Classics: The Magnificent Seven (1960)

The opening theme of “The Magnificent Seven” is timeless. It instantly connects you to the wild west and the nostalgia of when westerns flourished in Hollywood.

In present day, westerns are few. And it’s sad to see the television show “Hell on Wheels” come to an end. But currently a remake of “The Magnificent Seven” is out in theaters and in the spirit of this 2016 remake, I chose to revisit this film.

Let’s talk cast:

Chris Larabee Adams: Yul Brynner
Vin Tanner: Steve McQueen
Bernardo O'Reilly: Charles Bronson
Lee: Robert Vaughn
Harry Luck: Brad Dexter
Britt: James Coburn
Chico: Horst Buchholz

The Story

When a poor Mexican down becomes prey to a group of bad cowboys, a few of the townsfolk seek help. They offer to pay gunslinger Chris to take care of the baddies once and for all. And in the wild west, that usually means a sort of hit men as it were.

Chris can’t do it alone. So he enlists others to help for a total of seven. He first teams up with Vin.

It was a joy seeing these two actors on screen. They were so young, brimming with talent. Yul Brynner played the role with gravitas. While Steve McQueen has a slickness to him, which helps make him memorable since he doesn’t have as much screen time as Yul. And the contrast between the two work well. 

The first half of the movie is about the team, about the seven coming together and teaching the town how to shoot guns. Because let’s face it, once the mission is complete, these townsfolk may have to fend off the next group of baddies that mosey on their way… after all, this is the wild west.

The only weak spot for me was Chico. A young man, overflowing with too much pride… So much so, that it feels unbelievable or overacted. Though as the story progresses, he tones down—thank goodness because he plays a big part in this movie since he’s given the love story. This segment was a bit predictable, but sweet at the same time.

I would have also liked to see a bit more Charles Bronson. Though, he made the best of what he had. Even if Steve McQueen did a better job of capitalizing on his limited scenes with cool quirks like playing with his hat.

The fight scenes are well done. It’s not just a shoot ‘em up. There’s strategy involved.

All in all, this classic will continue to live on. Great characters and fun interactions punctuated with exciting action sequences of horse riding and gunslinging.


 Score: 8.75/10 

 

The Series Finale: Hell On Wheels Is ‘Done’

(season 5, ep 14, FINALE)
**spoilers**

Five seasons and the railroad is DONE, and so too is the show as “Hell On Wheels” has come to an end. It’s sad as I say good-bye to one of the few Westerns; though recently, it seems that they may be making a bit of a comeback.

This episode opened with the the finality of the railroad and all the hard work and emotions are now left for each character to deal with in their own way.

So how did the characters fare?

For starters: Durant is given a subpoena…

“…on charges of bribery, fraud and corruption.” - Governor

He is to appear in court in Washington.



Bohannan

He also gets a subpoena. They want him to testify against Durant.


Washington

He attends a party.

Durant is also at the party. He tells Bohannan that none of the people at the party are Bohannan’s friends. They will turn on Bohannan just like they turned on him. He gives Bohannan the go ahead to testify and says that Grant just wants his scapegoat, which is Durant.


Hearing

Bohannan can’t bring himself to bury Durant. His only testimony is a repeated phrase:

“The transcontinental railroad could not have been built without Thomas Durant.” - Bohannan

A job offer

Bohannan is offered a job as a colonel in the 4th calvary to protect the railroad from all threats. Sounds like a pretty nice gig.

It looks like he’s going to take it when he’s outside practice shooting with another soldier, someone he’ll be working closely with.

“You got yourself a girlfriend?” - soldier

The soldier then makes the job seem fairly easy. But there's a catch too difficult for Bohannan to snatch up: Killing some Indians and coming back as heroes. This doesn’t sit well with Bohannan, whose developed relationships with some of the Indians. He doesn’t kill people who don’t need killing. And he doesn’t see Indians as automatic bad guys.

He turns down the job and heads west.


Confession

This is a nice bookend to how the series started. It began in a confession booth with him murdering the man who murdered his family.

And it ends with him breaking down in confession.


San Fransisco

This is as far west as Bohannan can go while staying on the mainland of America.

