Garden of Evil *** (1954, Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark, Hugh Marlowe, Cameron Mitchell, Rita Moreno) – Classic Movie Review 7694

Director Henry Hathaway’s 1954 American CinemaScope Western film Garden of Evil stars Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell as American Western adventurers in rural Mexico, who are recruited to help beautiful Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward) to rescue her trapped husband John (Hugh Marlowe). But, after the trio have freed him from his Mexican gold mine, where he is trapped in a cave, they are attacked by hostile Apache Indians.

Based on a story by Fred Freiberger and William Tunberg, a promising plot does not add up to very much because the screen-writer Frank Fenton does not seem to know how best to develop it. But the big star cast, Milton Krasner and Jorge Stahl Jr’s photography in Technicolor and CinemaScope, the great scenery and Bernard Herrmann’s music score are something to write home about. As a bonus, Rita Moreno appears at the start as a Mexican cantina singer dancer.

It is shot at the Churubusco Studios, Mexico City (for the interiors) and on various locations in Mexico (for the outdoor sequences), including the colonial town of Tepotzotlán, the jungle areas near Acapulco, Parícutin volcano with the church ruin of San Juan Parangaricutiro, and the village of Guanajuato with the church ruins of Templo Santiago Apóstol, Marfil.

Gary Cooper plays ex-sheriff Hooker, Richard Widmark plays professional gambler Fiske, and Cameron Mitchell plays bounty hunter Luke Daly, who are stranded by steamship engine trouble in a Mexican small fishing village when Leah Fuller finds them in a saloon deciding what to do next, and offers them $2,000 each to help rescue her husband. Vicente Madariaga (Victor Manuel Mendoza), another saloon customer, also accepts her deal.

Also in the cast are Fernando Wagner, Arturo Soto Bangel, Manuel Donde, Antonio Bribiesca and Salvado Terroba.

It was a hit, costing $2,070,000 and earning $3.1 million in US rentals.

Garden of Evil is directed by Henry Hathaway, runs 100 minutes, is made and released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Frank Fenton, based on a story by Fred Freiberger and William Tunberg, is shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope by Milton Krasner and Jorge Stahl Jr, is produced by Charles Brackett, is scored by Bernard Herrmann, and is designed by Lyle Wheeler and Edward Fitzgerald.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7694

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