Garden of Evil (1954)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Fred Freiberger (story) and
William Tunberg (story) ...

Release Date:

9 July 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Takes you beyond the land of the Black Sand!

Plot:

Three Americans are headed by ship around the cape to the California gold fields when they are put ashore...

Plot Keywords:

Self Sacrifice | Apache | Ingratitude | Broken Leg | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Hooker
Susan Hayward	...	Leah Fuller
Richard Widmark	...	Fiske
Hugh Marlowe	...	John Fuller
Cameron Mitchell	...	Luke Daly
Rita Moreno	...	Cantina Singer
Víctor Manuel Mendoza	...	Vicente Madariaga

Runtime:

100 min | USA:96 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | Mono (Western Electric Recording) (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

Germany:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #16963, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, México D.F., Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Goofs:

Factual errors: The guns being used belong to the period from about 1870 to 1880. If this film was set during the California gold rush period of 1849 the weapons should all be percussion cap and black powder. Repeating rifles weren't developed until late in the civil war.

Quotes:

Luke Daly: What is she trying to prove?
Fiske: That one of us is a hero or a fool.
Luke Daly: Well, anyway, it's her funeral. I don't go to any but my own.

Soundtrack:

Aqui

A Moving Parable

Filmed on location in the volcanic deserts and banana jungles of central Mexico, this film quickly escapes Western routine through its effective use of complex characterization and unusual scenery. The sweeping musical score and other worldly backgrounds establish an epic atmosphere. The background painting used in the opening credits and again in the "gold mine" sequences strongly recalls the paintings of Frederick Churchward. Mysterious and unattainable Susan Hayward leads an odd assortment of morbidly pensive adventurers in a mortal quest. As the characters' hidden pasts unravel, they sacrifice themselves, one by one, to assure the party's escape from hostile Indians. We are reminded that a society's least wanted members may be its most most willing defenders. Beneath the big screen Western flash, this is a film about loyalty and responsibility. Cooper's ending speech says it all.