And he plans to travel a lot further…

He takes a boat to China. The letter that Mei left for him was an address in China. He’s choosing love and happiness with Mei!



Durant

Things don’t go as well for Durant as they did with Bohannan. While scheming for money, he lost the woman he loved a couple of episodes back. And now he’s on the verge of losing his freedom too.

Although, Bohannan didn’t testify against him, Senators, he had bribed over the years, did. 

“The record of history will remember Thomas Durant as a criminal.” - Governor

“I am not interested in the record of history. I’m interested in reality… the one I witnessed with my own eyes, out west.” - Durant

I found the above dialogue interesting since Durant was so focused on ‘history’ in the last episode. He wanted his name as the victor when building the transcontinental railroad, putting Huntington in such a bind that he gave up the glory of the win and handed it to Durant.

Because everyone witnessed Huntington winning the race, not Durant, who rewrote history.


Mickey

Durant does the right thing and hands Mickey money knowing that with Durant’s pending indictment, Mickey could lose out on a lot of money. Mickey owns shares of Durant’s company, which is sure to take a plunge with Durant’s legal issues.

Mickey is hesitant, angry even. He doesn’t want to be bought out. Durant is doing him a huge favor here, but Mickey can’t see it.

“I am not your father.” - Durant

Mickey lost almost everyone personal to him. In the end, he really only has two people—Eva and Durant. Maybe Durant is like a father figure of a sort.

A long pause, Mickey takes the money.

“I hope you hang.” - Mickey

Regarding Eva, he wants to be with her, but she is not interested. They’re not good for each other, too much fire here.

Mickey give her money. Looks like the same money Durant had given him. And he is on his way to San Fransisco to expand his enterprise. He’s a survivor.


Eva

Not sure about her choice here. She has a chance to make some money by writing a book about her time with the Indians. She was sold to Mojave.

And as she reflects, tells her story, she thinks back to the sister Mojave she had grown up with. She decides not to write the book, not to make that paycheck that would help her future.

Instead she rides off into the sunset, probably to go back to her home with her Mojave sister.

This in itself doesn’t really bug me. I like the choice of family. It’s just that I never really got the sense she was wearing the emptiness of not being with her Mojave family. This felt like a missed opportunity to see more of this side of her.

Hell On Wheels RECAP: ‘Railroad Men’ Race To The Finish Line

(season 5, episode 13)

*spoilers*


The race is on

Two teams—Durant vs Huntington—converge on the city of Ogden.

The team that gets there first will be granted a winning pot of bonds worth 2.5 millions dollars. That’s a great deal of cash for those times.

Team Durant:
6 miles to go
Mick, Irish and Blacks

Team Huntington:
10 miles to go
Bohannan, Chinese



Need more workers

Jim strobridge leads the Chinese miners. Both Mickey and Bohannan could sure use some of those workers. But Jim won’t give them up. If any of his workers leave to finish the railroad then he won’t let them come back.

The railroad is done… sure there’s 6-10 miles of track left, but then what? Working on the mining gives a full time job past one day.



Bribe time

Huntington tries to bribe the governor.

“You’re every bit the snake he (Durant) is.” - Governor

Seems Durant had the same idea. But the Governor can’t be bought. The two teams are going to have to earn this one, fair and square.



Bohannan’s task got easier

No one has ever laid 10 miles of tracks in one day. And if he’s going to win that is exactly what he needs to do.

The sunset is about to rise. What an amazing shot...

…the last day drawers near when some Chinese miners arrive to help Bohannan.

“Boss man, finish what we start.” - Chinese guy

“It’s been an honor, Gentlemen.” - Bohannan

The finish line

Both teams started strong and, a couple of miles out, they start to fade, sucking on wind.


Durant overplays his hand

In an effort to motivate his men, Durant (who hasn’t done any labor), gives a speech…

 “There ahead lies the finish line, less than 1 mile away. I have worked tirelessly and endlessly to get you here. In the name of this great endeavor. Now, you must return the favor. Work, work like there’s no tomorrow. Get me to that finish line.” - Durant

This didn’t go over well as Psalms drops his tool and walks away, taking his black workers with him.

A desperate Durant finally takes off his suit jacket and works.


Psalms switches teams

 Psalms and his men join Bohannan.


