WINGS OF THE HAWK
US, 1953, 81 minutes, Colour.
Van Heflin, Julie Adams, Abbe Lane, Noah Beery Jnr, Rodolfo Acosta, George Dolenz.
Directed by Budd Boetticher.
Wings of the Hawk is a conventional western from Universal Studios in the mid-50s. They specialised in these brief straightforward westerns often with stars like Van Heflin or, particularly, Joel Mc Crea and Audie Murphy. Julie Adams appeared in quite a number of these films.
Van Heflin is a miner who discovers gold in Mexico in 1910. The leader of the Mexican Federales takes it from him and there is a pursuit, deaths, encounters with Revolutionaries – quite revolutionary with Julie Adams as a leader of these forces.
The films are always plain, tell their story, develop the action – which means that they are still popular decades after their making and are not fixed by the fashions of the time. Director Budd Boetticher made a number of classic westerns – especially in his long collaboration with Randolph Scott.
1. How good a B grade western was this? its use of western conventions Mexican conventions?
2. Comment on the use of Mexican locations, atmosphere, colour, music.
3. How credible were the situations? Mexico in 1911, miners? Federales, the ordinary Mexicans and the need for revolution? Were the issues clear? Did the film take sides?
4. The character of Gallagher as hero? His mine, its being taken, partner killed, his encounter with the Mexicans, his helping them arrest and the raid on the mine? How typical a western hero?
5. Was Raquel a typical western heroine? Her toughness, nickname of ‘General’, work in revolution, sharing Gallagher’s experiences, sharing in the raid?
6. The minor character among the Federales and the Mexicans, the serious characters, the comic characters? What did they add to the film? Believable?
7. The set pieces of western and Mexican action, for example jail escapes, raids of Federales, angry encounters, the final raid?
8. The importance on audiences of this kind of ordinary western and audience belief that this was how the west really was?
