Glenn Ford always seemed like an unlikely Western movie star to me. Short and a little pudgy, Ford never seemed to have that rugged machismo of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, or the midwestern aw shucks of Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda. He looked more like your friend's uncle than a Western hero. And yet Ford managed to star in some very good and very major classic Westerns. He was a decent actor. Not a great one. But good enough that you never really caught him acting. But the reason that Ford probably did rise to be a star probably had more to do with him being likable and seeming like a simple and honest man. He did play against type very well in 3:10 to Yuma as the villain, but mostly Ford played simple and honest men who didn't go looking for fights but wouldn't back down when they knew someone was in the wrong. He didn't even dress like the usual cowboy. No vests, spurs or chaps in most Glenn Ford movies. It was usually a jean jacket or a sheepskin coat. Simple. Honest. Never flashy. The Violent Men is a prototypical Glenn Ford movie. He plays a small time rancher, recovering from a civil war injury, who refuses to even carry a gun until a much larger rancher played by Edward G. Robinson and his far more wicked wife, played by the Glenn Ford of Femme Fatales, Barbara Stanwyck, force him to make a stand. It isn't as great a western as 3:10 to Yuma (The original, not the awful remake), High Noon or Shane. But if you like Westerns, you almost certainly will like The Violent Men. I did. If you've never seen a Glenn Ford Western, you really should check one out. 3:10 to Yuma is a great movie, but it's not a typical Glenn Ford Western. If not The Violent Men, then I'd suggest Jubal, Cimarron or The Sheepman, which are wonderful Westerns, better than The Violent Men. Maybe once you're done with those, or if you've already seen those, then you can try The Violent Men. And I'm mostly looking to talk about those movies that you may not have noticed. It's pretty good. Not great. But still pretty darn good. Simple. Honest. Fun.
Review of The Violent Men
