24 reviews
- rockymark-30974
- Mar 4, 2021
- Permalink
Write something about Audie Murphy is a pleasure, a have almost all your pictures at a very special spot in my collection, he made a fortune on those B-westerns, earned much more money that some many famous actors, his charisma brought to him countless followers like myself, in another fantastic performance Audie plays a jerk trapper who is charge from his priceless uncle to sell all furs, in the middle he gets almost a gift a young blonde girl, trying out find a job to her on the crowed town, there he stays enchanted by a woman which shall see has an "Easy Life", a matter of fact that he actually wasn't civilized enough to understand how works a modern city on west, he has funniest moments to share us, Sandra Dee was gorgeous in this role, plays a perfect young innocent girl from the countryside, the chemistry is quite noticed, all viewers stayed anxious practically the entire movie for the best endind!!!
Resume:
First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25
Resume:
First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25
- elo-equipamentos
- May 16, 2019
- Permalink
I really should have given it a 5 of 10, but it just felt good to watch.
This movie reminds me of some of the Elvis movies where they surrounded him with great character actors. Audie was famous years before Elvis, but in a different way. I would not be surprised if Audie was a hero of Elvis.
Anyway, this is a vehicle movie made for Audie, and it works fine. Audie is a good actor, and you will always get what you expect from one of his movies. Sandra Dee is good as well; she conveys much with her pouty face without ever saying a word.
Worth watching.
This movie reminds me of some of the Elvis movies where they surrounded him with great character actors. Audie was famous years before Elvis, but in a different way. I would not be surprised if Audie was a hero of Elvis.
Anyway, this is a vehicle movie made for Audie, and it works fine. Audie is a good actor, and you will always get what you expect from one of his movies. Sandra Dee is good as well; she conveys much with her pouty face without ever saying a word.
Worth watching.
Anything with Audie Murphy in it is worth a look-see so right there and then it is worth watching for that. We get a glimpse of the Wild West only more tamed but still a ways to go with people in town consisting of two factions; the respectable and the not so respectable. True to life depicting the hard ship and the rewards of living on the frontier in the later stages of its development toward becoming more civilized. Murphy plays a character that is peaceful, has virtue and wants to do right and hurt no one and it works but we are also pleased to find out he has boundaries too. As usual, we got horses, mules, trappers, Indians, gun-play, good guys, bad guys and a love interest. Some tender scenes with some mild violence and of course a happy ending to make it all go down just right. As Westerns go, this is not a stand-out or even a good word of mouth movie but an okay time spent if you do watch. Get a sandwich, a drink and settle in.
- Richie-67-485852
- Aug 8, 2017
- Permalink
- weezeralfalfa
- Jun 23, 2017
- Permalink
- classicsoncall
- Feb 17, 2016
- Permalink
The movie emphasizes that innocents can get into a lot of trouble in the city. The movie also makes a good statement about people being too lenient in accepting bad choices. When given a chance to improve their lives, some people will always accept the status quo instead of changing. Sandra Dee is a delight and Audie Murphy gives a great performance as someone who finally gets his eyes open to reality in time to save the girl. I truly enjoyed it and wished that they would release it on video.
In Wyoming a mountain man goes to the nearest town to sell his pelts, across the way he meets an innocent, runaway girl : Sandra Dee and both of whom join to go his destination . There he attempts to save her from the claws of the Saloon owner who at the same time results to be the nasty sheriff : Gilbert Roland of the little town . Along the way, Murphy falls in love for a Saloon Girl : Joanne Dru who is alienated by the townspeople .
The wild and wonderful story of the exciting young frontier !
