Posted on Sunday, 24 April 2011

FORTY GUNS (Fuller, 1957) - Man, I love Barbara Stanwyck. And while she’s certainly capable of acting weak, she’s better when, like here, she gets to play fiery and stubborn - she might just be the ideal Fuller actress because her persona is so utterly devoid of bullshit. It’s too bad her foil, Barry Sullivan, lets himself be overshadowed by her, although that may in fact be a good thing: this way, it doesn’t so much look like he tames her but rather like she allows herself to be tamed. The camera work is simply awe-inspiring, with both impressive long (tracking) shots and intense, primal close-ups. It’s one of my favorite Fullers so far, surpassed only (maybe) by SHOCK CORRIDOR, though admittedly, that could have something to do with my love for pistol-based innuendo (“it might go off in your face” “I can handle it”)

FORTY GUNS (Fuller, 1957) - Man, I love Barbara Stanwyck. And while she’s certainly capable of acting weak, she’s better when, like here, she gets to play fiery and stubborn - she might just be the ideal Fuller actress because her persona is so utterly devoid of bullshit. It’s too bad her foil, Barry Sullivan, lets himself be overshadowed by her, although that may in fact be a good thing: this way, it doesn’t so much look like he tames her but rather like she allows herself to be tamed. The camera work is simply awe-inspiring, with both impressive long (tracking) shots and intense, primal close-ups. It’s one of my favorite Fullers so far, surpassed only (maybe) by SHOCK CORRIDOR, though admittedly, that could have something to do with my love for pistol-based innuendo (“it might go off in your face” “I can handle it”)

2 notes

  1. notesonfilms posted this