WESTERN MOVIES
LAWMAN
“I never drew first on a man in my life. That's the
only way to stay clean, you play it by the rules.
Without the rules, you're nothing.”
LAWMAN
“I never drew first on a man in my life. That's the
only way to stay clean, you play it by the rules.
Without the rules, you're nothing.”
After
a long cattle drive, cowboys employed by land baron Vince Bronson (Lee J. Cobb)
are celebrating in Bannock. They inevitably get drunk and shoot up the town,
accidentally killing an old man. Unaware of the death, they return to Sabbath,
a town controlled by the reasonably benevolent Bronson. Sabbath’s aging
marshal, Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan), has lost his nerve. willing to as he is
told for a quiet life. Months later, Bannock sheriff Jered Maddox (a steely
Burt Lancaster) rides in to Sabbath determined to arrest the responsible
cowboys for murder and return them to Bannock for trial and, eventually,
hanging. This duty does not stop him, however, from dallying with an old flame
(Sheree North), who makes the mistake of thinking the hardline Maddox may have
changed, or is even possible of change.
When
Bronson, the powerful land baron, finds out about the death, he offers to make
amends by paying generous compensation to the victim’s family. Nobody wants a
trial, including the smaller ranchers who can’t afford to be away as part of a
jury. The implication being the victim’s life isn’t worth the inconvenience
since he was old. Most see Bronson’s offer as reasonable. The cynical Maddox
does not. He is aware the cowboys will most likely get off in return for a
hefty bribe, but refuse to allow the corruption of others to avert him from the
pursuit of his own duties. Bronson still wants to negotiate and make further
concessions. But when his oldest friend deliberately challenges Maddox and is
shot down, Bronson leads the rest of the town in defiance of the remorseless
lawman.
Burt
Lancaster originally built his career on tough guy roles. However, in the early
1950s, he began taking on more morally complex and challenging roles. As a
result, he became regarded as one of the best actors of his generation.
As
Cotton Ryan, Sabbath’s ineffectual sheriff, Robert Ryan was featured in one of
his last roles. Ryan claimed to prefer Lawman to The Wild Bunch, in which he
also starred—definitely a minority opinion, especially in light of the dramatic
impact The Wild Bunch had on the future of cinema Westerns.
Lawman
works because of a script filled with moral quandaries without clear answers.
Cattle baron Vincent Bronson, is a reluctant villain. He is a reasonable man
with a deeper feeling for humanity than
the law and order Maddox. As the film proceeds there is a growing perception
Maddox is not the stalwart hero he wants to appear. There is a rage in him, a
debilitating awareness of the futility of pursuing justice in a corrupt
society. Is he a man inexorably caught in the jaws of duty, or is duty a sham
he hides behind to consciously deliver his own hard-line version of justice?
Marching
toward the inevitable climatic shootout, cracks begin to show in Maddox’s
unyielding veneer. But he hardens himself, stating, “A man gets caught in his
own doing. You can’t change what you are. And if you try, something always
calls you back.” Maddox has made his choice to do battle—but has he forced the
gunfight, or has it been forced upon him? No matter what happens there will be
no winners.
Lawman
also featured Robert Duvall in one of his first Western roles. It was also the
debut for Richard Jordan, who would have a bigger role opposite Lancaster in
Valdez Is Coming, also released in 1971.
There
was a novelization of Lawman written by Grant Freeling who wrote many true
stories for the men’s adventure magazines.
CONTRIBUTOR: PAUL
BISHOP
I'm in the minority with Ryan. I prefer this to The Wild Bunch. Ryan gives an outstanding performance as the jaded sheriff.
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