Decision at Sundown (1976)
Dir. Budd Boetticher
Starring: Randolph Scott, Noah Beery Jr
Randolph Scott plays Bart Allison, an angry man who is
informed by his partner Sam (Noah Beery Jr.) that Tate Kimbrough is about to
get married in a town named Sundown. Bart goes to the ceremony and objects,
leading to several standoffs with the sheriff and his deputies (who are in
Kimbrough’s pocket) while the truth about why Bart is there is slowly revealed,
feuds are resolved, and Bart is still drunk and pissed off.
The most interesting thing about this movie is how it flips
the roles of the protagonist and the antagonist. In most movies the hero would
be getting married and the villain would interrupt and makes the threat. This
film has its hero make the threat, and the reveal that his reason for revenge
is misguided and that the villain is kind of a jerk, who is currently seeing
Ruby behind his fiancée’s back and has a history of fooling around with other
married women. As the film proceeds it shows that Tate isn't liked by the
townspeople that much and they basically tolerate him because they have to. Even
Tate's fiancée seems like she's had enough of his shit once the wedding gets
interrupted. But Bart Allison comes across as a bit of a stubborn jerk who will
not listen to reason, even from his friend Sam. Sam reveals to the doctor the
reason for Bart's actions: Bart was married to Mary, a woman who wasn't cut out
to be married. She had an affair with Tate, he left her, and she killed herself
right before Bart came home from the war. Bart was a man who didn't really know
her or what she wanted, and he set out on a erroneous quest. Sam, alongside the
town's doctor (played by John Archer), are the 2 most noble characters in the
movie.
The things that stand out to me the most about this film
were the wedding scene and the argument in the bar over free drinks. When Bart
and Sam arrive in town there is a sign posted in the bar stating that “all
drinks are on Tate Kimbrough”, which Bart ignores and leads to an argument between
the sheriff and Bart. But the standout scene for me is the wedding scene. This
movie is a great example of why you should never ask if anyone objects during a
wedding ceremony, but it leads to Bart Allison objecting and being kind of a
badass, saying “If you marry this man you’ll be a widow by sundown” and
proceeding to pay the preacher in advance for the funeral that he’ll have to do
at the end of the day. Later everyone states that Bart was kind of dumb for not
just shooting him there but he said that he wanted Kimbrough to know why he was
being killed. He also shows some decency after an unarmed Sam gets shot in the
back, after he was told he could have safe passage out. These acts lead a lot of
the townspeople to acting against Tate, and made Bart look like less of a jerk.
This film was the third of the seven films dubbed the “Ranown
Cycle” that were directed by Budd Boetticher and staring Randolph Scott, and the
only film of the cycle not written by Burt Kennedy (Harry Joe Brown handles
scripting). While the films of the
Ranown Cycle were B-pictures, this is a case where the only thing limited on
the film was the budget, the film is very well made with a lot of artistry.
Randolph Scott was good in the film as the lead, and Noah Beery Jr. and
John Archer were great in their
supporting roles.
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