Garden of Evil (1954)

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  • GARDEN OF EVIL


    DIRECTED BY HENRY HATHAWAY
    TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION



    INFORMATION FROM IMDb


    Plot Summary
    Three Americans are headed by ship around the cape to the California gold fields
    when they are put ashore for several weeks in a sleepy little Mexican village.
    While there, they are offered the job of following a lady deep
    into the indian infested mountains of Mexico to rescue the ladies husband
    trapped by a cave-in at their gold mine.
    For the job they are promised two thousand dollars each.
    While each contemplates their own chances for getting the lady
    and /or the gold mine,
    if they can survive to enjoy it.
    Written by Ronnie L. Hyde


    Writing Credits
    Frank Fenton ... (screenplay)
    Fred Freiberger ... (story) and
    William Tunberg ... (story)


    Cast
    Gary Cooper ... Hooker
    Susan Hayward ... Leah Fuller
    Richard Widmark ... Fiske
    Hugh Marlowe ... John Fuller
    Cameron Mitchell ... Luke Daly
    Rita Moreno ... Cantina Singer
    Víctor Manuel Mendoza ... Vicente Madariaga (as Victor Manuel Mendoza)


    Produced
    Charles Brackett ... producer
    Saul Wurtzel ... associate producer


    Music
    Bernard Herrmann


    Cinematography
    Milton R. Krasner ... director of photography (as Milton Krasner)
    Jorge Stahl Jr. ... director of photography Film Editing by


    Trivia
    This is the only Western for which Bernard Herrmann composed a score.


    A scene was cut featuring a priest telling the main characters not to go on the journey.
    This character was referred to in the film.


    The story takes place in 1849.


    Although referred to as a "kid" or "boy", Cameron Mitchell was actually 35.


    This was the fourth film telecast on "NBC Saturday Night at the Movies",
    the first television program to exclusively broadcast post-1948
    theatrical films on US network television.


    This one was first telecast 14 October 1961, and like the opener of the series,
    How to Marry a Millionaire, and several others which followed,
    had been filmed in CinemaScope, at its original 2.55:1 ratio,
    and so had to be "formatted to fit your screen"
    i.e. shown pan/scan in the conventional 4:3 TV ratio,
    losing nearly half of the image in the process,
    and literally destroying the composition of each scene.
    But viewers didn't seem to mind.
    The idea proved so successful that NBC soon followed it up with another series
    with the identical format, "Monday Night at the Movies",
    and it wasn't long before the format was taken up by both CBS and ABC.


    This was first announced as a starring vehicle for John Wayne and Gary Cooper.


    Goofs
    Anachronisms
    The firearms being used belong to the period from about 1870 to 1880.
    If this film was set during the California gold rush period of 1849
    the weapons should all be percussion cap and black powder.
    Repeating rifles weren't developed until late in the Civil War.


    The Steamboat that landed Hooker and Fiske on the shores of Mexico
    is of early 20th century design and definitely not of the gold-rush days of 1849.


    Continuity
    Fiske's horse disappears when they take refuge on the mountain track.


    Factual errors
    The film is set in Mexico and the Indians are being called Apaches.
    However, they are dressed as Northeastern American Mohawks.
    In addition, the men of the Apache nations were traditionally long-haired.
    In this film, the "Apache" Indians are sporting Northeastern Mohawk haircuts.


    Spoilers
    Continuity
    Vicente is hit by two arrows (front and back), and the film cuts away to the others.
    When it comes back to Vicente, he now has a second arrow in his back.


    The arrow that strikes Vicente in the belly comes from his right
    and can be seen to be angled like so.
    In later shots, the arrow is angled as though it struck him from his left.


    Plot holes
    When fleeing from the Apaches, the group has no time to bury the bodies
    of Daly and Vicente but sufficient time to cut down Fuller and bury him.


    Fuller rides off to distract the Apaches, but is found dead tied to the cross.
    However, the Apaches who must have been ahead of the party to catch and kill Fuller
    and tie him to the cross, are now behind the party and trying to catch up.


    Memorable Quotes


    Filming Locations
    Paricutín Volcano, Michoacán, Mexico
    Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico
    Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
    Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico (interiors)
    Tepotzotlán, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico (outdoor sequences)
    Los Concheros River, Mexico (outdoor sequences)
    Guanajuato, Mexico (outdoor sequences)


    Watch the Movie


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    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Garden of Evil (1954) is a Western film about three somewhat disreputable
    19th-century soldiers of fortune, played by Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark,
    and Cameron Mitchell, who are hired by a woman, portrayed by Susan Hayward,
    to rescue her husband.


    The movie was directed by Henry Hathaway.


    It's worth noting from the triva section
    This was first announced as a starring vehicle for John Wayne and Gary Cooper.
    Interesting, as I was unaware of this


    User Review


    One of Gary Cooper's best westerns

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England