Garden of Evil

Garden of Evil
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Produced by Charles Brackett
Written by Fred Freiberger
(story)
William Tunberg
Frank Fenton
Starring Gary Cooper
Susan Hayward
Richard Widmark
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Cinematography Milton R. Krasner
Jorge Stahl, Jr.
Edited by James B. Clark
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
 July 9, 1954 (1954-07-09)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $2,070,000[1]
Box office $3.1 million (US rentals)[2]

Garden of Evil (1954) is a Western film, directed by Henry Hathaway, about three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, played by Gary Cooper as an ex-lawman, Richard Widmark as a gambler, and Cameron Mitchell as a bounty hunter, who are randomly hired by a woman, portrayed by Susan Hayward, to rescue her husband (Hugh Marlowe). Rita Moreno appears at the beginning of the film as a Mexican cantina singer/dancer. The picture was shot on location in mountains, villages and jungle of western Mexico except for interiors in Mexico City.

Plot

En route to California to prospect for gold, ex-sheriff Hooker (Gary Cooper), professional gambler Fiske (Richard Widmark), and bounty hunter Luke Daly (Cameron Mitchell) are forced to stop over in a tiny Mexican village by engine trouble on the ship they are taking. A desperate Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward) hires the three men and local Vicente Madariaga, to rescue her husband, John ( Hugh Marlowe), who is pinned under debris from a gold mine cave-in in hostile Apache territory.

During the harrowing journey, Luke tries to force himself on Leah late one night, forcing Hooker to intervene. Leah tells Hooker that where her husband is trapped, once was a boom town, but a volcano eruption wiped it out, leaving only a church steeple and the mine uncovered by lava. The resident priest called it the "garden of evil". The Indians now consider the volcano sacred. The group then arrives at the mine. They find John unconscious, and they free him.

Before John wakes up, Hooker sets the man's broken leg. When John regains consciousness, he accuses Leah of using him to get gold. Hooker talks to Leah later, about what her husband said; after he tells her that he has spotted signs of Apaches nearby, she offers him and the others all the gold they have dug up to take her husband away that night, while she remains behind to make it look like they are all still there. The cynical Fiske unexpectedly offers to stay with her, but when he asks her what he is to her, she tells him, "you're nothing at all, just nothing."

When they are ready to leave, Leah is true to her word, but Hooker knocks her out and takes her along. When they stop to rest, realizing he is fatally slowing them down, John talks Luke into helping him onto a horse; he then rides off. When Hooker shows up, Luke draws his pistol, but is killed by an arrow in the back. At a burnt-out mission, they find John dead and hung upside down on a cross. Vicente is the next to fall. At a choke point in the cliff-hugging only path out, the two remaining men draw cards to see who will stay behind to hold off the Indians while the other rides with Leah to safety. Fiske "wins" and succeeds in killing or driving off most of their pursuers. After seeing that Leah is safe, Hooker shoots a few more Apaches and returns to talk with a dying Fiske, who admits he cheated on the card draw to guarantee he would stay behind. Fiske urges Hooker to settle down with Leah. Hooker catches up with Leah, and they ride off into the sunset together.

Cast

Production

The working title for the film was Volcano, it was changed because "there is an Italian pic of same title now playing U.S. art houses", a 1953 film directed by William Dieterle and starring Rossano Brazzi and Anna Magnani.

Robert L. Jacks was originally set to produce, but he left Twentieth Century-Fox to join Panoramic Productions and was replaced by Charles Brackett.

Outdoor sequences were shot on location in Mexico: at "the colonial town" of Tepotzotlán, in the jungle areas near Acapulco, Parícutin volcano, and the village of Guanajuato. Interior scenes were also shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City.

Reception

The New York Times reviewer wrote that "Although the story and its fireworks are interesting, they are dwarfed by the rugged mountains and lush coconut and banana tree jungles of the film's natural settings."[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p249
  2. ↑ "The Top Box-Office Hits of 1954", Variety Weekly, January 5, 1955
  3. ↑ A. W. (July 10, 1954). "Three Films Arrive; Garden of Evil' Has Debut at the Roxy Apache,' at Mayfair, Stars Lancaster [sic]". The New York Times.
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