King & Four Queens [VHS] | Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker | Another BRILLIANT effort from Hollywood...

King & Four Queens [VHS] | Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker | Maltin has it wrong. Good movie.

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Suzanna Stinnett Ear Hilary Mantel Greatest King & Four Queens...

	King & Four Queens [VHS] Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker MGM (Video & DVD), 1998 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Another BRILLIANT effort from Hollywood Auteur Raoul Walsh

Raoul Walsh may well be the most overlooked master filmmaker, aside from Mike Curtiz(who did win an oscar after all), from the old school of Hollywood.His style is subtly controlled, and to the untrained eye, invisible, a regular joe turning out hollywood studio pics. But view the man's films and you will see the forming of a cohesive, thematic, and highly personal style through which he tells us of ourselves. Top notch acting and screenwriting add to this astounding work of art.

Maltin has it wrong. Good movie.

Perhaps Mr. Maltin doesn't like amoral tales, but there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Gable's character is amoral. The wives (3 of the 4 are widows, not knowing which husband survived his criminal past) are amoral. And the bible thumping mother in law, protecting money stolen by her sons, has got to be seen as amoral. Very good character development. A taunt tale. Gable looks like his classic, powerfull self. The actresses, though basicly unknowns, put in fine performances - and are easy on the eyes to look at, as well.

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KING CLARK

A desperado, Dan Kehoe (Clark) seeks refug in the little ghost town of Wagon Mound; only the four wives and mother of the McDade brothers (who are dangerous gunmen) inhabit the town...........A romantic Western with mystery and comic element therein, its an entertaining little flick; Gable shows us just why he is truly one of the screen's all-time great personalities. An amusing, fascinating and interesting albeit amoral and rather tawdry Western. The film develops as a superficially cynical excercise in the rival attractions of sex and money. Gable's charm as the ruffian-hero is more realistic and resistible that the script assumes, and in spite of a few moderately vigorous action scenes, the story is largely played out through dialogue exchanges with have little pace or spirit. Jo Van Fleet as the embittered Ma McDade plays her role with a harsh theatrical-like emphasis which gives her scenes a certain edge. Of the four queens, Parker is the most intelligent; the one you know he'll eventually gravitate to.

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Fascinating if cynical Western

Gable plays Dan Kehoe a weary and jaded conman who wanders into a nearly deserted town ,inhabited only by a woman gunfighter Ma McDade (Jo Van Fleet)and her four widowed daughters-in-law.These are the scheming and intelligent Sabina (Eleanor Parker);the sassy and unscrupulous Ruby(Jean Willes);the naive Oralee(Sara Shane)and the big 'bold and brassy ex chorus girl Birdie (Barbara Nichols).They are the widows of 4 outlaw brothers and kehoe tries to convince them that he was once a member of their gang and thus has a right to a share in the proceeds of a robbery thought to be hidden in the town .
He tries charm ; he tries the "divide and rule"method of setting them against each other but is b;ocked at every turn by the women who outmanoeuvre him with ease and we see it is the conman who is being conned .

The script by Margaret Fitts and Richard Allan Simmons is sharp and cynical ,heaping a degree of scorn on the male hero .This is a deeply revisionist movie for the western genre in that it is women who call the shots and in this respect it is very similar to the cult genre classic Johnny Guitar but without the baroque excesses of tat movie
Well acted by all concerned this is a genuine oddity and a very entertaining picture which is thoroughly recommended even if the Western is not usually your thing

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Entertaining, Different Western

Raoul Walsh, one of the greatest action movie directors ever, must have decided to turn the Western genre, which he knew well, on its ear. The King and Four Queens is not your typical Western, or your typical Walsh film.
Gable plays fugitive Dan Kehoe, who ends up in a town with only five inhabitants, all women. Four are the wives of a notorious group of outlaw brothers who stole a fortune and hid it out somewhere in the town. The fifth woman is the boys' mother, played by Jo Van Fleet. All of the women are waiting for the boys to show up.

The young women are all fighting over Kehoe, while the mother constantly holds him at gunpoint. Kehoe says he just wants to be on his way, but the mother and one of the wives are very mistrustful. Much comedy and maneuvering ensues.

This is not an action western. Instead, it is one of hijinks, quips, and repartee. Gable and Van Fleet are particularly entertaining. If you want gunplay and fisticuffs, stay away, but if you want a solid western comedy, check this film out.

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