Broken Lance (1954)

An absolute classic – this and “Warlock” confirm Edward Dmytryk’s mastery of the Western (although “Shakalo” may present a convincing counterargument). Broken Lance is broadly the story of an aging cattle baron, Matt Devereaux (Spencer Tracy), who is struggling to control his three elder sons, but shares mutual respect with his youngest son (Joe, Robert Wagner). Following an altercation between the father and some local mine owners Joe agrees to take the blame while the father is forced to transfer ownership of the ranch to his other three sons, who promptly betray Joe.

The story is largely told in flashback following Joe’s release from prison, and covers a number of themes: primarily the relationship between Devereaux and his sons, and the father’s ambitions for his children to follow exactly in his footstep; but also touching on the background racism towards Matt and his mother, an Indian princess (who slightly disappointingly is played by a Mexican actress, Katy Jurado). It isn’t particularly straightforward: Devereaux is a hard, unsympathetic character, and so while he (and Joe) are clearly betrayed by his other sons it is also easy to see why they resent him.

Richard Widmark (who I always like in Westerns) doesn’t have quite enough to do as the eldest son, but is good at sneering and scheming and so makes a good job of the part he has. It’s very difficult to overact the part of an ambitious, old-school cattle baron and while Spencer Tracy gives it a shot it works well in the context of the film. Robert Wagner is slightly bland is his role – his main trait is that he’s fundamentally good (in contrast to those around him), even being prepared to ride away at the end without settling old scores. I think this is forgivable in that the film isn’t really about him.

This was apparently a remake of the Film Noir “House of Strangers”, but also has some similarities to “King Lear”. I’m not familiar enough with either to really comment – the “who does the cattle baron pass his land to?” problem is a perpetual issue for cattle barons to solve, and intentionally or not, invites comparison to King Lear.

The film itself looks fantastic, with beautiful yet somewhat threatening widescreen shots of the range it’s set on. Unfortunately, no pictures since I saw a recorded version and can’t easily get screenshots. DVD beaver does have some screenshots, but I don’t think they’ve picked out the best of the film.

As ever, Riding the High Country has an excellent review.