CROSSFIRE TRAIL

REVIEWED BY BRETT WILLIS

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sensuality and violence

Rated:

I happen to like Westerns, although many of them (both ancient and modern) suffer from the disease of “sameness." That trait is, in part, deliberate.  Westerns are meant as a morality play in which there are (1) uncompromising good guys, (2) mustache-twirling, sneering bad guys, and (3) the great silent majority that doesn’t want to “get involved." Often, as in this film, there’s a sub theme of people in group 3 breaking ranks, deciding it’s better to stand up for what you believe in and maybe get shot for doing so than to live a long and vanilla-flavored life.

Rafe Covington vowed to a dying friend that he’d look after his wife and his ranch. Unfortunately, the crooked banker Mr. Barkow has deceived Anne Rodney into thinking that her husband had died much earlier and that he’d had no money to keep up the mortgage payments. Barkow gives Mrs. Rodney some grace on the loan, but ultimately he plans to marry her as a convenient way of acquiring her oil-bearing property once and for all. When Rafe and his friends ride into town, telling an alternate story about how her husband died, Anne knows someone is scamming her.  But who’s telling the truth?  Is it the sweet Mr. Barkow who’s been softly wooing her for a year? Or is it this handsome cowboy who prays, who knows classic literature and classical music, and who would have been a Jesuit priest except that he never quite learned to “turn the other cheek”?

There’s an interesting male-cameraderie subtheme as Covington, his two companions, and local character Joe Gill team up to put the abandoned ranch back into working order. Barkow wants to evict them; but Anne, who is still mulling over who’s on the level with her, overrules him. Unable to get rid of Covington by legal action or intimidation, Barkow brings in hired killer Beau Dorn. By this and other acts, Barkow begins to show Anne his true colors.  It’s clear now who’s in the right.  The only remaining question is, who has the fastest gun?

This story, based on a Louis L’Amour novel, does have that “sameness” element.  It’s not markedly different from a Hopalong Cassidy movie I saw recently.  But there were some unusual elements, and a meticulous attention to detail was shown on the costumes, buildings and weapons. Tom Selleck has done Westerns before: He costarred with Sam Elliott in L’Amour’s The Sacketts (now there was a fine selection of rugged good looks), and previously worked with director Simon Wincer in Quigley Down Under.  He perfectly fits the no-nonsense good guy image he’s required to project in such films.  On the other hand, Mark Harmon as a totally-corrupt bad guy was a little hard for me to swallow. Guess that was Anne’s problem too.

There are several violent deaths, usually from firearms and with bloody results, although the majority of the film is setup and character interplay as Rafe keeps his word and Anne slowly comes to appreciate his faithfulness. Rafe displays amazing restraint, using violence only when there’s no other choice. Profanity is limited to some some use of d_mn, hell, and son of a... A minor character kidnaps an Indian girl, apparently intending to rape her, not knowing that she’s Chief Red Cloud’s daughter; Rafe rescues the girl. Barkow violently forces Anne to marry him, intimidating the Sheriff into performing the ceremony, shooting down anyone who objects, and covering Anne’s mouth as she speaks the last word of “I do NOT!”

Then he carries Anne upstairs to a hotel room, intending to forcefully “consummate” the marriage; but after knocking her unconscious, he remarks to himself that he’ll finish things later when she’s feeling better.  [No, he doesn’t tie her to the railroad tracks.]  There’s smoking and drinking, and the secondary profession of the saloon bargirls is implied by their skimpy outfits. One of Rafe’s partners, who is Irish, tells strange and sometimes irreverent Irish jokes.

If you like Westerns or are a fan of someone in the cast, this film may be of interest.