disinterested_spectator
The "badman" in this movie is Quirt Evans. Since he is played by John Wayne, we wonder, "Just how bad can he be?" I mean, has John Wayne ever played a badman in the movies? It turns out, much as we suspected, that for all the talk about his being a badman, it seems to be just that, talk. Apparently, he once worked as a lawman for Wyatt Earp. Then he became a cattleman for a while. But one day, Wall Ennis, the man who raised Quirt like a father, was shot down by Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot) while another man grabbed his hand as he was going for his gun. That's when Quirt sold his herd and began plaguing Laredo, hoping to goad him into a gunfight in front of witnesses. For example, when Laredo and his gang rustle some cattle, killing all the cowboys who were herding them, Quirt and his boys bonk Laredo's gang over the head, knocking them off their horses. Then Quirt's gang takes off with the cattle and presumably sells them. I guess the idea is that the cattle were already stolen, so what Quirt did was not really so bad.Before that however, at the beginning of the movie, Quirt beats Laredo to some land he wanted. Laredo's gang chases him until he collapses from exhaustion and a gunshot wound. A couple of Quakers help him get to a telegraph station to make the claim and then take him in so that he can convalesce. One Quaker in particular, Penny (Gail Russell), is the "angel" in this movie.Dr. Mangram (Tom Powers) comes over to take the bullet out. He makes a snide remark about the way the wicked always seem to be able to survive gunshot wounds while the godly succumb to infection, and Penny's father chastises him, saying, "You so-called atheists. You always feel so compelled to stretch your godlessness." With this brief exchange, the movie expresses its attitude toward atheists. First, the atheist is rude and churlish, entering the house of a family he knows to be devout and mocking their religion. For a long time in the movies, atheists were never allowed to be congenial and easygoing, as in reality, many of them are. Movie atheists had to let everyone know just how much they despised religion. Second, this movie was made at a time when a lot of people believed that there really was no such thing as an atheist, that their denial of God's existence was a self-deluding pretense. Hence the use of the term "so-called."Another feature of the stereotypical movie atheist is the emphasis on reality and logic, at the expense of sentiment and feeling. Mangram says to Penny's mother, "You can carry this head-in-sand attitude just so far in the world of reality." She replies, "We assure you that you will finally realize that realism untempered by sentiments of humanity is really just a mean, hard, cold outlook on life." She is right, of course. But that is precisely the sort of thing David Hume might have said. In reality, atheists have as much sentiment as anyone else, but movie atheists tend to lack these feelings.Anyway, Quirt and Penny fall in love. She is willing to follow him anywhere, but he is not sure he wants to be tied down. So this struggle goes on throughout the movie, while she acquaints him with the views of the Society of Friends, such as that a person can harm only himself, even if he appears to harm someone else. One day, she gets him to leave his gun behind while they go for a ride. As this is shortly after the cattle rustling incident, Laredo and his boys show up and give chase until the wagon goes over a cliff and into the water. Penny almost drowns. Quirt gets her back to the house and Dr. Mangram is sent for. When it looks as though Penny is likely to die, Quirt decides to kill Laredo.Right after he rides off, Penny comes to. She seems to be completely well. Mangram is stunned. "I can't understand it," he says. "I can't understand it at all. There must be some logical, scientific explanation. I am too old to start believing in miracles." And thus does the movie refute the atheist.A common feature of the Western is the gunslinger with a guilty past. He wants to hang up his guns, but there is one last thing he must do. Another recurring feature involves revenge. The hero relentlessly pursues his goal of getting his revenge against a man who killed someone he loved. But when the moment arrives, he renounces his revenge. However, the man he was pursuing somehow gets what is coming to him anyway.And so it is with "Angel and the Badman." Quirt rides into town and calls out Laredo, who is in the saloon with the sidekick who helped him gun down Wall Ennis. Suddenly, Penny's parents ride into town in a wagon with Penny in the back. She gets Quirt to hand her his gun. Just then, Laredo and his companion step out into the street. Quirt turns around unarmed. And then Marshall McClintock (Harry Carey), who has been threatening to hang Quirt and Laredo throughout the movie, shoots Laredo and his friend, killing them both. Quirt tells McClintock that from now on he is a farmer.It is worth noting that, although Penny and her family would have been disappointed with Quirt if he had killed Laredo, they are just fine with the way McClintock killed Laredo instead. In other words, pacifists manage survive in a violent world, because someone else is willing to do the killing for them.
utgard14
Very different John Wayne film. A romantic western, if you will. Wayne plays notorious gunslinger Quirt Evans, who is wounded and nursed back to health by a Quaker family. The sweet and innocent daughter, Penelope (Gail Russell), falls in love with Quirt. But the gunfighter's got some bad guys to deal with, chiefly an hombre named Laredo (Bruce Cabot). Quirt will have to choose between his way and the Quaker way, which means choosing Penelope or the gun.John Wayne is really good in this one. He's a very underrated actor that is often slighted by people that don't like the man, usually because they don't like his politics or something along those lines. But he was actually a very good actor who brought depth to most of the characters he played. Here he gets to show his softer side and it's one of his best performances from the '40s. Gail Russell is young and very pretty here. She does a great job in one of her two best-known films (the other being The Uninvited). Russell and Wayne have terrific chemistry. It's sad how her life turned out as she had the potential to be one of the greats. Harry Carey, Sr. plays a grizzled old marshal dubious of whether Quirt can change. As was often the case, he stands out above the pack. An excellent actor who could say more with a smile or a look than most could with a page of dialogue. Amusingly there are characters in this movie named Hondo and McClintock, both names for future Wayne characters. It's a charming and enjoyable western that fans of the Duke will love but also I think people who don't normally like westerns can enjoy.
