University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

A Sure Cure For Westerns

By PAUL CHAPLIN

Hey, who out there remembers
the old "Wyatt Earp" TV show
with Hugh O'Brian? Well, forget it!
Director Frank Perry's newest
film, "Doe," does everything it can
to destroy the myths surrounding
one of America's most famous
gunfighters.

I'm being a little unfair, for
John Holliday and Katie Elder got
the same treatment in another
effort to revive the western. Sam
Peckinpah started the trend several
years ago with "The Wild Bunch," a
film in which technology was
spreading throughout the land and
gradually destroying the old
gunfighter. "Monte Walsh" had a
similar theme, and CBS television is
trying to cash in on their success
with "Bearcats," a series in which
two marshals storm around the
country in a Stutz-Bearcat.

In Perry's film, however, we're
back in the old west, when there
was still open space and everyone
wore a gun. The difference,
however, is that today's audiences

are looking for relevance and
meaning in films, not necessarily
entertainment, and Perry has
turned "Doc" Holliday into an
opium addict and Wyatt Earp into a
two-faced "law-and-order" man.
"There's only one way to get rid of
the guns, and that's to use the
gun," he says coldly, to which his
audience politely applauds as he
walks down the dusty streets.

In addition to the changes in the
traditional concepts of the
characters scriptwriter Pete Hamill
has constructed a story with no real
action to motivate us to care about
the characters, or the plot for that
matter. Consequently, "Doc" is one
of the longest 90 minute films I've
seen this year. If someone asked me
what happened in the film. I'd say
"Earp and Holliday go to the O-K
Coral and kill everyone in sight."

The gunfight could easily be the
most disturbing aspect of the film,
and not for its rewriting of history,
Visually, it's an uninspired episode
which could hardly be considered
the climax of the film. An
interesting contrast would be
Robert Altman's treatment of a
gunfight in "McCabe and Mrs.
Miller." In that film, the gunfight is
understated, taking place against
the burning of a church, during a
snowstorm. The effect is very
low-key, which is what Perry was
aiming for throughout the entire
film, but which never materializes.

Wooden Actor

Perry isn't helped much by his
actors either. Harris Yulin as Earp
tries to be understated but doesn't
manage to generate any life into the
character, creating a monotoned,
wooden performance. Faye
Dunaway has one good scene when
she tries to get Holliday to take her
away from Tombstone, but her
Katie Elder is almost as bland as
Yulin's Earp.

Stacy Keach in the title role of
"Doc" Holliday fluctuates between
imitating Yulin and giving an
interesting performance. He is very
good when he's wrecked on opium,
and interesting when he's with Miss
Dunaway. When he's a gunfighter,
however, he tends to deliver his
lines with the same lack of emotion
that mars Yulin's performance. In
a supporting role as Conklin,
Mike Witney is excellent, and with
Holiday is the only interesting
character in the film.

Perry's Babies

The weak script is the main
reason for much of the failure of
"Doc". Perhaps Perry can only
direct what his wife Eleanor writes.
Together they have been
responsible for several interesting
films, such as "Diary of a Mad
Housewife," "David and Lisa," and
"Last Summer." Although the
scripts of these films were not
among cinema's finest, the Perrys
were blessed with a competent
roster of actors: Keir Dullea, Cathy
Burns, Bruce Davidson, Carrie
Snodgress, and Richard Benjamin.

Keach, Dunaway and Yulin are
all good actors, but in this film they
were miscast. They are energetic
and explosive people on screen, and
"Doc" cannot work with such
dynamic people being suffocated.
Offhand, I can think of nobody I'd
cast instead, but it seems clear to
me that the success of a Frank
Perry film definitely depends on
the actors and not the director.

(Now at the Barracks Road)