The Glory Guysis a 1965 AmericanWesternPanavisionfilm directed byArnold Lavenand written bySam Peckinpahbased on the 1956 novelThe Dice of Godby Hoffman Birney. Produced byLevy-Gardner-Lavenand released byUnited Artists,the film starsTom Tryon,Harve Presnell,Senta Berger,James CaanandMichael Anderson Jr.
| The Glory Guys | |
|---|---|
 Originalfilm posterbyFrank McCarthy | |
| Directed by | Arnold Laven |
| Screenplay by | Sam Peckinpah |
| Based on | The Dice of God 1956 novel by Hoffman Birney |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Tom Tryon Harve Presnell Senta Berger James Caan Michael Anderson, Jr. |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Edited by | Tom Rolf |
| Music by | Riz Ortolani |
| Color process | DeLuxe Color |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million[1] |
Plot
editTwo cavalry soldiers under the command of a tough general fightPlains Indiansand fall for the same woman.
Cast
edit- Tom Tryonas Capt. Demas Harrod
- Harve Presnellas Scout Sol Rogers
- Senta Bergeras Lou Woddard
- Michael Anderson Jr.as Trp. Martin Hale
- James Caanas Trp. Anthony Dugan
- Slim Pickensas Sgt. James Gregory
- Erik Holland as Trp. Clark Gentry
- Adam Williamsas Trp. Lucas Crain
- Andrew Dugganas Gen. Frederick McCabe
- Peter Breckas Lt. Bunny Hodges
- Laurel Goodwinas Beth Poole
- Jeanne Cooperas Mrs. Rachael McCabe
- Robert McQueeneyas Maj. Oliver Marcus
- Wayne Rogersas Lt. Mike Moran
- Michael Forestas Fred Cushman
- Claudio Brookas Rev. Poole (scenes deleted)
Production
editProducersArthur Gardner, Arnold Laven and Jules Levysought an inexperienced, and therefore affordable, writer to adapt Hoffman Birney's bookThe Dice of Godinto a screenplay. Impressed bySam Peckinpah's scripts forGunsmoke,Laven hired Peckinpah to write the screenplay in 1956. Peckinpah worked on the script for more than four months, but the producers were unable to raise funding for the project and it was temporarily abandoned,[2]although Laven worked with Peckinpah in television in the ensuing years.[3]
The project's original title wasCuster's Last Stand,but whenTwentieth Century-Foxannounced its upcomingThe Day Custer Fell,later canceled for budgetary reasons,[4]the producers changed the script in order to make the characters fictitious.
In 1965, with funding finally in place, the production ofThe Glory Guysbegan. However, under Laven's direction, the film greatly deviated from Peckinpah's script, with heightened emphasis on its romantic elements.[2]Peckinpah later called the film "... a total disaster because of the casting. All the people in the picture were good. That is, they’ve all been good in other pictures but they didn’t really belong in that one. It’s a wretched film. And one of the reasons I’ve made up my mind not to write any more. But I was on the street. I had to write."[5]
The film was shot inDurango,Mexico,and its climactic battle scene involved thousands of extras on 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land. The scene required several weeks of preparation and filming, including training many horses to fall on cue.[2]
The film's total production cost was approximately $1.6 million.[2]
The titles were created byJoseph MugnainiforFormat Productions.
Reception
editCritical reviews were mixed, with some lamenting the film's focus on its love story rather than on the battle with the Indians, who are not shown until the final battle scene.[6]
In a contemporary review, critic Philip K. Scheuer of theLos Angeles Timescalled the film "pretty much par for the course" and containing "... all the backing and filling and ground-pawing with which an unhappy tradition insists on killing the first hour before we finally mount up and ride out to meet the hostiles." However, Scheuer praised the cinematography: "ProducersLevy-Gardner-Lavenhave made a fairly modest budget stretch into the high, wide and handsome, thanks largely to the panoramic camera focused on the infinite as well as infinity by the resourcefulJames Wong Howe.Anyhow, Custer's Last Stand really 'plays.' "[7]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^Businessmen First but Talent Prevails Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 26 July 1965: c17.
- ^abcd"FSM Box 03 The MGM Soundtrack Treasury Supplemental Liner Notes"(PDF).Film Score Monthly.2008.
- ^Weddle, David (1994).If they move-- kill 'em!: the life and times of Sam Peckinpah.Grove Press. pp. 136–139.
- ^Joseph, Robert (January 15, 1967). "Custer in Castillia? They Went Thataway".Los Angeles Times.p. 12 (Calendar).
- ^Whitehall, Richard (Autumn 1969)."Talking with Peckinpah".Sight and Sound.Vol. 38, no. 4. p. 175.
- ^"FSM Box 03 The MGM Soundtrack Treasury Supplemental Liner Notes"(PDF).Film Score Monthly.2008.
- ^Scheuer, Philip K. (July 30, 1965). "It's Be-Kind-to-Indians Week as 'Glory Guys' Get Clobbered".Los Angeles Times.p. 7, Part V.