A decent and attractive Western about two innocent people who become involved in problem when they go to a noisy town to trade pelts and where inhabitants attempt to take advantage of them . It contains thrills, emotion, fights , duels, though no much action. Audie Murphy as a mountain trapper gives a nice interpretation in his usual style, though this time he plays an innocent as well as tough man. Murphy, who died early due to a plane accident plane, had a short life but a prolific cinematic career, outstanding in Western genre, starring a lot of them , such as : Sierra, Ride a crooked trail, Billy the Kid, Red Badge of Valor, Duel at Silver Crek, Cimarron Kid , but being his two biggest successes : the drama titled The Quiet Man and the warlike movie To Hell and Back. His partenaire is the famous teen of the 50s : Sandra Dee as the girl in distress who Murphy wants to save from her shameful job as a Saloon girl. Alongside the always beautiful Joanne Dru as woman isolated by the local citizens, Jim Backus as the hardware seller , Strother Martin in a sympathetic role , Peter Breck, George Mitchell and of course the veteran secondary Gilbert Roland as a corrupt sheriff.
It packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by Harald Lipstein. As well as thrilling and moving musical score by Hans J Salter. The motion picture originally titled The Wild Innocents was professionally made by Jack Sher, though it has some flaws and gaps. Sher was usually a writer, and produced some films and directed a few movies , such as : Kathy O, Love in a Goldfish Bowl, Four girls in Town, and his greatest hit : The 3 worlds of Gulliver. Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and passable. The movie will appeal to Audie Murphy and Sandra Dee fans.
A decent and attractive Western about two innocent people who become involved in problem when they go to a noisy town to trade pelts and where inhabitants attempt to take advantage of them . It contains thrills, emotion, fights , duels, though no much action. Audie Murphy as a mountain trapper gives a nice interpretation in his usual style, though this time he plays an innocent as well as tough man. Murphy, who died early due to a plane accident plane, had a short life but a prolific cinematic career, outstanding in Western genre, starring a lot of them , such as : Sierra, Ride a crooked trail, Billy the Kid, Red Badge of Valor, Duel at Silver Crek, Cimarron Kid , but being his two biggest successes : the drama titled The Quiet Man and the warlike movie To Hell and Back. His partenaire is the famous teen of the 50s : Sandra Dee as the girl in distress who Murphy wants to save from her shameful job as a Saloon girl. Alongside the always beautiful Joanne Dru as woman isolated by the local citizens, Jim Backus as the hardware seller , Strother Martin in a sympathetic role , Peter Breck, George Mitchell and of course the veteran secondary Gilbert Roland as a corrupt sheriff.
It packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by Harald Lipstein. As well as thrilling and moving musical score by Hans J Salter. The motion picture originally titled The Wild Innocents was professionally made by Jack Sher, though it has some flaws and gaps. Sher was usually a writer, and produced some films and directed a few movies , such as : Kathy O, Love in a Goldfish Bowl, Four girls in Town, and his greatest hit : The 3 worlds of Gulliver. Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and passable. The movie will appeal to Audie Murphy and Sandra Dee fans.
Audie Murphy stretched his youthful appearance once too often in doing The Wild and The Innocent. Neither he or Sandra Dee are all that wild, but brother are they innocent enough. If this were done today, both probably would have had sex scenes with Joanne Dru and Gilbert Roland.
It's hard to believe such folks exist, but Murphy plays a mountain trapper, probably one of the last of his kind in the rugged Wyoming Rockies. Normally he goes to a trading post to sell his furs, but as he gets there the trading post has been burned down because some peckerwood played by Strother Martin sold some moonshine to the Indians with predictable results.
Murphy's got to take his furs to Casper and this is first time in the big city. God only knows what he would have thought of Chicago or New York if Casper, Wyoming is defined as a city. Strother Martin leaves his daughter, young Sandra Dee with Murphy and both go to Casper.
Which is having a Fourth of July celebration. Let's say that both Murphy and Dee get a big city education from Dru and Roland.
The characters are a bit too much to swallow. Murphy's education may be lacking, but I can't believe he didn't learn a bit about the birds and the bees living in the wild. In fact country folk probably have a far more relaxed attitude about sex as they see it in the livestock they raise.
Gilbert Roland is one of my favorite character actors, I love him in anything and another good performance here is Peter Breck as a cowboy tough who Murphy deals with quite expeditiously.
