Copyright 1956 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 1 February 1956. U.S. release: January 1956. U.K. release: 23 April 1956. Australian release: 24 May 1956. Sydney opening at the Plaza. 7,955 feet. 88 minutes.
U.K. release title: BEYOND THE RIVER.
SYNOPSIS: A fugitive asks his brother, a wealthy rancher, for help in crossing the border into Mexico.
COMMENT: Fox's 48th CinemaScope feature, and one of the few really low watermarks in director Henry Hathaway's career. Admittedly, the script has too much talk, too little action, but Hathaway seems curiously unable to put across even what little action there is with his customary force and vigor. Even the players seem to lack their usual charisma in this ultimately tepid and lifeless yarn.
The combination of ace-in-suspense screenwriter Sydney Boehm and no- nonsense action director Henry Hathaway promised a whole lot more than this empty, hollowly bombastic movie actually delivers. In fact, one of my colleagues summed it up very neatly when she wrote that the routine script and heavy direction drain most of the life and originality from the plot. In fact, what's left doesn't even work as a thriller.
U.K. release title: BEYOND THE RIVER.
SYNOPSIS: A fugitive asks his brother, a wealthy rancher, for help in crossing the border into Mexico.
COMMENT: Fox's 48th CinemaScope feature, and one of the few really low watermarks in director Henry Hathaway's career. Admittedly, the script has too much talk, too little action, but Hathaway seems curiously unable to put across even what little action there is with his customary force and vigor. Even the players seem to lack their usual charisma in this ultimately tepid and lifeless yarn.
The combination of ace-in-suspense screenwriter Sydney Boehm and no- nonsense action director Henry Hathaway promised a whole lot more than this empty, hollowly bombastic movie actually delivers. In fact, one of my colleagues summed it up very neatly when she wrote that the routine script and heavy direction drain most of the life and originality from the plot. In fact, what's left doesn't even work as a thriller.