1954 | Not Rated | 1h 36m | Adventure, Drama, Western
The 1950s saw a massive proliferation of American Westerns and, while many were excellent, an equal number could be considered mediocre or worse. “Broken Lance” (1954) is definitely from the former camp and takes the genre into the realm of familial drama. It’s based on an earlier film produced in 1949 titled the “House of Strangers.”
Helmed by Edward Dmytryk (who also directed the outstanding film, “The Caine Mutiny” in 1954), this Western features incredible cinematography and a strong cast, including Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, and Richard Widmark.
The film opens in front of a prison, where young Joe Devereaux (Wagner) is being released. A gaggle of lawmen escort Joe (basically against his will) to the local town, where he’s been summoned to a private meeting with the governor, Horace (E.G. Marshall). However, when Joe arrives, the governor reveals that he’s arranged for the lad to be offered a proposal from his three half-brothers, Ben (Widmark), Mike (Hugh O'Brian), and Denny (Earl Holliman).
The brothers’ father, Matt, has passed away. Ben, Mike, and Denny, the sons of Matt and his first (and white) wife, have taken over the family business. Young Joe is the son of Matt and his second wife, a Native American woman who passes for a Mexican and, as such, is only referred to as “Señora Devereaux” (Katy Jurado).
Ben, the eldest son and leader of the clan, offers Joe a shot at expanding their empire into Oregon, but Joe refuses. It quickly becomes apparent that a major rift has formed between Joe and his half-brothers as he storms out of the meeting.
Seeing that Ben moved the family business from Matt’s sprawling ranch into the town, Joe nostalgically rides out to the old place, left abandoned. As he walks around, he pauses in front of a large portrait of Matt and asks for advice on what he should do next with his life. Things then flash back to previous years when the Devereaux family was still relatively intact and Matt was still alive.
While out on the range one day, Matt is alerted by his ranch hands that someone is trying to rustle some of his cattle. The cattle baron rides out with some of his men, including Joe, and they track the perpetrators down in short order. Unfortunately, Matt discovers that his sons Ben, Mike, and Denny are among the cattle rustlers. Matt banishes them from his ranch.
A little later, while preparing to host a dinner party at the ranch, Señora Devereaux tries to soothe the still-angry Matt with regards to his three sons, whom he considers little more than brash upstarts. Through their conversation, it’s apparent that, although Matt’s hard-as-nails demeanor has enabled him to build a successful business, it has been at the expense of showing any affection (or even basic concern) for his boys Ben, Mike, and Denny.
Over the years, Señora has managed to soften Matt’s approach to Joe, which in turn causes the three older sons to become resentful and jealous of the youngest brother. You can probably surmise from here where things are headed. However, there are a few twists and turns along the way.
One of the things I enjoyed about this Western is cinematographer Joseph MacDonald’s artistic sensibilities. His wide shots of the natural splendor of the Southwest (the film was mainly shot in Arizona) are sumptuous—with pastel skies merging with purple mountains in the distance, and sprawling windswept prairies beneath billowing blue and white clouds. While taking screenshots, I marveled at how many of them resembled oil paintings.
And, although the acting is expectedly top-notch, it is the film’s writing that most impresses—it’s crisp and bereft of any fat or minutiae. The dialogue is both subtle when nuance is called for, and bold during some of the movie’s more dramatic scenes. It’s no wonder that screenwriter Philip Yordan won an Oscar at the 1955 Academy Awards for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.
Simply put, “Broken Lance” is a well-told and brilliantly directed Western that also features great acting, impactful drama, and lots of highly immersive cinematography. In the end, it’s a rousing tale of revenge that ultimately ends on a satisfyingly positive note.
