As Good As It Gets

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This film begins with an ex-rodeo champion (Robert Mitchum) wandering around the property where he grew up--and hasn't seen in two decades. He meets up with the current owner (Burt Mustin--everybody's favorite old man) and they chat a bit--until a cowhand and his wife (Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward) come to Mustin's home. It seems they'd love to buy it but have little, if any, money.When Kennedy recognizes Mitchum as a rodeo star, he gets a bright idea--he can get Mitchum to train him so he can take up rodeo. That way, he reasons, he and his wife can buy the property much sooner. The problem is, Kennedy's wife hates the idea of Kennedy breaking his neck this way! Yet, despite her misgivings, he pushes ahead. Surprisingly, he is a success--and every step of the way, she is miserable as she knows it's only a matter of time until he's hurt. Throughout the film, he promises to quit...but the longer it takes, the less likely it is that he'll ever stop...until it's too late.As for the stars, they are all very good. Hayward is emotional but good (and plays a great dame), Mitchum is his easy-going self and Kennedy surprisingly macho--something you don't see very often. The script is dandy and entertaining as well--especially as you see Kennedy becoming more and more of a butt-head. I also appreciated how the rodeo footage wasn't the usual grainy footage--and they did a pretty good job of making you think it was the actors actually doing these crazy stunts. I also liked the ending--it was downbeat but worked very well.By the way, there are two bit parts to look for in the movie (aside from Mustin's). The foreman of the ranch near the beginning is Glenn Strange. While you probably won't recognize his craggy face, he's the last guy to play Universal's Frankenstein monster---having last appeared in this capacity in 1948's "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein". Also, a few times throughout the film, it's Jimmy Dodd (of "The Mickey Mouse Club") playing one of the rodeo contestants. At a party later in the film he's playing a guitar. If you'd just given him some mouse ears, he would have looked more familiar.

After viewing this film, it is truly a great 1950's classic with outstanding acting by the entire cast; and a great story with a realistic view of what the Rodeo life really is and the pain and suffering that is experienced by men and woman. Robert Mitchum(Jeff McCloud),"Farewell',My Lovely",'75, played a real calm cool veteran star of the Cowboy game shows and was very successful, but was beginning to show wear and tear. Arthur Kennedy, (Wes Merritt),"Peyton Place",'57, was originally a ranch hand trying to buy his dream house for his wife Louise Merritt,(Susan Hayward),"With A Song in My Heart",'52, and loved her husband very much. However, when Wes Merritt got together with Jeff McCloud, all hell broke loose and Louise did everything she could to hog tie her husband down from very hot women, wild horses, and bulls with angry tempers. Great film, don't miss it, it will be around for many generations to enjoy.

I wasn't expecting much from what appeared to be a garden-variety drama set in the world of rodeo performance, but was drawn to it by the presence of Robert Mitchum and Arthur Kennedy. I was pleasantly surprised by director Nicholas Ray's ability to put together a pretty engrossing story of life on the rodeo circuit and the personality types one encounters. Mitchum does his usual fine job; Arthur Kennedy was an excellent B-list actor who here shows his talent well. Susan Hayward, unfortunately, is a bit miscast; she is too much the East coast debutante to fit into the Western locale. Another quibble would be the many travelogue-style bits meant to educate the viewer as to the various rodeo events; they should at least have had a trained actor narrate these bits rather than using the obviously local "talent." Also, the production values are not the highest, seeming at times more on the level of television. On the whole, though, the movie keeps us involved.

*******SPOILERS *******A very macho story that fits its handle -- this is the story of an ex-champion bull rider (Mitchum) who tries to help an ambitious rancher (Kennedy) who wants to become a rodeo star. Mitchum tries to latch on to his fiery wife (Hayward) too when Kennedy's fame and fortune begin to turn him into a cheating drunkard.Some very nice footage of rodeo riding, probably of considerable documentary/historical value for fans of the sport. Hayward and Mitchum have good chemistry, and Kennedy plays his role very well, giving conviction to a role that might have been thankless. The inevitable flare-up between the two determined men takes place, of course, with fists and in the rodeo ring.