Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #28: Yellow Sky, 1948

Yellow Sky, 1948

Director: William A. Wellman
Writers: Screenplay by Lamar Trotti from a story by W.R. Burnett.
Cinematographer: Joe MacDonald
Producer: Lamar Trotti for 20th Century Fox
Starring: Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark; Robert Arthur, John Russell, Harry Morgan, James Barton, Charles Kemper.

Why I chose it
Three reasons: 1) It's a Western (a neglected genre in my blog series so far); 2) a Western directed by the great William Wellman; and 3) a Western directed by William Wellman starring Gregory Peck. Peck is an actor whose filmography has remained largely unseen by me...and I'm not sure why. But he's a giant of the classic era and I need to see more of him.

Where and when Yellow Sky is set

'No-spoiler' plot overview 'Stretch' Dawson (Gregory Peck) leads a gang of Western bank robbers in the post-Civil War Southwest. After a robbery they escape the pursuing cavalry only to run into a stretch of desert that nearly desiccates them. But then they come upon a ghost mining town inhabited by "Mike" (Anne Baxter), a young woman who has a fondness for brandishing a gun, and her grandfather. It turns out that there is gold in them thar hills, and Stretch manages to gain the trust of the local pair and arranges a deal to get a share of the gold if he can find it. Meanwhile, rifts develop among the men as greed gains its hold. 'Dude' (Richard Widmark) hatches a plot to claim all the gold, and a series of confrontations ensue.

Stretch (Peck) taking charge of a Wild West bank robbery.
William Gould is uncredited as the bank teller here.

Walking across Death Valley with no water is pretty rough
on one's features, as seen here in Robert Arthur's character "Bull Run"

Production Background
Director William Wellman was known for his rugged individualism both in front and behind the camera. Affectionately known as "Wild Bill", this WWI veteran didn't hesitate to execute dangerous stunts for himself and his cast and crew in the interests of splashing tales of masculinity-tested on screen. He was known for Wings, a silent classic about WWI fliers, and boundary-pushing pre-codes such as Safe in Hell, The Public Enemy, and Night Nurse, just to name a few. He also directed comedies (Nothing Sacred) and dramas (A Star is Born) before getting into Westerns with The Ox-Bow Incident, which I reviewed here. A couple of years ago on this blog, I had intended to publish a series of posts discussing Wellman's films, but sadly only managed one so far: it's here. 

William Wellman as a young man

Yellow Sky was the only time Wellman worked with Gregory Peck. Peck was not completely new to the Western genre; he had already starred in the Western Duel in the Sun, in which he played an unsavory type. He went on to make several more in the late 1940s and for much of the remainder of his career, off and on. His dark, lean, and rugged good looks served him well here.

Stretch (Peck) looking a bit peaked. "You smell!, Mike tells him.

Here Stretch is shaved and cleaned up.

 
While the cinematography by Joe MacDonald may not reach the iconographic height of a John Ford film (MacDonald had been employed by Ford to shoot My Darling Clementine in 1946), the locations were well used here: the scene in the desert was filmed in the Death Valley salt flats and other scenes in the Lone Pine rock formations of California, adding a grounded realism to a plot that largely develops on an intellectual rather than narrative level. And MacDonald made terrific use of black-and-white.

Preparing to ride into the desert.

The rugged beauty of the Wild West, captured by Joe MacDonald's camera.

Some other notable film-related events in 1948 (from Filmsite.org):

• The Supreme Court ruled that the "Big Five" movie studios had to end their monopolization of the industry. They were forced to divest themselves from theater chains by selling them off. Block booking, the system by which an exhibitor was forced to buy a whole line of films from a studio, was also deemed illegal by a court decision that legislated the separation of the production and exhibition functions of the film industry. This marked the beginning of the end of the studio system, and was partially responsible for a major slump in the movie business by all the studios in the late 1940s.
  
• Maverick film producer, aviator, and eccentric wealthy industrialist Howard Hughes purchased RKO Studios for a reported $8.8 million. Hughes led RKO during a long period of decline until the mid-1950s.
  
