Welcome to BCB After Dark, the place where night owls, early risers, new parents, and Cubs fans abroad gather for lively discussions. We’re thrilled you’ve chosen to spend this evening with us. Come on in, grab a table, or make a new friend. There’s no cover charge, and you’re welcome to bring your own beverage.
At BCB After Dark, we talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else that’s on your mind, as long as it follows the rules of the site. The late-nighters can get the party started, and everyone else is invited to join in as the morning unfolds into the afternoon.
Last night, we delved into a trade proposal involving Christopher Morel and Kevin Alcántara for star closer Emmanuel Clase. An overwhelming 68% of you believe the Cubs would reject this deal, while only 21% think it would materialize. Considering Bruce Levine’s report that the Guardians want Cade Horton for Clase, the 4% who predicted both sides would say “no” might be spot-on.
Now, let’s shift gears to the world of music and movies. For those who prefer to skip this segment, feel free to do so without any hard feelings.
Tonight, we’re grooving to the sounds of saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley performing the Cole Porter standard “Love For Sale.” This rendition features Art Blakey on drums, Sam Jones on bass, Hank Jones on piano, and the legendary Miles Davis on trumpet.
In the realm of cinema, our BCB Winter Western Classic recently concluded with Howard Hawks’ Red River (1948) narrowly defeating Henry Hathaway’s True Grit (1969) by a margin of 52% to 48%. While I personally believe Red River deserves the win for its near-masterpiece status, I understand why True Grit garnered so many votes. It’s an excellent film and a crowd-pleaser, even if I prefer the Coen Brothers’ remake.
However, there were some flaws in Red River, and some of you admitted to struggling with John Wayne playing the villain, even though the movie ultimately redeems him.
As we move forward in the classic, every film that we vote on will have already secured at least one victory. Our next matchup features director George Stevens’ Shane (1953), which triumphed over Robert Aldrich’s Vera Cruz (1954) in the first round, facing off against director Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969), a seminal film of the “New Hollywood” movement. The Wild Bunch emerged victorious over Anthony Mann’s The Naked Spur (1953) in the first round.
Shane (1953)
Directed by George Stevens, Shane stars Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, and Van Heflin.
As I’ve mentioned before, I won’t write a new essay for each film as it advances. I’m expected to focus on prospects and redoing everything would hinder that. So, here’s what I wrote about Shane previously:
“Come back, Shane!” This iconic line marks one of the most famous endings in cinematic history, endlessly copied and parodied. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’re likely familiar with that ending. However, Shane offers much more than just a memorable conclusion.
While some plot elements may seem cliché today, it’s important to remember that they were groundbreaking at the time, inspiring countless lesser storytellers to imitate them. A mysterious stranger with a troubled past rides onto a Wyoming farm and settles down due to a brewing conflict between ranchers and farmers. This basic outline mirrors the Johnson County War, which also served as the backdrop for Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian, often regarded as the first serious Western novel.
In Shane, the farmers are generally outmatched by the ranchers, but Shane’s dark past, filled with violence he’s trying to leave behind, gives him an edge. After Shane humiliates the ranchers in a barroom brawl, they summon a mysterious gunfighter, Jack Palance, to level the playing field.
In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this storyline would be routine. However, Stevens elevates it into a classic. The film is visually stunning, shot in color on location in Wyoming, and it’s one of the biggest-budget Westerns ever made. Stevens effectively contrasts the beauty of the Wyoming landscape with the muddy, wooden cabins where the farmers eke out a meager living. Cinematographer Loyal Griggs deservedly won an Oscar for his work on Shane.
Critic Roger Ebert, in his “Great Movies” series review, emphasizes the psychological aspect of Shane. The short, pretty-boy Ladd portrays Shane as a tormented soul, haunted by death and past violence. When confronted by the ranchers, he wears a pained expression, suggesting that yet another man has made the fatal mistake of underestimating him.
However, Ebert also highlights the psychodrama of Shane’s relationship with the Starrett family: Joe (Van Heflin), Marian (Jean Arthur), and little Joey (Brandon deWilde). Shane yearns for the domesticity that they represent. While Joe is an honest, hardworking farmer, both Marian and Joey are drawn to this mysterious stranger. Marian is attracted to his good looks and the promise of a life beyond the struggling farm, while Joey idolizes him as an exciting gunfighter, unlike his boring father.
Shane could easily manipulate Joe into getting killed in the conflict, allowing Shane to replace him in the Starrett family. However, Shane is too honorable and fond of Joe to do that. Yet, Ladd’s facial expressions hint at Shane’s secret desire for such an outcome. Perhaps Marian and Joey share this desire as well. This adds a complex dimension to Shane, setting it apart from many other “stranger rides into town” films.
It’s also worth noting that Shane was Jean Arthur’s final movie and the only one she ever made in color. It’s ironic that someone who became famous for playing smart-talking city working girls would end her career as a wife on the frontier. However, Arthur had experience playing in Westerns, especially during the silent era. She had retired for years before Shane was made and agreed to do the film as a favor to Stevens. (She would later return to the stage and do a little television, but she never acted in a movie again.) Shane also features Elisha Cook Jr. in a supporting role as one of the farmers who stands up to the ranchers, with disastrous consequences. Any film with Cook in it gets extra credit in my book.
Besides winning the Oscar for Color Cinematography, Shane was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for both Jack Palance and Brandon deWilde.
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, The Wild Bunch stars William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, and Robert Ryan.
My earlier essay on The Wild Bunch:
This film earned Peckinpah the nickname “Bloody Sam.” The Wild Bunch is a revisionist Western that, instead of portraying the beauty of the frontier and the gallantry of its inhabitants, depicts the West as dirty, ugly, and filled with flawed and unlikeable people. Peckinpah intended for audiences to be repulsed by the raw, graphic violence in The Wild Bunch, and by extension, the graphic violence beamed into homes nightly from the Vietnam War news reports. It wasn’t until later that Peckinpah realized that many people were actually drawn to that violence. Oops.
The Wild Bunch takes place in 1913 on both sides of the Texas/Mexico border. Like Peckinpah’s earlier film Ride the High Country (don’t worry, we’ll get to that one), he’s interested in exploring the end of the West and the arrival of a new order. However, unlike John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from just seven years earlier, Peckinpah doesn’t see the new “civilization” as an improvement. The new generation is even more violent and criminal. He illustrates this at the very beginning of the film with a scene where children delight in watching a horde of ants devour a scorpion. This serves as a recurring theme throughout the film.
William Holden plays Pike, an aging outlaw who wants to pull off one last job before retiring. Ernest Borgnine plays Dutch, his loyal, yet more cynical, second-in-command and best friend. The gang is being pursued by a posse, hired by the railroad. The posse is led by Thornton, played by Robert Ryan. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Thornton was previously a member of Pike’s gang, but a series of mishaps and betrayals led to Thornton’s capture, imprisonment, and torture. He’s been released from prison on the condition that he hunts down his former gang—dead or alive.
Pike’s gang robs a bank in South Texas, which turns out to be a trap set by Thornton. A bloody shootout ensues, where about half of Pike’s gang and dozens of innocent civilians are killed. This forces the