Silent Sundays: 3 Bad Men

“Come along my three bad men. Let’s go make camp.”

            I say this time again whenever I write up a western film and I will say it again: I am not a huge fan of westerns. When I watch a western there has to be an actor or actress I really like in it or the director is someone I like as well. The 1926 silent film 3 Bad Men had both of my preferences with actor George O’Brien playing one of the lead parts and it was directed by John Ford.

            The story takes place in the 1870s when President Grant opened up the west. Both Americans and immigrants came from their crowded cities to settle in wide open spaces breathe fresh air. At a campsite a man finds gold in the mountains. Dan O’Malley (O’Brien) is one of the waves of immigrants seeking his own parcel of land. While out in the prairies traveling with hundreds of others Dan comes across a young woman named Lee Carlton (Olive Borden) and her father. Their wagon lost its wheel and Dan comes around to help them. When he is done he flirts with Lee a little bit but pulls away when she awaits his kiss.

            Rewards circulate throughout the small established Midwestern towns for three men named Bull Stanley, Spade Allen, and Mike Costigan for holdups and robbery and horse stealing. They watch from a hilltop as the wagons and men on horses pass by below. Bull rides up to a man and asks where they are all heading. The man replies they are heading to the Dakotas to find gold. Bull says there is a man there “jus’ as yeller” he is looking for.

            The town of Custer is controlled by the sheriff Layne Hunter. Layne is not a good sheriff. He has a gang of men that go around intimidating people and causing trouble. A young woman named Millie is in love with him and wants to marry him when a minister arrives in town. Layne gives her a dirty look and closes the window they were speaking through on her. News is brought to Layne that someone out in the prairie has a few thorough bread racing horses. He tells his men to go get the horses.

            Still on the hilltop Bull, Spade, and Mike see the thorough breads. As they are heading down to capture the horses they see another gang come in. When they get to the wagon a man is dead on the ground and Bull goes to shoot the other person. The other person takes off their hat and it is Lee. Bull cannot shoot her after that especially when she begins to cry into his chest. The three men take Lee into town as part of their group. Layne sees Lee getting water from a trough and starts hitting on her. Bull immediately gets off the wagon and comes between Lee and Layne. He tells the sheriff that Lee is with his group and if has anything to say to her he has to go through him.  Layne plans to deal with the three men in his own way since Bull got in his way with Lee. When they are done setting up camp Lee tells the three men they can work for her but she cannot pay them until she gets her land. Bull steps up and says they will work for her for nothing. The next morning Layne comes looking for Lee. She does not like him very much. In his tent, Bull takes out a letter from his sister that says she followed the man she loved. His sister is Millie.

            Bull comes to think that the three of them are no good for Lee after he sees her playing with a baby. He wants to find her a nice man to marry so he sends Spade and Mike out to find one. Spade and Mike go to the local dive to find a man. They find a guy but he is definitely not right for Lee. Dan comes into town and right into the bar. Millie is sitting in a bar with a man that Layne knows. Bull also comes into the bar. Millie sees her brother and runs away from the man. Dan is standing on the stairs when Millie rushes past him. The man chases after her but Dan stops him. Bull helps Dan fight off all the others who joined in the fight. Outside the dive Bull takes a look at Dan and invites him back to their camp asking him if he wants a job. Dan and Lee are surprised to see each other. He asks about her father and she tells him what happened. This time standing alone they kiss.

            Layne sends one of his men to get out of an old man where the gold is. The old man is hurt but before he passes he gives the man with the gold on it to Bull and everyone. Bull tells Layne he has had enough of him. The following day a revolt is planned against Layne and his men with Bull the leader. Layne lets lawlessness rule. He lets his men burn the church down where the women are praying with the minister and he even goes along with them. Millie hears the plan and runs to the church to warn everyone. The minister manages to get out of the church and tries to plead with the men to stop. Millie comes running out toward the minister and catches the bullet in her back. She cries out for her brother. Bull is in the church getting the other out when he hears her. Bull’s men chase away Layne’s men and rescue everyone in the church including Lee who had been there. As Millie lies dying Bull asks her who the man was who took her away. At that moment Layne walks in and Millie screams. Bull chases after him but does not catch him. When Bull returns Millie has died.

            The great race for land is the following day at twelve o’clock. At twelve on the dot Bull, Lee, Mike, Spade, and Dan dash off for their land. Layne and his men watch the rush and he tells his man to wait to see where Bull and the rest stop and they will catch up to them. The Carlton group, as they are known as, is in the lead. They have to go through a pass to get to the land they want. Bull, Mike, and Spade tell Dan and Lee to go on ahead they will meet them. The three bad men know that they have to try to hold off Layne and his men as long as they can. They pull cards and whoever has the highest card has to stay behind. Spade is a card cheat and he purposely picks the highest card. The next person to stay behind is Mike and he stays in a small storage house with gun powder inside and bullets flying around. Bull is the last one standing. Dan wants to help him fight but Bull wants him to go with Lee so he punches the poor Irishman out cold. Bull gets into a shoot out with Layne and his men and immediately gets wounded. He crawls behind a rock and from behind it he stares Layne down and they both shoot killing each other.

            Years pass and Dan and Lee are settled on their farm with their son Stanley Costigan Allen O’Malley. Dan takes the baby over the three hats on the wall and tells his son that one day he will tell him the story of the best three bad men there ever was.

            I really enjoyed 3 Bad Men. The story was not a usual western and I liked that a lot. I liked how the three criminals looked and sounded mean but when they met someone who cared for them they cared for that someone. Once you find out that Bull has a sister you know exactly why he cares for Lee like he does and you like him all the more for it. George O’Brien gets top billing but he is barely in the film. In his few scenes he was wonderful. This is the first time I have ever seen Olive Borden in a film and I thought she was good. O’Brien and Borden made a good pair. The film really belongs to Tom Santschi who played Bull. He was fantastic. Santschi looked like a tough criminal but one that could also have a heart and he played both sides of the character perfectly. John Ford’s direction is as always amazing. In the land rush scene you feel excited and tense as if you were actually in the race yourself. His camera angles were stunning in the land rush scene. The film does have its cheesy moments such as some over acting and the ending was good but it packed some cheese with it. Besides the cheesy moments 3 Bad Men is a very good silent film and a very good western with a lot of heart.  

Silent Sundays: The Blue Eagle (1926)

“This is about two rough necks who love the same girl. They’re shipmates now- but when the war is over, all the patriotic stuff is OUT!”

            The quote above perfectly sums up John Ford’s 1926 silent film The Blue Eagle. But there are a few things in between and honestly the girl the “two rough necks” love is in the film very little.

            George Darcy (George O’Brien) and Tim Ryan are on the same battleship during World War I. At home they are part of rival gangs and, to make matters worse, they are in love with the same girl named Rose Kelly (Janet Gaynor). Rose sends them both letters. Tim starts a fight with George for having a photograph of Rose in his locker. The chaplain Father Joe stops the fight in the locker room. He has them box each other to get the fight out of their system. In the middle of the fight an enemy ship comes along. All the men quickly get to their places. George and Tim work the boilers. Their ship destroys the enemy but more danger comes when the boilers have been filled too much and a fire starts. Tim tries to save a man named Rohan but he is too late and the poor man dies.

            When the men return home from the War they walk through the streets in a parade. Rose finds George and Tim and she walks arm in arm with them. George goes home to his younger brother Limpy. While George was away their mother died and Limpy fell in with a bad crowd selling dope. A dance is thrown for the men. Tim gets to Rose first. George grabs an older larger lady and dances with her and gives her his sailor hat to make Rose jealous. George winds up getting Rose before the dance is over.

            George takes Rose out on a date some time later for a walk around the docks. Tim shows up. Rose was supposed to be out on a date with him that night. Tim makes her choose between the two of them. She says she chooses neither and runs away when her father Sergeant Kelly walks by.

            George has been working with Father Joe. He follows the priest to a neighborhood which happens to be Tim’s gang’s turf. A woman has died of a dope overdose and has left a note for Father Joe to take care of her young son. Father Joe has George take the baby which turns out to be a good thing for him because a group of Tim’s men were ready to beat him to a pulp!       Sergeant Kelly is looking Limpy the kid is in trouble.Father Joe wants to help in the fight against dope especially seeing a young mother die from taking it. He wants George and Tim to work together to help him. He tells the boys they can fight their personal issues out the following week at the gym.