The winner

Bohannan lays the final nail on the finish line as Huntington’s team beats out Durant.

This is a testament to Bohannan’s fair treatment of the people who work for him



Durant isn’t done

Down but not out, Durant has one card to play.

As Huntington is about to sign documents handed to him by the Governor, Durant enters with a document of his own.

An amendment that says if someone wants to contest the winner and the work done on the railroad. This will mean that no one will be able to use the railroad so that inspections are made to insure that there are no issues. Also, the paperwork of both Durant and Huntington will be looked at as well.



Durant gets his glory

Huntington must have something to hide because he makes an offer to Durant.

Huntingon mentions that both men could go to jail if their businesses and railroad work is inspected too carefully. Durant doesn’t care. He is willing to go to jail than let Huntington win this outright.

Huntington offers Durant a load of money to drop this investigation, but he won’t take it. Money is not what Durant is after. He wants the glory of the win. He wants to be the name written in the history books.

“Take Ogden…  But the ceremony happens at promontory on C.P. soil and I keep all the government bonds. All 2.5 million dollars worth” - Huntington

Durant celebrates his win with Bohannan.

Don’t worry Huntington, you’ll be living large in the future.



Bohannan

When asked about how he feels after all this…

“The cost was high.” - Bohannan

Drunk, he goes to his train car and drops to the floor in what looks like he’s having a heart attack or panic attack.

He put everything into this railroad, has lost so much because of it… now what?

Hell On Wheels RECAP: Bohannan Strikes In 'Any Sum Within Reason'

(season 5, episode 12)
**Spoilers**


Chang knows Mei’s identity, forcing Bohannan to send Mei away on a stage coach.

The two men have a verbal face off where Bohannan attempts to buy her back. $40,000, giving Change a $10,000 bonus. But Chang isn’t interested in money. He wants Bohannan to pay emotionally—payback for not getting 2% of the railroad business.

Chang’s men find the stage coach but Mei gets away on foot.



Washoe City

Mei sends a telegram to Bohannan and he wastes no time going after her, but he’s not alone. Chang also tracks her down.

Gotta say, these guys got there really quickly.

But I can let that go cause we got some great action.

Miners fill the city and they don’t seem to like Chang all that much. They take Chang on, but the villain is just too good. Kicking butt, fighting and killing his way through.

Mei hides out at the bar and Chang finds her. But she gets the upper hand, pointing a gun on him.

Will she kill him?

We’ll never know because Bohannan gets there in the nick of time.

One shot in the head and Chang drops.

But it ain’t over. Chang’s men loom outside and Bohannan does what Bohannan is really good at.

He goes outside and kills more bad guys.



Mei and Bohannan

They ride back.

“You’ve seen me now. The man that I am.” - Bohannan

“You’ve seen me, long time ago” - Mei

It’s been a long road for Bohannan, but he finds someone who loves him for who he is. And he doesn’t want to let her go the way he’s done with the others in his life.



New guy in town

But of course, nothing is easy. Another member of the Sze Yup company shows up with the death of Chang… Boy do these guys show up quickly. Didn’t Chang just die?

Anyway, General Lee Yong is looking for this “white assassin” who killed Chang. He's also looking for Mei.

There seems to be this understanding as if Yong suspected Bohannan. But he doesn’t seem to care or maybe he just doesn’t like Chang, calling him…

“Chang pimp, Taiping rebel, nothing more.” - Yong

Yong will send Ling Lee to replace Chang. Maybe he's not all that interested in Mei after all.



Coast is clear

Things are looking good as Bohannan heads over to Mei to tell her the good news. But she’s not there.

He’s left with a box with a Chinese note left in it.

When the railroad is done, hopefully he’ll be able to find her. Maybe the answer is in that note.



Collis Huntington

From last episode, we learn that Huntington is rich. He adapted to the times and in this episode we see how. He works with the Chinese. With the railroad nearing completion, he understands he needs to find a new business.

He also suspects that Bohannan killed Chang.

Classics: The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre

“The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” stars Humphrey Bogart in one his greatest performances as Dobbs—a man who plummets into greed laden paranoia.

Set in Mexico, Dobbs is an American beggar who meets and bonds with another down-and-out American, Curtin played by Tim Holt. The two men struggle to survive, begging for pesos and looking for labor, as they find themselves susceptible to con artists.

