ARTE broadcasts the western “The Man in the Golden Colts” by Edward Dmytryk tonight at 9 pm, which was released on April 1, 1959 in France. We find out that the residents of the town of Warlock are fighting the cowboys of the neighboring ranch, who have driven out the local sheriff. Several prominent people band together to call on Clay Blaisdell (Henry Fonda) and his sidekick Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn) for help.
But if we look closely at this western, which we consider part of the “psychological” wave of the genre, like A Train Will Whistle Three Times, we find some elements that remind us of Sergio Leone’s cinema and especially his western. And for good reason: the filmmaker had seen the film and retained several items for his own filmography.
Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda stars in The Man with the Golden Colts, in which he plays a mercenary hired to replace a sheriff who has been driven out of town by bandits. His stoicism, his side and his blue eyes: the Italian director will keep it all when he turns it into Once Upon a Time in the West!
Leone will try to hire him as a foreigner for a fistful of dollars, against employment in the role. The actor’s agent won’t even send him the script and replies that Fonda “I can not”. Time passed, four years later they would work together in Once Upon a Time in the West and My Name Is Nobody, directed by Leone.
drama
Quoted in Christopher Frayling’s book, Sergio Leone, screenwriter Luciano Vincenzo (who worked with the filmmaker three times) says: “There was a man with golden colts; it was imprinted in his head. The interaction between the characters impressed him.” We definitely see a lot of conflict in Warlock, whether it’s between Clay and the McCune ranch cowboys, Lily (Dorothy Maloney) and Tom (Anthony Quinn), between Tom and Clay, etc.
Humiliation
The Man in the Golden Colts is based on the novel by Oakley Hall, in which Clay (Fonda’s character) is not as related as in the film. At the end of the film, he watches a disabled judge crawling on crutches. A scene almost identical to that found in Once Upon a Time in the West, where Frankie (Fonda) watches the tycoon Morton (also disabled) nose-deep in the mud and unable to get up.
barber
In “The Man in the Golden Colts,” one of the thugs goes to get a shave, and the barber, stressed, accidentally cuts him with his razor. An accident that will cost him his life. In My Name Is Nobody, produced by Leone and for which he directed several scenes, Henry Fonda and Terence Hill find themselves in a barber shop and both risk slitting their throats. In one case, the barber ends up getting robbed at gunpoint, and in the other, a fake gun in his butt! A different era than Dimitrik’s film!
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
