![]() On the treck Nardo behaves like a madman, yet also retains his veneer of civility. Nardo abandoned Meg after the crime (although his excuse seems fairly plausible) and betrays her in every way, even making her an accessory to a murder. Debra Paget’s Meg never stopped loving him - the kind of irrational physical connection that happens all the time in real life, but is difficult to portray in movies without making the woman seem like an animal. He’s charming and direct but just too superficial. The usually spot-on Ray Milland never seems quite ruthless enough to convince us that his Nardo Denning is the real deal. Meg only wanted to apologize to Ben before leaving, but when the three meet again Nardo gives them an ultimatum at pistol point - they’ll have to escort him overland to Mexico, immediately.Ĭertainly acceptable as a thriller, The River’s Edge is lacking something. Meg finds herself split between both men while the defeated Ben comes to town to sell his ranch, Nardo and Meg run into big trouble with a border agent on the road. He’s carrying a million dollars in stolen money and needs a guide to show him the way to Mexico. Only then do we learn that Nardo was Meg’s partner in crime. Ben turns him down but sends her with Nardo to town. Then Nardo Denning (Ray Milland) shows up looking for a hunting guide. Meg avoided a prison term only because Ben married her, but now she’s sick of dodging scorpions and showers with muddy water, an argument ensues and it seems decided that they’ll break up. His new wife Meg Fowler (Debra Paget) is growing restless with the isolation, hardships and rough life out in the middle of a lonely desert. Near the Mexican border, ex- hunting guide Ben Cameron (Anthony Quinn) is trying to make a go of ranching. But do they fill out those characters convincingly? Despite some strong elements, the drama never quite reaches the right sense of urgency. The screenplay is one of those desperate desert chase stories, and gives them reasonably interesting characters. The talented Debra Paget had accomplished a lot yet wasn’t reaching A-list star status - she was still playing Indian maidens now and then. Anthony Quinn had won two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, and was somewhat stuck between supporting actor and odd leading man status. Allan Dwan’s direction keeps it from looking like a cheapie.Īt this point in time Ray Milland was an actor for hire, trying to re-establish himself as a director: A Man Alone, Lisbon). ![]() Yet it’s an extremely small-scale picture at heart, with just a few sets and an extended trek through the desert. The River’s Edge doesn’t scrimp on production values - it was shot in color and CinemaScope on location in Mexico, and it has three name stars to splash across theater marquees. An independent, Bogeaus contracted with various distributors, and kept Dwan working through RKO, Fox and finally Columbia. He directed a full eight medium-to-low budget pictures for producer Benedict Bogeaus, several of which Sarris considered to be masterpieces, at least in terms of the auteur theory. Toward the end of his career, pushing into his ’70s, Dwan was still going strong. Written by Harold Jacob Smith, James Leicester, from Smith’s story.Īuteurist critic Andrew Sarris praised director Allan Dwan, who impressed critic Peter Bogdanovich to the degree that he wrote a book about the pioneer filmmaker. ![]() Starring: Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn, Debra Paget, Harry Carey Jr., Chubby Johnson, Byron K. Street Date Ma/ Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 ![]() Paget takes both a bath and a shower, only to be upstaged by a peach-colored T-Bird convertible.ġ957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 87 min. Remember what Godard said about only needing a girl and a gun to make a movie? Veteran director Allan Dwan has already memorized that lesson, and pulls it off in color and CinemaScope on Mexican locations. Is it a film noir? This desert-set crime tale sees a rat (Ray Milland) escaping to Mexico with a bag of cash, forcing a hunting guide (Anthony Quinn) to show him the way and stealing his wife (Debra Paget) in the bargain. ![]()
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