There Was a Crooked Man… (1970, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates Burgess Meredith, John Randolph, Lee Grant, Arthur O’Connell, Martin Gabel, Michael Blodgett, Alan Hale Jr) – Classic Movie Review 11,647

The 1970 film There Was a Crooked Man… is an agreeable, underrated black comedy Western, with Henry Fonda as a lawman-turned-warden dogging an outlaw (Kirk Douglas), who has broken out of jail to find his robbery swag of half a million dollars. 

Director Joseph L Mankiewicz’s 1970 film There Was a Crooked Man… is an agreeable and oddly underrated black comedy Western, with a sparky script and a spot-on tone. Henry Fonda stars as Sheriff Woodward W Lopeman, a lawman-turned-warden dogging outlaw Paris Pitman Jr (Kirk Douglas), who has broken out of a penitentiary to find his robbery swag of half a million dollars.

There Was a Crooked Man…is intelligent and witty, with a smart script and two well-honed performances, and it is beautifully shot in Technicolor and Panavision by Harry Stradling Jr, and expertly handled by director Mankiewicz in his only Western. But the movie-going public didn’t buy it, probably because (apart from handsome young Michael Blodgett) the cast was knocking on a bit and youth-oriented movies were then in vogue.

It is written by David Newman and Robert Benton, in their first screenplay after Bonnie and Clyde.

It was shot at Joshua Tree National Park, California, where an 1880s prison set over four acres was built in seven weeks costing $300,000, at Old Tucson Studios in Arizona, and at Warner Bros-Seven Arts studio in Burbank, California. Designed by Edward Carrere, prison replica with 14 roofed buildings, was one of the most massive location sets ever built. When construction began, it was snowing, but when it ended, it was 100 degrees. After filming, the entire set had to be removed and the area restored to its original state. It was the first time a movie was allowed to be filmed in the 500,000-acre National Park.

Michael Blodgett as Coy Cavendish.

The cast are Kirk Douglas as Paris Pitman Jr, Henry Fonda as Sheriff Woodward W Lopeman, Hume Cronyn as Dudley Whinner, Warren Oates as Floyd Moon, Burgess Meredith as The Missouri Kid, John Randolph as Cyrus McNutt, Lee Grant as Mrs. Bullard, Arthur O’Connell as Mr. Lomax, Martin Gabel as Warden Francis E. LeGoff, Michael Blodgett as Coy Cavendish, C.K. Yang as Ah-Ping, Alan Hale Jr. as Tobaccy, Victor French as Whiskey, Claudia McNeil as Madam, Bert Freed as Skinner, Jeanne Cooper as prostitute, Barbara Rhoades as schoolteacher Miss Jessie Brundidge, Gene Evans as Colonel Wolff, Pamela Hensley (film debut) as Edwina, J. Edward McKinley as The Governor, Byron Foulger (final film), James Seay (final film), and Ann Doran as Mrs. Lomax.

Mankiewicz slipped a disc and had to direct from a motorised wheelchair for the last four weeks of shooting.

It was shot over five months in the first half of 1969, but it was well over a year before it was screened. Mankiewicz’s version ran 165 minutes but Warner Bros re-cut it to126 minutes, hacking Lee Grant’s role.

Mankiewicz wanted a genuine 1882 copy of The Police Gazette for Kirk Douglas to read and his prop man found one in a Hollywood book store for only $3.75.

Twelve rattlesnakes failed to hiss on cue and had to be dubbed in.

Kirk Douglas’s huge trailer stood just outside the location’s prison set, with a white picket fence, a mailbox, two flower boxes, a green lawn, a water fountain and lounge chairs.

There Was a Crooked Man… is directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz, runs 126 minutes, is made by Warner Bros, is released by Warner Bros, is written by David Newman and Robert Benton, is shot in Technicolor and Panavision by Harry Stradling Jr, is produced by Joseph L Mankiewicz, is scored by Charles Strouse, and is designed by Edward Carrere.

Michael Blodgett (September 26, 1939 – November 14, 2007) retired from acting in the late 1970s and began a writing career. He is best known as gigolo Lance Rocke in Russ Meyer’s 1970 cult classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

David Newman and Robert Benton went on to write the Western Bad Company (1972), with Benton directing,

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,647

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com