The Wild and the Innocent

Anything with Audie Murphy in it is worth a look-see so right there and then it is worth watching for that. We get a glimpse of the Wild West only more tamed but still a ways to go with people in town consisting of two factions; the respectable and the not so respectable. True to life depicting the hard ship and the rewards of living on the frontier in the later stages of its development toward becoming more civilized. Murphy plays a character that is peaceful, has virtue and wants to do right and hurt no one and it works but we are also pleased to find out he has boundaries too. As usual, we got horses, mules, trappers, Indians, gun-play, good guys, bad guys and a love interest. Some tender scenes with some mild violence and of course a happy ending to make it all go down just right. As Westerns go, this is not a stand-out or even a good word of mouth movie but an okay time spent if you do watch. Get a sandwich, a drink and settle in.

An Audie Murphy western from 1959. Murphy plays a fur trapping rube sent by his family into town to ply his wares. On his journey he comes in contact w/a family of bumpkins led by a scheming father (Strother Martin) out to steal his furs but when caught, he offers up his daughter played by Sandra Dee. Once in town, Murphy, who prides himself on his decency & book smarts, finds himself constantly undermined by drunk cowboys, dance hall ladies & even the sheriff who provides his unwelcome companion to become the newest member of the establishment he owns. Running a slim ninety minutes or so, this intriguing tale wins many points for taking its time carving out the episodic nature of this story as our hero gains wisdom & experience in the face of the casual barbarity of the town's denizens. One of Murphy's best. Also starring Jim Backus (Thurston Howell the 3rd from Gilligan's Island) who plays the general store owner who is at constant odds w/his wife.

I really should have given it a 5 of 10, but it just felt good to watch. This movie reminds me of some of the Elvis movies where they surrounded him with great character actors. Audie was famous years before Elvis, but in a different way. I would not be surprised if Audie was a hero of Elvis. Anyway, this is a vehicle movie made for Audie, and it works fine. Audie is a good actor, and you will always get what you expect from one of his movies. Sandra Dee is good as well; she conveys much with her pouty face without ever saying a word. Worth watching.

Write something about Audie Murphy is a pleasure, a have almost all your pictures at a very special spot in my collection, he made a fortune on those B-westerns, earned much more money that some many famous actors, his charisma brought to him countless followers like myself, in another fantastic performance Audie plays a jerk trapper who is charge from his priceless uncle to sell all furs, in the middle he gets almost a gift a young blonde girl, trying out find a job to her on the crowed town, there he stays enchanted by a woman which shall see has an "Easy Life", a matter of fact that he actually wasn't civilized enough to understand how works a modern city on west, he has funniest moments to share us, Sandra Dee was gorgeous in this role, plays a perfect young innocent girl from the countryside, the chemistry is quite noticed, all viewers stayed anxious practically the entire movie for the best endind!!! Resume: First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

It could be that I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, but I really enjoyed this little film. I have searched far and wide for a copy for my own personal library. I have not given up on my search. One has to remember the era this movie was released in and true appreciation can then be determined. Can anyone enlighten me as to the studio that released this film so that I can have them check their archives for consumer availability? I am a real Audie Murphy fan and as such enjoy all the movies he appeared in during his short life. I watch each time "To Hell and Back" is shown. I'd throughly enjoy seeing this movie again if for no other reason than to make my own tape of it - that shows how much I liked it!

The movie emphasizes that innocents can get into a lot of trouble in the city. The movie also makes a good statement about people being too lenient in accepting bad choices. When given a chance to improve their lives, some people will always accept the status quo instead of changing. Sandra Dee is a delight and Audie Murphy gives a great performance as someone who finally gets his eyes open to reality in time to save the girl. I truly enjoyed it and wished that they would release it on video.