well made, and consistently entertaining. What makes the difference is the fact that Ryan is such a reliable presence, showing that he could play protagonists just as well as he could villains. Hunter is good at selling the anger of his character; although his father was a no-good type, he still feels a sense of injustice and suspicion towards Ryan.
It's also nice to see a cast that is stocked so well with top character actors. Middleton leads the pack as a subtle antagonist. You won't see any real scenery-chewing from him, but he does have an excellent presence. Also appearing are Walter Brennan and Arthur O'Connell as deputies, Ken Clark, Rodolfo Acosta, and George Mathews as assorted unsavoury types in Middleton's employ, Edward Platt as the local doctor, Whit Bissell as a store owner, and Jackie Coogan, Steve Darrell, Richard Deacon, Frank Gerstle, and Ken Terrell, to boot.
Nice music by Lionel Newman and fantastic widescreen photography also help make this a solid example of the genre.
Seven out of 10.