Tonight's Movie: Montana (1950) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith, stars of the Warner Bros. Western SAN ANTONIO (1945), reunited half a decade later for MONTANA (1950).

MONTANA has just been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection. It was the last of Flynn and Smith's four films together, a collaboration which began with DIVE BOMBER and GENTLEMAN JIM in 1942.

This time around Flynn plays Morgan Lane, who arrives in Montana determined to be a sheep farmer.

This makes him very unpopular with the local cattlemen, as well as lovely -- and feisty -- cattle owner Maria Singleton (Smith).

Maria has lost her father and brother in the range wars, and despite her clear attraction to Morgan, she just can't abide the idea he wants to raise sheep, to the point she's willing to "go to war" against him.

Can't we all get along?

Well, given that this is Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith, of course they're going to work things out by the end of the movie's short 76 minutes.

As was the case when I saw the film back in 2014, I found MONTANA pleasant company, if nothing particularly noteworthy. Flynn and Smith's earlier Western SAN ANTONIO was superior, yet there's something to be said for spending time with this agreeable film, which is far shorter than SAN ANTONIO.

Bits of the movie are confusing, for instance peddler S.Z. Sakall pretty much vanishes from the last third of the movie.

And what was with the complicated storyline where Rodney (Douglas Kennedy) is supposed to be interested in Maria but instead we discover he's in love with the former girlfriend (Nita Talbot) of the sheriff (Lane Chandler)? Rodney and his lover have an entire scene together which seems oddly stuffed into the movie.

That said, Flynn is absolutely charming and kind in this one, and since his character dominates the movie's screen time, it's all the more enjoyable.  As of this film Flynn also hadn't yet begun to lose his looks, which frankly started sliding downhill just a couple years later. Hard living took a toll on Flynn, which his good friend Smith cautioned him about, to no avail.

Smith's character is fairly one-dimensional here, and not always photographed to best effect, though she looks spectacular in a party dress late in the film. Still, the actress's genuine affection for her costar shines through in her performance.

The supporting cast includes Paul E. Burns, James Brown, Tudor Owen, Dorothy Adams, Ian MacDonald, and Monte Blue.

In the years since I first saw MONTANA, IMDb has updated Jock Mahoney's listing to confirm that he wasn't just a stuntman, but he was specifically Flynn's double, as I suspected back in 2014. He's quite recognizable in a fight sequence which unfortunately wasn't filmed carefully enough to hide Mahoney's face.

The script was written by Borden Chase, James R. Webb, and Charles O'Neal based on a story by Ernest Haycox (STAGECOACH).

The movie was directed by Ray Enright with uncredited assistance from Raoul Walsh. It was filmed in Technicolor by Karl Freund.

The Warner Archive print is from a new 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the original nitrate Technicolor camera negatives. It looks and sounds terrific -- though fair warning that there are a good number of back projection shots in this film, which I found stood out more on this Blu-ray viewing because they're a contrast to how good the rest of the print looks.

"Warner Night at the Movies" extras were carried over from the original 2008 DVD release. They include the trailer; the cartoon IT'S HUMMER TIME (1950); a trio of Western shorts, OKLAHOMA OUTLAWS (1943), WAGON WHEELS WEST (1943), and GUN TO GUN (1944) all starring Robert Shayne; and the Joe McDoakes short SO YOU WANT A RAISE (Joe McDoakes, 1950).

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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