Four Faces West

Four Faces West is a superb little Western, and it is satisfying to see it released on DVD. McCrea, Frances Dee [his real life wife], Charles Bickford [Dee's father], and Joseph Calleia head a fine cast. McCrea is eminently believable; his trademark taciturn, self-effacing character is captivating--not a single shot is fired in the entire movie! Bickford's Pat Garrett is also a stand out. Now, let us hope that some of McCrea's other oaters get released---maybe RAMROD (with Veronica Lake), or the playful SADDLE TRAMP (with John McIntyre) and CATTLE DRIVE (with Dean Stockwell). And there is STRANGER ON HORSEBACK, another superb little Western....and RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, already on VHS, desperately needs DVD release.

Other reviewers talk eloquently about this great film. I just wanted to add that the image transfer is a really nice surprise, coming from Artisan.

This is a pristine ultra-sharp great looking image, with some nice movie grain. If you pass this movie up, it shouldn't be for fear of sloppy dvd work.

This is about as untypical a Western as there is. There are no bad guys. Not a single shot is fired. It's all about friendships and choices, and centers on four people in New Mexico who meet under unexpected circumstances. There is Ross McEwen (Joel McCrea), who rides into the small frontier town of Santa Maria one morning and robs a bank of $2,000 during a community celebration. There's Pat Garrett (Charles Bickford), the new marshall of the territory who was speaking to the crowd while McEwen robbed the bank a block away. Garrett doesn't like that one bit. There's Fay Hollister (Frances Dee), a railroad nurse on her way to Alamogordo and a small hospital which has just opened. And there's Monte Marquez (Joseph Calleia), a Mexican gambler who is as shrewd as they come.

McEwen is a smart guy who uses his wits to outrun the posse gunning for him. He now has a big reward on his head and an "alive or dead" order out on him. He meets Hollister and Marquez on a train he ran to between Santa Maria and Gallup. He decides to continue to Alamogordo because he and Fay Hollister are falling in love. Marquez helps, but we're not quite sure what his game is. McEwen finds work and starts to repay the bank. We learn why he took the money. All the while, Garrett is tracking him down. The climax of the movie comes when Garrett closes in and McEwen decides he must ride for Mexico. As he gets close to the border he comes across an isolated homestead where the Mexican family is dying of diphtheria. The husband and wife are too weak to get out of bed. Their two young sons are close to death. McEwen knows if he stays there's a good chance Garrett will find him. He knows if he keeps riding the family will likely die. He decides to stay. At one point he even takes the powder from all his cartridges to try to make a sulfur smudge for the boys to breathe. Finally he builds a fire in the hope that the smoke will attract help. It does, but the help is Pat Garrett, who finds McEwen exhausted and almost as sick as the family. A doctor arrives from the railroad hospital, and with him is Fay Hollister and Monte Marquez. A number of choices now have to be made.

Don't misunderstand me; this is not some sort of epic morality tale, even if the music soars a bit at times. It's a dignified, low-key, sweet-natured and very well-acted movie. Joel McCrea and Frances Dee make a winning pair. They were married in real life, and the marriage lasted 57 years until McCrea's death. Bickford was always great as a tough-minded force for law and order. It's interesting to see how Bickford's character changes from a hard enforcer of the law to a gradual recognition that McEwen does not seem to be a typical bad guy and then to a kind of sympathetic respect. Joseph Calleia, who usually played sweaty villains, does an excellent job as no one's fool who decides he'll take McEwen for a friend.

The DVD is bare bones. The picture quality is better than average for an unrestored film this old. It's easy to watch, and the quality of the story makes it even easier.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars