Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Released in 1954, "Broken Lance" chronicles the last days of a cattle baron (Spencer Tracy) in southern Arizona who is at odds with three of his sons, but favors the youngest, Joe (Robert Wagner); the latter being the only one born to his Indian wife (Katy Jurado). Cutie Jean Peters plays Joe's love interest while Richard Widmark plays the most embittered son.I was about halfway through "Broken Lance" when it dawned on me that it was essentially the story of Joseph transplanted to the Old West, even down to the protagonist's name being Joe. The biggest changes have to do with the ending, but not really as a certain person gets to go to his "promised land." Everything works for a rewarding experience: The score, the authentic locations, the great cast and the complex story. However, this is far from a typical rollicking Western so don't expect the traditional staples. There are some, of course, but the plot's too original (for a Western) to be pigeonholed as standard fare. The second half, for instance, features a fairly long court sequence. Anyway, it's great to see Robert Wagner when he was only 23 (and wholly unrecognizable to my wife and me); he's excellent as the humble, likable protagonist and a good contrast to Ben (Widmark). Speaking of which, I like the way the film shows that Ben feels he's justified in behaving the way he does. He's clearly the antagonist, but he's not a one-dimensional villain; over the course of time he foolishly allowed his heart to become embittered by hostility and jealously. Lastly, Tracy is outstanding as the proud, stubborn patriarch.The film runs 96 minutes and was shot in southern Arizona and studio ranches in Southern California.GRADE: B

This is an enjoyable and luxurious remake from ¨House of strangers¨ in Western style . Cattle baron Matt Devereaux (magnificent Spencer Tracy as the ruthless wealthy owner who sadly contends his sons) is a widower who married an Indian woman (Katy Jurado , though plays Robert Wagner's mother in the film, she was only six years older than him in real life) . The Irish Matt is an egocentric and tyrannical self-made man that raises his family in an environment of hatred . He raids a copper smelter that is polluting his water . As Deveraux swears vengeance on those who have poised his stock . Half-breed son named Joe (Robert Wagner) takes responsibility for the raid and gets three years in jail . Serious conflicts arouse which split the family , as Ben Deveraux (Richard Widmark) attempts to divide the property among his brothers .This over-the-top film contains intense drama , racial slur , familiar confrontation with dramatic taking on among father-sons and being beautifully realized . Interesting screenplay by Richard Murphy , based on a story by prestigious Philip Yordan . Good and agreeable Western that details the dissolution of a despotic cattle baron's family with King Lear's Shakespeare touches . The picture with exciting plot displays elements of Greek tragedy and a touching finale . It results to be a peculiar version about confrontation between father and brothers ; theme to be treated in other Hollywood films such as ¨House of strangers¨ (1949) also written by Philip Yordan , being directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz with Edward G Robinson (Spencer Tracy role), Luther Adler (Richard Widmark character) , Efrem Zimbalist (Hugh O'Brian role) and Richard Conte (Robert Wagner role) . Spencer Tracy's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful that it completely captivated the onlooking film crewmen . Richard Widmark as the oldest and meanest brother , in a smaller part that you'd expected from his billing , is nevertheless excellent as a bad guy . The other siblings are played by naive young Robert Wagner , tough Hugh o'Brian and slow witted Earl Holliman . Romantic interest is supplied by the ever vivacious and lovely Jean Peters who married Howard Hughes . Besides , an excellent plethora of secondary actors as Katy Jurado , E.G Marshall , Eduard Franz . Musical score well composed and conducted by Leigh Harline is impressive ; including catching leitmotif and enjoyable sounds from Western . Colorful and evocative cinematography in Cinemascope by Joseph MacDonald .The motion picture well produced by the great producers Sol C. Siegel , Darryl F. Zanuck was stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck . A veteran filmmaker, Dmytryck is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 40s . He was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others . Rating : 7 , better than average . It's recommended for Western enthusiasts and Spencer Tracy fans .

I've been watching in order as many of the Spencer Tracy films as I could as I read the new biography about him. When you pop this film into the DVD player from that perspective, you realize that even though Tracy had starred in a good many great films, with this film he entered truly modern film making.Here you had wide screen photography, on-location shooting, rich -- but realistic -- Technicolor (I believe this was only his second color film, the first being "Northwest Passage", 14 years earlier), and what I'll call realistic modern (aka gritty) acting by the principals.There were so many times while watching this film that I thought to myself, "God, what a great actor Spencer Tracy was". And, surprisingly perfect for this particular role. His many years of playing polo, though in the past, made him look very natural in the saddle. As a man, I hate to say this, but his beautiful gray -- almost white -- hair made him look the part of tough western father so perfectly. And his diction, whether being rough on his foolish sons, or tender with his Mexican wife. Even though I had this on my DVD shelf, I'd only watched it once before, but I would have to say this was one of Spencer Tracy's finer performances, and actually a very different role for him.It's been said that Tracy liked the then young Robert Wagner, who plays the favored (though racially mixed) son in this movie. I've always been rather neutral about Wagner -- liking him in some films, and not so much in others. Here he does an admirable job and manages to look the part. On the other hand, Richard Widmark, who had to suffer through 4th billing on this film, is a wonderful actor, but his scenes in the first half of this film are minor, weak, and his role is just too negative to like his character at all. His stronger scenes come later in the film when you begin to see how impressive his acting could be. Jean Peters and Katy Jurado are excellent, although make no mistake, this is a man's picture. The two other sons -- Hugh O'Brien and Earl Holliman have minor roles -- often in the frame, but with little significant dialog. There were a number of films where Earl Holliman was a whining-son type, and this is one of them...very unlikable type of role, and not demonstrative at all of the level of work he was capable of. Another notable character actor here -- E.G. Marshall -- plays an important role, and does it well, though he does not have much screen time.There was a time, of course, that Westerns were a dominant force in both motion pictures and television. And, when I was young I loved them. But Westerns are passé, and it is a rare Western that can hold my attention today. This is one such film. It isn't often that I give an "8", but I will here. This is a extremely fine motion picture that deserves a place on your DVD shelf.

Spencer Tracy certainly wasn't looking to win popularity contests with this role. He's a tyrannical old cattle baron with a streak of integrity that nevertheless commands respect. Mainly, what he gets from the three older sons is fear along with a dash of awe. What he gets from his youngest son, Joe, (Wagner) is some understanding based on Tracy's daring marriage to the boy's mother, an Indian, making Wagner a half-breed and a half-brother to the other three sons.These complexities are important because they drive much of the drama. The movie was hailed at the time for dealing tangentially, at least, with a racial topic. Perhaps Tracy punishes his older full-blooded white sons because they don't fully accept their Indian step-mother, or maybe favors his youngest son because he does. But then, Tracy has treated Ben (Widmark) badly for years, suggesting a deeper kind of character flaw. Anyway, there are a number of interesting ambiguities in the Phil Yordan screenplay. And when the showdown finally comes, it's really Dad's bad side embodied in Ben that Joe must go against.At this point in his career, Wagner was considered little more than a light-weight pretty boy. However, his performance here, I think, is both strong and substantial despite the boyish good looks. Still and all, I can't help feeling that Widmark is a shade too old for Ben's role, being only 15 years younger than Tracy. Nonetheless, that role could only be filled by an accomplished actor like Widmark, while O'Brien and Holliman really have little to do other than stand around and fill the slot of the two middle sons. Jurado got an award for her performance as the mother. But truth be told, the performance is rather wooden, along with those clumsy poetic tropes like, "I grieve for you, my husband", that Hollywood long saddled ethnic-types with. Nonetheless, there's enough crackling good melodrama to keep an audience interested. The scenes are well staged except for the huge state capitol building rather poorly matted into an ordinary Western street-- the contrast looking like an NFL lineman in a room full of of first-graders. Note too that even though the movie is filmed in wide-screen Cinemascope the locations are not that scenic. This is not, I think, a particularly picturesque Western. My guess is that the producers thought the story strong enough that it didn't need eye-catching landscape to keep up audience interest. Anyway, the movie remains an A-grade Western with a good story and a powerful Tracy performance.