Still Murphy and Dee look like one very odd couple.
It's hard to believe such folks exist, but Murphy plays a mountain trapper, probably one of the last of his kind in the rugged Wyoming Rockies. Normally he goes to a trading post to sell his furs, but as he gets there the trading post has been burned down because some peckerwood played by Strother Martin sold some moonshine to the Indians with predictable results.
Murphy's got to take his furs to Casper and this is first time in the big city. God only knows what he would have thought of Chicago or New York if Casper, Wyoming is defined as a city. Strother Martin leaves his daughter, young Sandra Dee with Murphy and both go to Casper.
Which is having a Fourth of July celebration. Let's say that both Murphy and Dee get a big city education from Dru and Roland.
The characters are a bit too much to swallow. Murphy's education may be lacking, but I can't believe he didn't learn a bit about the birds and the bees living in the wild. In fact country folk probably have a far more relaxed attitude about sex as they see it in the livestock they raise.
Gilbert Roland is one of my favorite character actors, I love him in anything and another good performance here is Peter Breck as a cowboy tough who Murphy deals with quite expeditiously.
Still Murphy and Dee look like one very odd couple.
- bkoganbing
- May 17, 2008
- Permalink
- bsmith5552
- May 17, 2018
- Permalink
Odd little films like THE WILD AND THE INNOCENT pop up from time to time and one has to wonder what brains trust bankrolled it. Surely it was the high-roller from the backwoods who yearned to see a family sort of western with just a nasty touch of two older guys, 54 year old Gilbert Roland and 35 year old Audie Murphy, panting after 15 year old Sandra Dee. Or maybe it was some perverse producer who wanted to humiliate Murphy and dress him up as a sort of country bumpkin Stan Laurel lookalike. Still, there's a bit of harmless fun to be had here, especially if you are at a mountain top Drive-in with your best gal and a drop or two of moonshine to keep you company.
The Wild and the Innocent is directed by Jack Sher and Sher co-writes the screenplay with Sy Gomberg. It stars Audie Murphy, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Sandra Dee, Jim Backus, George Mitchell and Strother Martin. A CinemaScope/Eastman Color production, the music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by Harold Lipstein.
Plot has Murphy as young mountain man Yancy Hawks who experiences big city life for the first time. Reluctantly on his journey into town he has acquired a companion, young Rosalie Stocker (Dee), whose father tried to trade her for some of Yancy's beaver pelts. Once in town the two fishes out of water meet trouble and learn more about life in the process.
It's a bit of an oddity is this, a collage of mixed tonal flows and risky scenarios that marry up to a family friendly first hour, only to be usurped in the last quarter by mature thematics.
Murphy was always youthful in looks, but he is clearly too old for this character, and yet he's as watchable as ever. Yet as we get a potential relationship burgeoning between Murphy (35 at the time) and Dee (17 at the time), it makes us wonder in wonderment where this will end up?! Then things really take a turn into the uncomfortable when Roland's (55 at the time!) Sheriff Paul Bartell puts the moves on Dee! Remembering that Dee is actually playing her age group, well it's a bit choice to say the least...
At pic's beginning we are treated to a bear attack and some lovely locations photographed out of Big Bear Valley/Snow Valley in San Bernardio. From there we get a hot wired Strother Martin playing a quality weasel type, which ultimately leads to Yancy and Rosalie as unlikely companions, which makes for a whole bunch of frothy charm. The scrapes they get into is a fun watch, but as she has eyes for Yancy, he has fallen for "dancehall gal" Marcy Howard (Dru). And then the pic hits darker territory...
