A waste of 90 minutes of my life

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Warlock is a peculiar film. I admire the director's intention, and having not read the original novel, I cannot state whether the interpretation was faithful to the book or whether the director chose wild sweeps of dramatic license instead? When the film concludes I saw it as a failed film. Many of the reviews so far comment on the caliber of the performances. While I agree, I would use the metaphor, a poorly constructed car can still have an engine that runs fine.In its favour the film has a brooding quality to it, scenes are careful in its precision and placement as the casts are framed at different planes of the screen space. It makes you work hard to notice, hear the dialogue in its almost stage like presentation, and consider the underlying emotions. Indeed Fonda himself never the most outward of performers adds to the enigma of the film, and what its trying to achieve which some may declare as perfect casting for a fictional character beset with ambivalent emotions. As the film advances to the denouement, the imagery is rich, predetermined in its lavish design to illustrate the metaphor of long lasting friendship, yet still I found myself feeling cheated somewhat.Without giving too much away, the reason I believe and is somewhat endemic of the other reviewers who have hinted at the subtext of homosexuality contained in the film. The creative choices used by the director at times are awkward and incoherent. E.g. there are scenes where the character portrayed by Quinn, 'Morgan', although saying something his body language suggests something different - this could be seen as great direction - the point is the unspoken body language hint at homosexuality rather than anything else. At times he is framed in the back plane of the screen space, akin to the way soap operas will frame a nagging wife who complain to their husbands. Similarly, Fonda's character a much respected and feared gunman at one point disarms a rowdy character. He instructs the character to approach him and then clouts him with the butt of his revolver. This scene rang false to me. A feared gunslinger should never have to instruct anybody - they just act. The concept of repercussion means nothing when they are ingrained with toughness.This is why I find the film frustrating, and ultimately a failed but honourable film. Dmytryk took, no doubt a challenging novel, and attempted to realise it.I can't help but consider what John Ford would have done with the material, or any other notable Western luminary film director. Maybe he would have left it well alone believing it a mismatch of emotions and themes to portray?

The film adaptation of John Van Druten's stage success Bell, Book, And Candle was released around the same time as this oddly-named Western and chances are that several moviegoers who had seen Jack Lemmon playing a warlock (male witch) in BB&C thought they were in for more of the same. Far from it; Warlock is simply the name of the town that forms the setting, a town more or less terrorised by a local gang led by Tom Drake of all people - yep, The Boy Next Door himself, who also played Richard Rodgers in Words and Music. When enough finally becomes too much the townsfolk hire a pro, Henry Fonda, to restore law and order. On paper you couldn't find a simpler plot but in reality the film is bristling with sub-text and psychological overtones, not least the complex relationship between Fonda and his side-kick Anthony Quinn, outlaw-turned-lawman Richard Widmark's equally complex relationship with his own brother and this is before Dorothy Malone shows up harbouring all kinds of resentment against both Fonda and Quinn one or both of whom offed a man she was about to marry. In short this is a heady wine, a rich broth with fine performances from the likes of DeForest Kelly, Frank Gorshin, Wallace Ford to say nothing of the principles. Well worth a second look.

Warlock represents one of those western timepieces when the sets, characters and colours had that certain shade to them and before the cynicism of the 60's. The classic situation where the town brings in a hired lawman to help them against an evil gang who are taking too much for granted and become too powerful.Clay has his standards albeit they are not those of normal townsfolk while his friend and to some extent mentor Tom Morgan (Quinn) has no such illusions. He is a hard faced yet likable killer probably the one man actually faster than Clay. He sets up his gambling and hostess den to earn as much money as quickly as possible and then moves on. No commitments. Quinns character could have been developed more but perhaps that might have detracted from the storyline. DeForrest Kelly is entertaining as the slightly friendly gang member while Richard Widmarks part while it follows a standard pattern of the time is sometimes corny perhaps even boring. Not a classic western in the best sense but definitely one you will find yourself looking At again and again it is simply enjoyable.

Warlock (1959)Director Edward Dmytryk is one of those dependable Golden Age mainstays who is pulling off tightly made movies even this late in the game. After many archetypal movies, often just short of greatness, he is still putting on a good game with first rate camera-work (Joe MacDonald) and top shelf actors (Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, and Richard Widmark, all in major roles). And so this is actually a strong, complex movie.It helps that the plot, even though apparently another retread of Western clichés, is complex and well balanced. That the bad guys are partly very good and vice versa is exactly what the genre needs, and it is filmed so gorgeously--the night and interior stuff especially--it has a feeling of total command. It's a strong if still conventional film, a true Western in the best Anthony Mann sense rather than John Ford. The plot is too complex to even analyze quickly, but a couple key elements play out. First, Fonda and Quinn play hired marshals who come into towns overwhelmed by some bad guys. They are hired for their ruthlessness because the town has no choice, but when they get to work, the town begins to doubt itself. And then there are all the secret past events that seem to converge here, almost too perfectly, but creating a layered and sometimes confusing backstory that gradually moves front and center.All three male actors are in top form--I'll assume it's because the whole lot of them were consummate professionals there to get a job done well. While this was made years after the official end of the old studio system, it still is made (on location) with the same general factory ethic--tight production standards, familiar genres, efficient entertainment. It works, and it works better than it should. Certainly not a classic like "High Noon" or "Stagecoach," but a solid entry even for people who think they don't like westerns.