They stay at a Old Oso Negro…

…where they come in contact with an old prospector. Howard, played by Walter Huston who tells stories of his days as a prospector, digging for gold.

And it’s clear that he still longs for those days. But he also shares his experiences about fellow prospectors who’ve done bad things in the name of greed.

And here is where the story begins. Dobbs convinces Howard to take them gold digging. Though, it didn’t take much convincing. Walter Huston played the role with incredible charm and a laugh that brightens up the screen. His personality offered a great contrast to the seriousness of Dobbs impending insanity.

The three men trek through dangerous territory, inhabited by bandits. Until, Howard finds a great spot where all their dreams are about to come true.

But as the story progresses and the gold mounts up, Dobbs sees everything and everyone around him differently. The madness was an impressive thing to to watch and one can’t help but be glued to the screen waiting on the outcome.



**Spoilers**

Analysis/Dobbs:

Between the time Howard first tells Dobbs and Curtin about prospecting AND the time Dobbs convinces Howard to go with them, both Dobbs and Curtin have a private conversation.

“Do you believe what that old man, who was doing all the talking at the Old Oso Negro, said the other night about Gold changing a man’s soul so that he ain’t the same kind of a guy as he was before finding it.” - Dobbs

“I guess it all depends on the man.” - Curtin

“…Gold don’t carry any curse with it… Gold could be as much of a blessing as a curse.” - Dobbs

I ask myself, was it clear that Dobbs had it in him to descend into what he would become? Was he always this way or did he just flip out?

From how the story progressed, it was clear to me that Dobbs was a good guy. Plus, Howard (the voice of reason) said so even after all that had gone down. Before they left for digging, the three men discussed how much money they needed for supplies. Curtin fell short of the amount.

But Dobbs had won last night’s lottery and, without hesitation, offered to cover Curtin’s share of the expenses. So deep inside, he started out very honest with a hint of selflessness.

So how did he change?

One thing that is very consistent with Dobbs is his susceptibility to suggestion. When one guy mentioned a job, he quickly took it… okay, sure, he needed the work; but there’s something more.

The moment Howard talks about prospecting, it took all of a couple of minutes for Dobbs to get that glint in his eye. He wanted a piece of that action.  

Fast forward to the men finding gold and dividing it up into threes…

Howard shared another of his stories. He mentioned that some men like to hide their stash for fear that the other guys might steal from them. This triggered Dobbs hiding his portion of the gold under a rock. Though, Curtin did also. Both men unable to sleep, fearing the other would hunt for their stash. Howard didn’t seem to worry much. He slept fine, not getting involved in all this paranoia. And it felt like Curtin’s actions were in response to Dobbs.

But would Dobbs have hid his stash had Howard not put the idea in his mind? We won’t know the answer, of course. But I suspect, it would have taken a bit longer to get to that stage.

His change escalated when he brought up the money he put up for Curtin’s share. He felt he should get a bigger part of the gold than Curtin. But when Curtin offered gold, not just equal but more than what was given to him, Dobbs took it and dumped it on the ground as if to say he didn’t want it. Dobbs is teetering here… from greed back to normalcy.

But there came a point when he was too far gone.


Lack of water

Dehydrating is never good for anyone. It makes people see things that aren’t there. Now rewind a moment, there was a moment (before his madness), when Dobbs thought he found gold and splashed rocks with water to get a closer inspection of the sparkles. But it was fool’s gold instead and Howard gave him a warning.

“Water’s precious. Sometimes it’s more precious than gold.” - Howard

Add this to Dobbs’ building greed and paranoia and you can see his madness growing.

Why water didn’t affect Curtin that way? Each person is different. Dobbs was rather hyper and he was already weak of mind.

**end spoiler**


Conclusion

“The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” was a fascinating study on the affects of greed lead by an accomplished actor. And the ending was both satisfying and tension-filled.


 Score 10/10

Hell On Wheels RECAP: “Gambit”

Fast forward to New York 1885

Time, and the crash of ‘73, has not been kind to Durant. Poverty struck so hard that he’s selling off something very dear to him.

