Garden of Evil (1954)

"If the world were made of gold I guess men would die for a handful of dirt." Hooker

Garden of Evil is an old '50s western shot on location by Fox in Mexico in a vain attempt to recapture some viewers who had been lured away from the theaters by the boob tube. Unfortunately, despite some pretty alluring color cinematography by Milton Krasner showing the wild Mexican country in its various configurations, the movie lacks a believable storyline and the actors despite being some of the top names do not seem very inspired in their characterizations.

The movie concerns three soldiers of fortune heading around the Horn for Californy for the Gold Rush. Their ship breaks down in Mexican waters and they are put off a fishing village while the ship is repaired - about a four month task they are told. !! 

The three adventurers, played by Gary Cooper (Hooker); Richard Widmark (Fiske); and Cameron Mitchell (Daly), are refreshing themselves killing time in a cantina (where else?) listening to a beautiful senorita (Rita Moreno) serenade them when a beautiful American woman (Susan Hayward) parades in and offers to hire them to come and rescue her husband who is trapped in a mine cave-in somewhere in the Mexican wilderness.  

The fact that there are savage Apache Indians in the territory is enough to make the project beyond the realm of possibility to the locals who refuse to go but a burly local vaquero (Victor Manuel Mendoza) nonetheless enlists, as do the three adventurers, as they have been waiting for something to do and this unplanned journey appears to be a godsend.  There are also the attractions of the gold and the beautiful woman who may become available if the husband is dead, giving this journey a fatal aspect that puts it outside the typical western stomping grounds and edges it into film noir territory.

Despite having some of the most beautiful vistas available and several top actors, the film plods and most of the situations are predictable with Cooper playing the part of the good guy while Widmark and Mitchell alternate as the bad guy. Widmark does get most of the good cynical lines, in keeping with his earlier noir portrayals.  Susan Hayward is more ambiguous but it speaks well that she traveled so far to rescue her husband.  The trip back to the mine takes probably several days so the guy was laying there a minimum of a week to ten days - and then there are those Apaches out there - somewhere...

On the journey in, they have a few quarrels, with everyone falling into a convenient type that does not vary through the movie but they are so predictable it is less than enthralling.

Once at the mine the husband is dug out and nursed but he seems ungrateful unleashing a new round of spats among the players.  Meanwhile the Indians are observing them and planning their attack...

The movie is a slice in time with fully developed characters being thrown together but no explanations about their backgrounds yet they seem to know very much about each other in spite of this unfamiliarity and I attribute that to poor writing and lots of plot points are unsupported or left dangling.  I found the movie plodding and almost endless even though the running time is a mere 100 minutes.  Cooper, Widmark, and Hayward are worth watching for fans but don't expect some of the most memorable performances here, folks.

The Fox DVD is presented in super widescreen CinemaScope (2.55:1) theatrical format in Technicolor which is far nicer looking than films today. Too bad the scripting was so lame and the players unable to bring out enough shtick to paper over the cracks in the screenplay.  The scenic beauty of the mountains and various terrain features are marvelous, though, so if you are a landscape lover, you'll like the Garden of Evil. Everybody else can stay home.  I watch the bad ones so you don't have to.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above