• In the horror-comedy spoof Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi (as Count Dracula) and Lon Chaney, Jr. (as The Wolf Man) portrayed their iconic horror characters for the last time on-screen in a feature film. It was Lugosi's second and final time as Count Dracula, following the original 1931 film.
  
• Director Alfred Hitchcock's first Technicolored feature film was the experimental thriller Rope (1948), the first of four films with James Stewart. The film was notable for its seamless intercutting of long 10-minute takes, creating the appearance of the film's action occurring all in real-time.

My Random Observations

• This was an entertaining movie all around. That's why it struck me as incredibly odd that for most of the running time there was no musical underscore. Composer Alfred Newman got the credit for the music, but I kept thinking that this must have been an easy assignment for him. There was some music at the beginning and then near the end, but its significant absence was disconcerting to me. As it was a deliberate choice, perhaps the silence was meant to symbolize the lack of life in the desert and then the ghost town? 
• Gregory Peck is a compelling Western hero. He not only convinced as a rough opportunist, but his subtle transformation and internal struggle as he found his moral center was well portrayed. 
• In the early part of the film I was feeling echoes of Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), in which the gang implodes over greed; it became clear after a bit that this narrative was going in a different direction and Peck was going to emerge victorious through the violence that his compatriots initiate.

Real Western men take off their shirts when working, as demonstrated
by 'Lengthy' (John Russell) and Stretch (Peck).

The gang's negotiations with bedridden Grandpa are a bit tense.

• I'm becoming a fan of Anne Baxter. Before my classic film obsession began, I only knew her as the exotic, emotional Nefretiri in The Ten Commandments. In this one her role as "Mike" couldn't have been more different. Extremely young and projecting innocence despite her exterior thick skin, you'd be hard pressed to recognize her as the same actress. (Of course, she had powerhouse performances as Eve in All About Eve and had just come off her Oscar-winning performance in The Razor's Edge). As a bonus, she had great chemistry with Gregory Peck.

Spunky "Mike," as played by a very young and sweet-looking Anne
Baxter, doesn't take prisoners.

Yep, there is a romance developing here.

• Richard Widmark was also very good, although he didn't impress me much as I felt his performance was a close cousin to the various somewhat unhinged villains he'd made his specialty to that point; his wild grins and laughter grated a bit for that reason. (See my post about his villain Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death here; this one was made just a year before Yellow Sky).

Widmark as "Dude" flashes his impish, insidious smile.

• While I had an idea of where this would lead in the end, the script of the last couple of scenes surprised me. And to keep the spoilers at bay, I won't say any more! 

Where to Watch
A DVD is available from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It can be streamed with a subscription to one of a few streaming services: check here.

Further Reading
Fellow blogger Caftan Woman wrote a terrific review of the film here.

Crazy Scary: Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in KISS OF DEATH (1947)

I'm pleased to share this post on Tommy Udo for the Great Villain Blogathon 2016, brought to you by Kristina at Speakeasy, Ruth at Shadows and Satin, and Karen at Silver Screenings. Check out their pages for the complete list of great posts for the characters we love to hate. NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Imagine you never heard of Richard Widmark, didn't know he garnered an Oscar nomination for his first ever film, KISS OF DEATH, and certainly aren't aware of any infamous scene involving a middle-aged woman and a wheelchair.  Audiences in 1947, coming to see KISS OF DEATH for the first time, would fit this description.  In 1947 you would have likely paid your money to see Victor Mature, a reliable, good-looking leading man, or perhaps wanted to check out new leading lady Coleen Gray.  Maybe you had heard of and admired the work of director Henry Hathaway, who had a respectable resume with films starting from 1930, and in fact continued his career through the mid 1970s with directing credits on classics as TRUE GRIT, NEVADA SMITH, and AIRPORT.  Or maybe you were attracted by the movie's provocative title and wanted to be scared, seduced, or both.  Coming out of the movie, though, you would most likely be talking most about one thing: the villain in this piece, Tommy Udo.  This post examines how skillfully Widmark, Hathaway, and the film's writers and crew, created this inimitable character.

Immediately after the opening credits

The film itself is a respectable but not outstanding noir, with hallmarks of the genre including voice-over narration at the beginning and end (however, this time coming from a woman (!)), and on-location settings in NYC claiming to be the real locations.  Both features were common to the 'docu-noir' style of the time, which is a nice touch and adds to the grittiness of the action.

Victor Mature as Bianco trying to
make a quiet getaway from the crime scene

After the credits roll Victor Mature makes his appearance, a tall, dark and handsome man named Bianco, who looks too straight to be staging a jewelry store robbery in the middle of a crowded commercial high rise during prime shopping time.  He is clumsy in how he handles the robbery, and bungles every attempt to escape.  He gets caught and, it turns out, he has an extensive record of various similar crimes and has done time.  Considering this is Victor Mature, and he looks as if he could have just given a sermon at his local Presbyterian church--that's how earnest he comes across--you might have trouble buying him as a criminal.  Nonetheless he would likely succeed in winning your sympathy as the protagonist who needs another chance to redeem himself.

About 13 minutes into the film you'll encounter the character Tommy Udo (pronounced "YOO-doe"), not as a live human but as words on a page, declaring him worthy of a prison sentence.  You probably take little notice or meaning to those words, and certainly don't appreciate the foreshadowing of the future link between the two men.  He certainly wasn't part of the jewelry store robbery that got our hero in trouble.

The protagonist, Bianco, and villain Udo, to be sentenced on the same day.

Widmark as Udo keeping an eye
 on the guards outside his cell

However, when you first *see* him in the flesh -- he makes an immediate impression as a thin blond man behind bars, sitting to the right of Mature.  Your hair will likely rise on the back of your neck. Why? He speaks with an ugly street-cultivated New York accent, spitting his words and sneering while goading both the prison guard, "that cheap squirt passing up and down", and Mature's Bianco.  And then he switches from spitting insults to laughing -- and what a laugh.  He curls his lips and emits a nasal chuckle that borders just on the hysterical.  (Ironically, the laugh originated from a nervous habit that Widmark had when originally reading for the role -- Kim R. Holston, Richard Widmark, a Bio-Bibliography.) Still, rather than assigning any real importance to this character, and not knowing anything about his past, you're thinking, oh, this is just the type of uncomfortable company our hero is going to have to deal with during his time in Sing-Sing.  (Bianco gets a full sentence by refusing a deal from Assistant District Attorney D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) to get less time by squealing on his crime partners.)

The next scene has Bianco and Udo in a train on their way to Sing-Sing, and they are handcuffed together.  Again a foreshadowing of the characters' fateful connection that, as a viewer in 1947, you would not have appreciated, but it certainly is a clever touch by writers Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer.

Bianco (Mature) enjoys a fun moment
with Nettie (Gray), now married.

Udo will disappear from your mind as he disappears from the plot of the film for some 30 more minutes.  We see how young, innocent Coleen Gray as Nettie comes to the emotional aid of Bianco, and how Bianco changes his mind about not squealing after learning one of his partners ("Rizzo" - never seen on screen) was involved with his wife, leading to her suicide, and wants to take revenge and get his life back.  He is paroled under the watchful eye of D'Angelo, reunites with his daughters, and marries Nettie.  But the price is high.  The deal Bianco makes with D'Angelo is to use his scheister of an attorney, Earl Howser, wonderfully played by Taylor Holmes, to get to Rizzo--the associate at whom Bianco throws suspicion as a squealer in an earlier crime.  Howser hires, you guessed it, hit man Udo, also freshly out of prison, to get to Rizzo. But Udo doesn't 'get' Rizzo, just his wheelchair bound mother (Mildred Dunnock) who he encounters in the famous wheelchair scene.

Widmark and Mildred Dunnock

This scene is where we see Widmark pull out all the stops.  As a 1947 viewer of course you know this guy is trouble, but unlike scary tough characters portrayed by the likes of Edward G. Robinson or James Cagney in gangster films, this guy looks like a strong wind would take care of him. He's hunched over, swaying slightly back and forth, his normal posture demanding his shoulders are uneven, and stomps what remains of his cigarette on the apartment floor.  When he discovers Rizzo has made a hasty exit and his mother is lying to cover up, he approaches her first with that deranged laughter, then rapidly switches to rage. His habit of wiping his mouth during the emotional transition is a tic that appears later in the film -- a nice touch Widmark adds to give us the feeling this guy is unhinged.  He says "You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over."

