Ray Enright is one of those hack directors who makes boredom look easy. And it's not. You really have to work at it to render a great actor like Robert Ryan this dull. First, you must fully embrace a screenplay that regards ambiguity of character and nuance of story with the suspicion and distrust usually accorded containers of white powder by DC officials. Then you must make sure no quirks of personality or unexpected emotional reactions get through the wall of standardization that you, along with your scenarists, have so carefully set up. Well, Enright aces this exercise in ennui with muted (not flying...too exciting) colors. Give it a C.
PS...Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get the humor or charm of Gabby Hayes. To me he's half ass Walter Brennan. Or, at best, three fourths ass Arthur Hunnicutt.
PS...Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get the humor or charm of Gabby Hayes. To me he's half ass Walter Brennan. Or, at best, three fourths ass Arthur Hunnicutt.