Blowing Wild

Buy This Item Blowing Wild by Republic Pictures  Available from Amazon  $9.98  on 8-9-2008     Gary Cooper was never more Gary Cooperish than in this rugged modern western. Here, Cooper plays Jeff Dawson, a hapless oil speculator in South America whose misadventures reunite him with an old friend, Paco (played strongly by Anthony Quinn). Unfortunately for Jeff, Paco's wife is bad-news, man-eating Marina (the ever hot Barbara Stanwyck), the lover Jeff ran away from years ago, undoubtedly knowing that despite his lust for her, she was just no good. And Marina is as sexy as ever despite her iron gray hair and flat out cruelty to Paco, whom she plainly considers a wimp. <br /> <br />Nonstop action follows as Jeff fights the elements--including banditos and the heat--and, MUCH more importantly, his hormones. A scene in which Cooper and his sidekick Dutch (Ward Bond) navigate a hot, bumpy road in a truck full of explosives, with banditos trailing them all the way, might be a metaphor for Jeff's romantic entanglements: Marina chases Jeff like a hungry animal, and though he could never love such a vulture, the passion is palpable and explosive. So he flees into the arms of Sal (Ruth Roman), a pretty woman he meets along the way and soon falls for. <br /> <br />The main characters are expertly written and acted--especially Paco, who (we learn) used to be mister tough guy but now likes to play it safe seeing as he's got a wife and a fortune to protect. Alas, his caution only triggers his wife's contempt. Quinn is so good here he might have stolen the movie had the leading parts been played by other than the likes of Cooper and Stanwyck. <br /> <br />As Jeff, Cooper has to walk a tightrope: we've got to believe that bad girl Marina turns him on, but also that he's a good guy who wants to do right by his buddy Paco. As usual, Cooper succeeds in this delicate balance. <br /> <br />An aging Stanwyck simply personifies lust as Marina, despite Marina's lack of a single other redeeming virtue. In the fifties, Stanwyck would play a lot of these western Lady Macbeth types--thoroughly rotten, all fire and ice, and yet somehow irresistible to men. Not very nuanced roles, but nobody--and I mean nobody--could have done them better. <br /> <br />Supporting characters Dutch and Sal don't really get to develop as much as I'd hoped. Both have some interesting scenes early on, but the second half of the movie belongs solely to Cooper, Stanwyck, and Quinn. Still, Bond and Roman both do a great job. <br /> <br />A word about the dialogue: very good and avoids cliché. The setting too is interesting and fresh. Strongly recommended. <br /> <br /> Reader Reviews Thus says Barbara Stanwyck as only she can to Gary Cooper who then proceeds to nearly choke the liver out of her!! This film is lambasted by most critics (who don't know anything). But it is a fun movie to watch from start to finish! The characterizations by the principals are first-rate with Stanwyck the stand out. No one could beat her in a Western. And she's a baddie to boot, rotten to the core. Quinn and Cooper are excellent as well! With a haunting score (Frankie Laine singing the title song)this Western is a dandy.

Blowing Wild Available from Amazon Price: $9.98 Updated on 8-9-2008.

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