Then, he jumps into action, rips out the electric cord from a lamp, wraps it tight around Dunnock, and hurls her, wheelchair and all, down the stairs, while she screams before crashing to her most certain death.  You, the viewer, might lose your lunch at this point.  This animal, with not the slightest hesitation, kills with pleasure, and he doesn't even care that it's messy -- he's panther on the loose.

Watch the entire infamous wheelchair scene here:

You'll barely have a chance to recover from the shock of this scene before it becomes clear that Bianco's association with Udo is not done -- he's been told he has to get in Udo's confidence to pull critical damning information that D'Angelo can use to get Udo put away.  Now the two men are back in the same scene, both of their fates hanging on what the other will do. You're likely scared at the thought that Bianco has to deal with this guy -- if he slips only slightly, the consequences will be severe.  Your fear is only enhanced by the contrast between the two men -- Mature is tall, dark, large-boned and, Widmark is blond and slight. Widmark has a frantic energy, while Mature is calm, solemn, and quiet. The scene plays out with Udo believing ex-con Bianco is his "paaaal", and takes him to various night clubs, putting on displays of ill-treating everyone around, but eventually gives Bianco critical info. that he needs.

Bianco (Mature) looks on as Udo makes threats towards his girl--just look at her face.

But this isn't all.  Bianco is going to have to testify at Udo's trial, which D'Angelo says is a sure conviction.  You breathe a sigh of relief that that may be it for Udo--but no. The prosecution's case wasn't strong enough, and Udo was let free--free to hunt down Bianco.  The tension is ratcheted up when Bianco, on his own terms, decides to entice Udo into a late-night meeting with the purpose of sacrificing himself so Udo can be caught in the act of murder.  This scene is terrifying, and with Widmark's portrayal of Udo as a madman, you wonder if he will behave in the rational ways Bianco is expecting.  I'm not going to spoil the ending of the film, although I realize many readers know it.

I've mentioned how Widmark uses his voice, mannerisms, and body to portray an unhinged psychopath.  But beyond that, 20th Century-Fox's costume and wardrobe team made excellent choices to enhance this impression on the viewer. At first I knew there was something about the way this guy dressed...sure, perhaps it was the unusual dark suit and light tie combination.  But then I realized, only on second viewing--the HAT!!  The hat initially seems like a typical 1940s fedora.  But Udo's hat is out of proportion--the brim is too wide and too flat, dwarfing Widmark's head and face.  The effect is somewhat clown-like.  It's the clown-like effect that makes Widmark's Udo just that much crazier and scarier.  Have a look:

After his turn in this film in 1947, Widmark was no longer unknown. In an interview with the Telegraph UK's Michael Shelden, he stated he felt like he "overdid" his portrayal of Udo, and was self-conscious, knowing he wasn't Darryl Zanuck's original choice for the role.  His career off and running, he got teased by fellow actors about his crazy laugh, but he had attained his goal--to be in the movies.  For a while he was typecast him into playing very similar characters in films such as ROAD HOUSE.  Luckily for film lovers and for Widmark, and unlike other talents who were typecast early (Laird Cregar, for one), he was able to exercise his acting range in different roles and is remembered not just for this film, but for portrayals in westerns, and as solemn, morally-grounded characters such as Col. Tad Lawson in JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1962).

Frank Gorshin as 'The Riddler'
from www.denofgeek.com

Yet, it may be his first role that is his most iconic.  Some have pointed out the character similarities between Udo and 'The Riddler' or even 'The Joker' in Batman franchise.  In fact Frank Gorshin, who portrayed The Riddler in the 1966 film and the TV series, cited Widmark's Udo as an inspiration.  You may also see a bit of Udo in Heath Ledger's acclaimed portrayal of The Joker as all kinetic energy and malevolent insanity in THE DARK KNIGHT (2008).  Regardless, Widmark's accomplishment with this character ensures that Udo, once experienced, will likely never be too far from our nightmares.