            Limpy is seen by an officer and runs away. Rose sees Limpy running away and she manages to get to George to tell him his brother is being chased.  Limpy manages to get away to a submarine that carries the town’s dope supply. George gets caught by the police for aiding Limpy in getting away and has to be taken to Federal Island for questioning. On the way to the island they see Limpy on the outside of the dope submarine the people inside are not letting him in. They cowardly submerge and drown Limpy. On land, Tim’s cop friend Dizzy is shot and killed by dope fiends. Now George and Tim are united in helping Father Joe. They push around a dope runner into tell them where the submarine is kept. The runner tells them that the submarine is located at Rock Island. A whole gang of men go to the island to take down the submarine. They all manage to blow up the submarine.

            George and Tim are prepared to fight each other at the parish gym. Even before they get into the ring they are ready to beat the other. No one but Father Joe, who is the referee, is allowed to be in the gym. Rose hears about the fight from her father. She says that Tim is going to kill George and rushes out of her house down to the gym. Both of the men are winded and tired. Tim lets George win. When Rose gets to the gym she tells George she chooses him.

            The next day Father Joe has Tim come to his office. The widow of the dead sailor Rohan has come to Father Joe’s office as well. He tells the widow that Tim tried to save her husband and that she can take the poor little boy who lost his mother. Tim winds up with the widow.

            And yes, Tim and George become friends since they no longer have to fight over Rose.

            The Blue Eagle was good even if the middle of the story with the submarine as dope runner was really silly. I can understand the story that in the end George and Tim no matter their differences are Blue Eagles.  I liked the cast. I love George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor together, well my love for their pairing comes from Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans not so much this film since they were barely in any scenes together. This was an odd film for John Ford even as a silent film. It was not very manly or of his caliber that I am used to seeing from him. There were a few scenes that were funny and cute. The film is not completely bad. I can only suggest watching The Blue Eagle is you are a fan of Janet Gaynor or George O’Brien or John Ford otherwise skip it. It is available to watch in full on Youtube. 

7 Women (1966)

“So what's normal about that? As a matter of fact, what the hell is so normal about any one of us nuts sitting at this table?”

            7 Women is one of the worst and most annoying movies I have ever seen in my life. I never would have watched a movie with this title and plot had it not been for Anne Bancroft. The story was awful and the characters besides Bancroft’s character were annoying whining women.

            Dr. D.R. Cartwright (Bancroft) is sent to be a doctor in a missionary in China. The area in China where the missionary is located is in turmoil. A powerful warlord has been terrorizing villages and the missionary is in his sights. The women in the missionary are all strict and worrisome over the smallest things. Dr. Cartwright throws the women of the missionary for a loop. She is brash, speaks her mind, tough, and smokes. She is a woman of science in the middle of women of faith.

            The warlord attacks and the only thing I remember after that is he wants someone for his ransom and Cartwright volunteers to be it. Also the head of the missionary cracks up like an old chicken.

            Good lord I thought this movie would never end. It was so bad. It was not even funny bad which would have been bearable it was just bad and unbearable. The story was laughable, well maybe not if the right actresses had been chosen and the characters were not so damn annoying. I seriously could not believe that Anne Bancroft made a film like this it is not like she was forced to under the old studio system since it was not around anymore. At least her character was the only one with their head screwed on the right way and she was a tough broad with a bad attitude. I also cannot believe that this was directed by John Ford. His direction was not terrible he had some great shots. It just kills me to think that this amazing director made this really unforgettable film. I would have liked to have seen Bancroft play a tough character like Cartwright in another John Ford film. Walter Plunkett also designed the costumes. Again this is the man who made the costumes for Gone With the Wind and several MGM films and musicals during the studio era. Poor man. 

            Absolutely stay away from watching 7 Women… unless you are a fan of Anne Bancroft like me and want to see as many films of hers as you can. Even if you are a fan of Anne Bancroft drag your heels and hold off as long as you can to see 7 Women. It is available to view in parts on Youtube if you feel like seriously wasting your time.