Barbara has a Whip

The Bonell Brothers, Griff (Barry Sullivan), Wes (Gene Barry), and Chico (Robert Dix) ride into Tombstone, Arizona with a warrent for the arrest of Howard Swain. Working for the U.S. Attorney General, former gunfighter Wes is not interested in the problems local Marshal John Chisolm (Hank Worden) is having with Brockie Drummond (John Ericson), the out-of-control brother of Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck), the political force in the territory.  But when Brockie attacks Marshall Chisolm, Griff finds himself going head-to-head against Brockie, and by extension, Jessica and her Forty Guns (1957).

Originally titled Woman with a Whip, this is an interesting movie with a decent plot and an excellent cast who play well together. Barbara Stanwyck is in top form as Jessica. She is tough, and she is feminine; she makes it easy to understand why men both love and fear and respect her. It's not her forty gunslingers; it's Jessica herself who is a power to recon with. Interestingly, Stanwyck had SOME competition for the role. Marilyn Monroe, who was a contract player at 20th Century Fox badly wanted the part. Director Samuel Fuller wanted Stanwyck, and he won the day (TCM article). As an aside, Ms. Stanwyck did her own stunts, including one in which she is dragged several feet by a horse - a stunt that the stunt personnel would not do. In fact, Ms. Stanwyck redid the stunt 3 times, until Mr. Fuller was satisfied with it.

Barry Sullivan is good in the film - his stiffness works as stoicism, and he is able to handle the scenes between him and with Ms. Stanwyck well. Their romance has just the right amount of edge to convey strong individuals who click (See this discussion of some of the sexual byplay in this Slant review). He also handles the transition of Griff from stern control to subdued rage. And his rapport with Gene Barry is good. 

Mr. Barry brings humor to the role of Wes; his compatibility with Eve Brent, playing gunsmith Louvinia Spangler (Ms. Brent would later appear in a pair of Tarzan films as Jane, opposite Gordon Scott) is quite sexy. Wes is another man who like his women strong. His comment that he's never had a woman make a gun for him before is tinged with innuendo.

Robert Dix does a nice job of showing growth in the character of Chico. He manages to mature from an impetuous kid to a mature, thoughtful man. Mr. Dix is still acting - he'll be appearing in The Last Frankenstein sometime this year. John Ericson, however, retired in 2008; he makes Brockie a sociopath, though sometimes the character is a bit over the top. Ziva Rodan, in the small role of Rio (blink and you'll miss her), retired to Israel in the late 1960s. She's since returned to California (though not to acting).

Given the respect so many critics have for Samuel Fuller, this film is highly regarded by critics. The Slant review, cited above and this Senses of Cinema article praise his skill both with the script and with the camera. Mr. Fuller had a very different ending of the film in mind; the studio however, over-road him - they deemed his concept too harsh( AFI catalog). While Mr. Fuller's proposed ending really horrified us, we didn't like the one he chose either. We felt that he weakened Jessica, and that with a slight change, she would have remained the strong woman we so admired.

Jessica comments in this film on her age (some statements have been made that Ms. Stanwyck was too old for the part. We beg to differ). But age would be a factor for her career from now on. Ms. Stanwyck would not make another film until Walk on the Wild Side four years later (Barbara Stanwyck: Miracle Woman by Dan Callahan) in which she is decidedly supporting to Capucine. That would be followed by two more films, after which she moved into television where she was far more appreciated.

Filmed in Cinemascope (in black and white), the film is both gritty and beautiful. If this Variety review is any example, it was well received (especially since it was filmed for $300,000 in one week). A Criterion review of the Blu-Ray release also sings the praises of Mr. Fuller and Ms. Stanwyck. We'll leave you with this trailer, and a suggestion to visit Tombstone the next time the film is available: