Man with the Gun, 1955
This film is featured in a Criterion set of "Western Noir". Robert Mitchum plays Clint Tollinger, a man who works as a "town tamer"--someone who comes into towns and takes out any outlaws who have overstepped their bounds, unencumbered by the procedures of a traditional sheriff. It just so happens that Clint's estranged wife, Nelly, lives in the town, and as he plots against the local gang, he also tries to understand the rift between himself and Nelly, part of which centers on their absent daughter.
The film is a bit brief in the way that it addresses its themes, but it does raise some interesting questions about pacifism, violence, manliness, and forgiveness. We learn that Tollinger began his work because his own father, a pacifist, was murdered--but as Nelly points out, Tollinger has set himself on a path toward a violent death.
I wish that the film had gone deeper in its exploration of Tollinger's inner workings, and specifically how it affects his work.
The absolute best sequence in the whole film comes when Tollinger has an explosive, emotional fight with Nelly. Leaving her home, he makes his way to a local bar whose owner is in cahoots with the outlaw. The man, who has never been much of a threat, refuses to rise to Tollinger's desire for a confrontation. But Tollinger is relentless--shooting bottles behind him, trashing the building, and finally throwing a knife at him until the man gives in an attempts to retaliate--giving Tollinger the excuse he needs for deadly violence.
The outlaw is, of course, the main bad guy. But interestingly he gets almost zero screen time. The film is more interested in how Tollinger deals with the people who are
sort of connected to the outlaw; the people who slightly resent Tollinger's presence; and those who might get caught in the crossfire. They are the ones who reveal important aspects of Tollinger's character and struggle.
My main complaint about the film is that it resolves absurdly quickly, and sort of hand-waves away the issues in the film. With no exaggeration, everything is concluded in about a minute and a half. I didn't mind that there wasn't a dynamite shootout--it's not that kind of western. But everything felt a little too neat. I wish that the film had embraced the dark complexity of its middle third and really taken those themes to the end.
Mitchum brings his usual thoughtful danger vibe. Jan Sterling really holds her own as Nelly. Tollinger is the protagonist and the film is almost unwaveringly on his side, but Sterling's performance really helps you understand the frustration and anxiety of being the spouse of someone who leaves for extended periods of time to do potentially deadly work. Barbara Lawrence deserves a mention for her comic portrayal of the classic "dumb blonde" character--she adds enough sparkle to the character's borderline sociopathic bimbo that I ended up really enjoying the character.
It doesn't entirely live up to the dark, introspective western that it could have been, but it's still a solid effort and well worth checking out.