***52 Westerns in 52 Weeks Challenge***

Week 11: ****Starring Henry Fonda**

There’s a lot to love about There Was a Crooked Man…, it gives a rare and appreciated insight into the old west prison life through a Great Escape-esque story format that I think is just a perfect fit for the western genre, and of course the cast, with names like Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, and Warren Oates leading the way was fantastic. I also thought this script was very well written, it has one or two dull stretches but for the most part I was enjoying the quality of the dialogue and the themes it was bringing forth. Even with all the good here I’m sad to say I did have some problems, this could’ve easily been in the four or even higher range if it weren’t for three main reasons. One being the runtime which is shocking because I’m someone who can handle massive runtimes without a sweat but this mere 2 hour feature’s length hit me like a truck, if this was kept at around 80-90 minutes I think it would’ve been fantastic as the story didn’t need much more time than that. The second reason would be the way it was filmed, I’m genuinely not sure if it’s just the tubi cut that did this or if it was an intentional choice but I can only describe the cinematography with the world “scratchy”, it sound like it makes make much sense but if you watch the cut I did I’m almost sure you’ll feel what I mean, I’m really not sure what it is, all I know is that I wasn’t a fan. The final spot where this falls for me is with the music, through points I thought it was done well and evoked some of that western magic I love but at others it was either way overbearing or simply didn’t match the tone of the scene at all, it really is sad to be let down by a western’s music as that’s one of the big reasons why I keep coming back to the genre. That’s all the focus the issues need because I’m still giving this a 3.5 because it’s quite effective, Kirk Douglas was without a doubt my favorite of the cast and I enjoyed Henry Fonda as well, I’ve only seen a few films from each of them but they’ve both nailed every role I’ve seen them take on. And even though I wasn’t a fan of the cinematography I did get some joy out of the camera movement and technicolor at points, it certainly wasn’t all bad, there were simply a collection of things that slightly hindered my enjoyment in areas, while others, like the concept, the actual story, and the acting, managed to save it. I’m glad I chose this for my western challenge with how it gave me an insight into the time period that I’ve never seen before and did so through a great cast and solid script, I’m definitely interested in seeing more of Mankiewicz’s movies after this as even though it had its issues I can clearly see how he could’ve made something great.

***52 Westerns in 52 Weeks Challenge***

Week 11: ****Starring Henry Fonda**

There’s a lot to love about There Was a Crooked Man…, it gives a rare and appreciated insight into the old west prison life through a Great Escape-esque story format that I think is just a perfect fit for the western genre, and of course the cast, with names like Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, and Warren Oates leading the way was fantastic. I also thought this script was very well written, it has one or two dull stretches but for the most part I was enjoying the quality of the dialogue and the themes it was bringing forth. Even with all the good here I’m sad to say I did have some problems, this could’ve easily been in the four or even higher range if it weren’t for three main reasons. One being the runtime which is shocking because I’m someone who can handle massive runtimes without a sweat but this mere 2 hour feature’s length hit me like a truck, if this was kept at around 80-90 minutes I think it would’ve been fantastic as the story didn’t need much more time than that. The second reason would be the way it was filmed, I’m genuinely not sure if it’s just the tubi cut that did this or if it was an intentional choice but I can only describe the cinematography with the world “scratchy”, it sound like it makes make much sense but if you watch the cut I did I’m almost sure you’ll feel what I mean, I’m really not sure what it is, all I know is that I wasn’t a fan. The final spot where this falls for me is with the music, through points I thought it was done well and evoked some of that western magic I love but at others it was either way overbearing or simply didn’t match the tone of the scene at all, it really is sad to be let down by a western’s music as that’s one of the big reasons why I keep coming back to the genre. That’s all the focus the issues need because I’m still giving this a 3.5 because it’s quite effective, Kirk Douglas was without a doubt my favorite of the cast and I enjoyed Henry Fonda as well, I’ve only seen a few films from each of them but they’ve both nailed every role I’ve seen them take on. And even though I wasn’t a fan of the cinematography I did get some joy out of the camera movement and technicolor at points, it certainly wasn’t all bad, there were simply a collection of things that slightly hindered my enjoyment in areas, while others, like the concept, the actual story, and the acting, managed to save it. I’m glad I chose this for my western challenge with how it gave me an insight into the time period that I’ve never seen before and did so through a great cast and solid script, I’m definitely interested in seeing more of Mankiewicz’s movies after this as even though it had its issues I can clearly see how he could’ve made something great.

To think that I almost skipped this, and only turned it on tonight because the film I was going to watch wasn't available on any platforms. I just feel emotional over how great this was, how GAY this was, how much I LOVE KIRK DOUGLAS RAHHHHHH, and how cool film in general is. So grateful for yeehawgaypril and this journey through westerns I have been taking. It's led me to films I would have never watched normally, but now have become favorites. So thankful for this journey thus far, and hey, you never know what's over the horizon!

To think that I almost skipped this, and only turned it on tonight because the film I was going to watch wasn't available on any platforms. I just feel emotional over how great this was, how GAY this was, how much I LOVE KIRK DOUGLAS RAHHHHHH, and how cool film in general is. So grateful for yeehawgaypril and this journey through westerns I have been taking. It's led me to films I would have never watched normally, but now have become favorites. So thankful for this journey thus far, and hey, you never know what's over the horizon!