Having done a complete tonal flip-flop, pic surprises by not shying away from the narrative thrust that is a house of ill repute. There is no compunction by the owners of such in recruiting young ladies for "dancehall duties" (special mention to the costuming of the ladies in town). So the hot-pot simmers for a naïve Yancy who is bemused why the town shun the lady he fancies and call her a hussy! So how will it work out for our protagonists? As we ponder that question you then realise that it ultimately ends up as expected, and that the last twenty minutes of the piece has actually lifted it above average. 6/10
Plot has Murphy as young mountain man Yancy Hawks who experiences big city life for the first time. Reluctantly on his journey into town he has acquired a companion, young Rosalie Stocker (Dee), whose father tried to trade her for some of Yancy's beaver pelts. Once in town the two fishes out of water meet trouble and learn more about life in the process.
It's a bit of an oddity is this, a collage of mixed tonal flows and risky scenarios that marry up to a family friendly first hour, only to be usurped in the last quarter by mature thematics.
Murphy was always youthful in looks, but he is clearly too old for this character, and yet he's as watchable as ever. Yet as we get a potential relationship burgeoning between Murphy (35 at the time) and Dee (17 at the time), it makes us wonder in wonderment where this will end up?! Then things really take a turn into the uncomfortable when Roland's (55 at the time!) Sheriff Paul Bartell puts the moves on Dee! Remembering that Dee is actually playing her age group, well it's a bit choice to say the least...
At pic's beginning we are treated to a bear attack and some lovely locations photographed out of Big Bear Valley/Snow Valley in San Bernardio. From there we get a hot wired Strother Martin playing a quality weasel type, which ultimately leads to Yancy and Rosalie as unlikely companions, which makes for a whole bunch of frothy charm. The scrapes they get into is a fun watch, but as she has eyes for Yancy, he has fallen for "dancehall gal" Marcy Howard (Dru). And then the pic hits darker territory...
Having done a complete tonal flip-flop, pic surprises by not shying away from the narrative thrust that is a house of ill repute. There is no compunction by the owners of such in recruiting young ladies for "dancehall duties" (special mention to the costuming of the ladies in town). So the hot-pot simmers for a naïve Yancy who is bemused why the town shun the lady he fancies and call her a hussy! So how will it work out for our protagonists? As we ponder that question you then realise that it ultimately ends up as expected, and that the last twenty minutes of the piece has actually lifted it above average. 6/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Sep 13, 2019
- Permalink
- mark.waltz
- Apr 7, 2023
- Permalink
- blisterioso
- May 17, 2008
- Permalink
a gentler movie than most of Audie Murphy's westerns - he's a gosh-darn hillbilly man - who meets a plum dirty hillbilly girl - and cain't see thru the messy hair & filthy clothes to her Sandra Dee appeal - but at the town where they come to trade their furs - the sheriff there does see it - while the hillbilly boy is a smitten by the lady dressed in scarlet
this was never gonna be a great movie - but it weren't even average - the story didn't generate any tension cuz of the long dry scenes - and cuz everything was so predictable
the chemistry between Audie and Sandra Dee showed considerable promise - while Gilbert Roland almost steals the movie as the suave latino sheriff
this was never gonna be a great movie - but it weren't even average - the story didn't generate any tension cuz of the long dry scenes - and cuz everything was so predictable
the chemistry between Audie and Sandra Dee showed considerable promise - while Gilbert Roland almost steals the movie as the suave latino sheriff
If you are going to have a prayer of enjoying this movie, you have to accept that Audie Murphy is playing a boy, about age 16 or so, so that his romance with Sandra Dee (playing the unfortunate daughter of some trashy folk) doesn't seem creepy. If you notice that Murphy looks every bit of 35, and Sandra Dee looks a young 16 or 17, you will be in trouble.
The movie itself is intended to be strictly family entertainment -- as full of good-hearted humor and lack of dramatic conflict as a typical Disney film of that era. And that makes it an odd choice for Murphy -- who, even when playing innocents, tends to have a sense of danger about him. Poor Audie plays his role with a strain of irritability that makes one think, at any moment, he'll notice that Sandra Dee has a crush on him and go "Girls! Oh gross! Cooties!".
The basic plot -- Audie goes to the big city (er, Casper Wyoming) to sell some beaver furs his pa has trapped. Sandra Dee hitches along, because Pa will try to trade her to somebody for furs or whiskey, and she might not like the guy. So Audie also tries to go find Sandra Dee a job, so she'll stop pestering him. The rest of the flick is how these innocents deal with the big bad world, including corrupt sheriff and dance hall owner Gilbert Roland. (Gilbert plays the role like he knows he is in a bad movie, and hopes to sleep through it.) If you like family friendly movies, and are unbothered about the concept of fancy dance hall women that looms large in this plot, this movie might work for you. If you are looking for a gritty western in the style of Ford, Boetticher, or Mann, run far, far away.
The movie itself is intended to be strictly family entertainment -- as full of good-hearted humor and lack of dramatic conflict as a typical Disney film of that era. And that makes it an odd choice for Murphy -- who, even when playing innocents, tends to have a sense of danger about him. Poor Audie plays his role with a strain of irritability that makes one think, at any moment, he'll notice that Sandra Dee has a crush on him and go "Girls! Oh gross! Cooties!".
The basic plot -- Audie goes to the big city (er, Casper Wyoming) to sell some beaver furs his pa has trapped. Sandra Dee hitches along, because Pa will try to trade her to somebody for furs or whiskey, and she might not like the guy. So Audie also tries to go find Sandra Dee a job, so she'll stop pestering him. The rest of the flick is how these innocents deal with the big bad world, including corrupt sheriff and dance hall owner Gilbert Roland. (Gilbert plays the role like he knows he is in a bad movie, and hopes to sleep through it.) If you like family friendly movies, and are unbothered about the concept of fancy dance hall women that looms large in this plot, this movie might work for you. If you are looking for a gritty western in the style of Ford, Boetticher, or Mann, run far, far away.
- alonzoiii-1
- Mar 20, 2008
- Permalink
Solid acting. Hooked from the first scene. C'mon man. It's a sweet story. If you hate this, then I know who you are.
This is a good example of why older Westerns, pretty much before 1965, were grittier and more credible than the ones that showed modern day dorks in the old West.
The movie seems light hearted, yet mixes in the grit just the way it fits in real life, in ways uncomfortable. Audie Murphy plays a very real character, a backwoods nineteenth century trapper who ventures into the big city. His "good eyesight" becomes critical as the film continues. Indeed, good eyesight is something of great value in the old West, and it makes the two main male characters what they are.
The supporting characters are also very believable for nineteenth century characters. A great diversion from the usual garbage that made you think more that the actors were playing video games off set. Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of the reality and grit that made the fifties great.
The "mood" comes across very clear and works great. The old West city struggles between civilization and savagery, as we see in the way the store owner played by Jim Backus behaves. The store owner depicts pretty much the status quo of the town.
This film has a lot going for it, particularly in believable character motivation.
The movie seems light hearted, yet mixes in the grit just the way it fits in real life, in ways uncomfortable. Audie Murphy plays a very real character, a backwoods nineteenth century trapper who ventures into the big city. His "good eyesight" becomes critical as the film continues. Indeed, good eyesight is something of great value in the old West, and it makes the two main male characters what they are.
The supporting characters are also very believable for nineteenth century characters. A great diversion from the usual garbage that made you think more that the actors were playing video games off set. Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of the reality and grit that made the fifties great.
The "mood" comes across very clear and works great. The old West city struggles between civilization and savagery, as we see in the way the store owner played by Jim Backus behaves. The store owner depicts pretty much the status quo of the town.
This film has a lot going for it, particularly in believable character motivation.
An Audie Murphy western from 1959. Murphy plays a fur trapping rube sent by his family into town to ply his wares. On his journey he comes in contact w/a family of bumpkins led by a scheming father (Strother Martin) out to steal his furs but when caught, he offers up his daughter played by Sandra Dee. Once in town, Murphy, who prides himself on his decency & book smarts, finds himself constantly undermined by drunk cowboys, dance hall ladies & even the sheriff who provides his unwelcome companion to become the newest member of the establishment he owns. Running a slim ninety minutes or so, this intriguing tale wins many points for taking its time carving out the episodic nature of this story as our hero gains wisdom & experience in the face of the casual barbarity of the town's denizens. One of Murphy's best. Also starring Jim Backus (Thurston Howell the 3rd from Gilligan's Island) who plays the general store owner who is at constant odds w/his wife.