...from one of only 3 spikes from the Transcontinental railroad. And in a demonstration of how time really doesn’t wait for anyone, the pawn shop guy has no idea what Durant is talking about. Transcontinental railroad?

Durant goes on to explain and the man responds by telling Durant that the going rate for the gold is $37.27.

“But I’ll give you 37.30 even, for the history lesson.” - pawn shop guy

What does Durant do with the money?

Buys a suit and meets Huntington for dinner in a fancy restaurant. Huntington, now older with less hair, has a brand new wife. And Durant puts on airs.

When the bill arrives, Durant insists on paying though the cost is a punch in the gut.


Evening comes

Durant has a picture of the completed railroad in his cabin.

He writes a letter and upon completion, he dies.

Questions:

Who was the letter to?

What did the letter say?

Why did he pawn that piece of gold to have lunch with Huntington?


Speculative answers:

After watching this episode. I’m guessing it’s a confession letter to Campbell.

Regarding the lunch, maybe he knew he was dying and wanted to feel what he felt when he was at his height. Having dinner with someone who was part of that past railroad life might have given him something more emotionally than keeping the gold ever did. Quite sad.



Back to present:


Campbell returns

With their chief engineer, Delaney, murdered and Durant kidnapped, Mickey informs the board about the $250,000 ransom.

Mickey expects to get that money but instead gets trouble…

“I didn’t get elected by caving to demands of thugs and ransomers. When we find the men responsible, the only payment they’ll receive is swift justice.” - Campbell

Governor Campbell brings The Calvary with him, along with an Indian tracker.


The Plan is derailing

Campbell interviews people and learns that the kidnapper took Durant North.

Louise takes a look at Durant’s financial books for clues.

Eva suspects that Mickey is behind this. She confronts him and he admits the truth. But Shea was never supposed to kill anyone—that wasn’t part of the plan. Oops!

“You’ve got to kill that mad dog” - Eva to Mickey

Mickey gets angry, but knows she’s right. He rides to the cabin where Durant and Shea are to fill them in

The Calvary track the cabin but it’s a set-up. An explosive goes off and a soldier dies.

Yikes… this plan is out of control.

Campbell suspects that someone warned Shea. Add to this that Louise told him that the kidnapper was Irish.

Hmm… Mickey is Irish. Campbell has Mickey watched.

But the Governor wires for the money.



Time for a new plan

Mickey drinks with Campbell and mentions that he hasn’t seen his cousin since this whole thing started. 

Mickey sneaks out of the town to a river where Durant and Shea are.

"America's an awful bitch. I'm done with it." - Mickey

He has a side conversation with his cousin. They could take the $250,000. With it they could run things in Ireland. Shea agrees.

Hmm… sounds like Mickey is going to double-cross Durant.


Back at the town

Louise learns that Durant is dead broke. Maggie doesn’t believe it, surely Durant sold his stock to pay the ranchers… NO.

Hmm… Campbell suspects that Durant is behind his own kidnapping and changes course. He won’t give any money to this phony ransom.


Plan goes to hell in a hand basket

Maggie arrives at the ransom spot with $50,000. Mickey and Shea have their face covered. She wants Durant for the money.

But $50,000 just isn’t enough for Shea, especially when you have $250,000 on your mind.

Maggie recognizes Mickey and she realizes that Campbell is right. Durant planned this whole thing.

Durant goes for Shea’s gun… a struggle… a shot fired… Maggie’s struck.

Mickey steps in and kills Shea.

Durant runs over to Maggie, who dies.

The cover-up

Mickey and Durant are questioned by the authorities.

Mickey tells them that Shea got away with the $50,000 and the he doesn’t know where his cousin went.

But the truth is that he buried Shea in the river. Broken up about having to kill his brother and now his cousin, he breaks down in front of Eva and she responds by giving him pity? Sex or maybe she likes him or… I don’t know. But it was rough.


Campbell tells Durant that he knows Durant faked his kidnapping, but he can’t prove it, leaving Durant with one final note…

“That $50,000… She sold her hotel to save you.” - Campbell

So basically, Mickey killed his cousin and Durant watched the love of his life die over money he could have gotten by just asking Maggie for help. She loved him and was willing to sell her hotel to save him.

…Durant pays off the ranchers.