The Unforgiven
Posted: March 23rd, 2010, 12:30 pm
I purchased this film the other day, I haven't seen it in yrs. My main reason for getting it was Lillian Gish. I wanted to compare it to her other talking western Duel In The Sun. One difference was that in DITS I felt Lillian at 51 still looked good enough to play romantic leads, whereas here, she looks if anything even older than her 65-yrs in The Unforgiven. That said she's outstanding in both films
I did notice two things in common with both films, Lillian's memorable death's. In DITS, she crawled out of her deathbed inorder to die in the arms of her disabled husband and in TU, while heroically helping her family fight of an Indian attack, she appears to have a minor arm wound and makes light of her injury. It's only when the family check on her later and find she's died of a more serious side wound.
Unlike with The Sons' Of Katie Elder where the sums don't had up regarding the age of John Wayne to his younger screen brothers, in UF Lillian is the right age to play mother to the 47-yr-old Burt Lancaster, the 36-yr-old Audie Murphy and 25-yr-old Doug Mclure.
Spoiler Alert
Gish has a big secret. Her adoptive daughter Audrey Hepburn is an Indian. When the Indians find out, they, particulary her blood brother, want her back. The townsfolk turn against her (shades of Elvis Presley in Flaming Star) and also her adoptive brother Murphy, who leaves home. However, when under an Indian attack and in a hopeless situation, Murphy returns and heroically rescues his family.
I did notice two things in common with both films, Lillian's memorable death's. In DITS, she crawled out of her deathbed inorder to die in the arms of her disabled husband and in TU, while heroically helping her family fight of an Indian attack, she appears to have a minor arm wound and makes light of her injury. It's only when the family check on her later and find she's died of a more serious side wound.
Unlike with The Sons' Of Katie Elder where the sums don't had up regarding the age of John Wayne to his younger screen brothers, in UF Lillian is the right age to play mother to the 47-yr-old Burt Lancaster, the 36-yr-old Audie Murphy and 25-yr-old Doug Mclure.
Spoiler Alert
Gish has a big secret. Her adoptive daughter Audrey Hepburn is an Indian. When the Indians find out, they, particulary her blood brother, want her back. The townsfolk turn against her (shades of Elvis Presley in Flaming Star) and also her adoptive brother Murphy, who leaves home. However, when under an Indian attack and in a hopeless situation, Murphy returns and heroically rescues his family.