Quite possibly the most bizarre mainstream Hollywood feature film of all time, "The Wild and the Innocent" can in part be explained as another thrown together assembly line vehicle for Audie Murphy, green lighted without a reality check. As an actor Murphy is underrated in large part because he churned out countless films that each year could range from a quality western like "The Unforgiven" (1960) to something absolutely horrible like "Battle at Bloody Beach" (1961).
But things got interesting when the producers cast breakout teen sensation Sandra Dee in the role of mountain waif Rosalie Stocker. It is now commonly accepted that Dee's mother added two years to her age when she started out as a young model in New York. She was actually born in April 1944 and this film was shot in November 1958 so you basically have a precocious 9th grader playing a femme fatale in a triangle with one actor in his mid 30's and another whose leading man days included silent features with Clara Bow. But the oddest thing is that despite the need for considerable suspension of disbelief about many things in this screenplay, Dee successfully sells her character as the motivating force for the entire story. Go figure.
By 1958 Dee had already made six feature films and had long been exhibiting anorexic tendencies to which many attributed her incredibly youthful appearance rather than suspecting her actual age. She had considerable natural talent and took direction well but had clearly been acting in all those prior roles. Her performances were pleasingly underplayed until "Gidget" earlier in 1958 where she successfully broke out and demonstrated her considerable range.
But how to play Rosalie Stocker was a mystery and Jack Sher was basically a writer who had only directed two films and was inexperienced giving acting for the camera direction. So I suspect that Dee's Rosalie was pretty much a natural portrayal with Sandra Dee basically just playing Sandra Dee. Yet not only does it work but it is the reason for seeking out the film.
Dee's physical fragility and tentativeness make it onto the screen, exactly the qualities that sell Rosalie. When she is poured into sexy outfits she is visibly uncomfortable with the effect she is having on men. The contrast is incredible. To a viewer she becomes the "Innocent" in the title and is believable as the object of desire and the main motivation to men seeking redemption.
But things got interesting when the producers cast breakout teen sensation Sandra Dee in the role of mountain waif Rosalie Stocker. It is now commonly accepted that Dee's mother added two years to her age when she started out as a young model in New York. She was actually born in April 1944 and this film was shot in November 1958 so you basically have a precocious 9th grader playing a femme fatale in a triangle with one actor in his mid 30's and another whose leading man days included silent features with Clara Bow. But the oddest thing is that despite the need for considerable suspension of disbelief about many things in this screenplay, Dee successfully sells her character as the motivating force for the entire story. Go figure.
By 1958 Dee had already made six feature films and had long been exhibiting anorexic tendencies to which many attributed her incredibly youthful appearance rather than suspecting her actual age. She had considerable natural talent and took direction well but had clearly been acting in all those prior roles. Her performances were pleasingly underplayed until "Gidget" earlier in 1958 where she successfully broke out and demonstrated her considerable range.
But how to play Rosalie Stocker was a mystery and Jack Sher was basically a writer who had only directed two films and was inexperienced giving acting for the camera direction. So I suspect that Dee's Rosalie was pretty much a natural portrayal with Sandra Dee basically just playing Sandra Dee. Yet not only does it work but it is the reason for seeking out the film.
Dee's physical fragility and tentativeness make it onto the screen, exactly the qualities that sell Rosalie. When she is poured into sexy outfits she is visibly uncomfortable with the effect she is having on men. The contrast is incredible. To a viewer she becomes the "Innocent" in the title and is believable as the object of desire and the main motivation to men seeking redemption.
- aimless-46
- Feb 10, 2024
- Permalink