LeonLouisRicci In this one You get two Over-Rates for the Price of One. Director John Sturges and Actor Robert Taylor.Thankfully, this is a Sturges Film that is Rated Accurately. Slightly Above Average. Almost all of the Director's Movies, even the ones that are Considered Great, are really Only Slightly Above Average at best and Don't Hold Up all that well.Robert Taylor was a Movie Star and was Never Considered a Great Actor. Competent, with a Good Work Ethic, He was a Major Star for Decades. Here He's His Prototypical Wooden Self.Richard Widmark (playing Type as a giggling Psycho) seems to be Talking to a Wall as He Converses with Taylor. Henry DaSilva and DeForest Kelly, along with Patricia Owens are in Support and do OK.The Highlight of the Movie is the Indian Attack that is Staged Well and Violent for the Time, but the rest of the Movie is Stodgy and Lethargic with some Good Cinematography from Burt Surtees. The Post Indian Attack Drags On. Worth a Watch but Not a Must See. It can be Enjoyed by Western Fans.

Wuchak Released in 1958, "The Law and Jake Wade" stars Robert Taylor as the title character who was an outlaw after the Civil War, but is now a sheriff out West. A member of his former gang, Clint Hollister (Richard Widmark), won't let him start a new life and forces Jake and his fiancé (Patricia Owens) to lead him and a few other ne'er-do-wells to some buried money in a ghost town in the mountains. Unlike Jake, Clint is bad through and through and the new lawman is convinced he'll kill him after he gets the money.This Western has a lot going for it: a solid cast, particularly Taylor as Wade and Widmark as the arrogant and no-good Clint (both are convincing Westerners); utterly breathtaking Western locations, shot in Alabama Hills , Lone Pine and Death Valley National Park, California; and some fascinating ruminations on the nature of morality, evil, law, friendship and rivalry.As far as law goes, Clint argues that he killed and looted before and after the war, which society naturally considered evil, but he did the same thing during the war where the South viewed him as a faithful citizen. To him there's no difference, but Jake sees the difference in that the state of war may justify certain actions against enemies that aren't justified otherwise. Furthermore, Jake regrets his outlaw days whereas Clint has zero qualms about the evil that he wreaks.Unfortunately, there are some problems on this front that are never answered. For instance, if Jake is now a "good man" and respects law and order (which explains the movie's title) why does he foolishly break Clint out of jail at the beginning of the movie? It's revealed that he's a man of honor who's paying back a debt, but – by doing this – he releases a serious criminal to continue to commit atrocities. He even admits that he's convinced that Clint will eventually murder him, which means he knows he's incorrigible. Furthermore, in breaking Clint free of his death sentence a few guys get shot during the escape, although not killed. Isn't this a ridiculous risk even if Jake's being honorable by repaying a debt? It's not just a risk of innocent people potentially dying, but Jake's face was undisguised for all to see, which could potentially ruin his new life (more on this below). Everything points to nothing good coming from saving Clint from the hangman's rope but, then again, maybe Jake was holding on to the slightest possibility that Clint would see his good fortune and go straight. In other words, he was hoping for redemption for the man. In fact, it was presumably this very thing that turned Jake around.An aspect about the plot that I liked was the friendship AND hostility of Jake and Clint's relationship. I've experienced one significant relationship like this where it's a close friendship, but with flashes of hostility rooted in the stoo-pid rivalry of the other guy, which he can't seem to deal with. Right now we're on negative terms because I dared to confront him about something he was doing that was wrong and he didn't like it. I'm about ready to call him and say (with a Western twang), "This town's not big enough for the both of us." The main reason I'm not giving "The Law and Jake Wade" a higher rating is because of the contrived nature of certain aspects of the story and some obvious plot holes. For instance, at the beginning Jake enters the jailhouse early in the AM and the sole person guarding Clint doesn't even hear that someone entered the facility until Jake sticks a gun to his back. Why sure! Furthermore, as noted above, Jake doesn't seem to be doing a lot to disguise his identity when the town's a mere 60 miles or so from the town where he's the sheriff. Wouldn't law officers in one town be relatively known in other towns in the general region? So Jake's taking an unbelievable risk in openly breaking Clint out of jail without a disguise (a simple scarf hiding his face would've solved this issue). These types of problems in scripts – particularly old Westerns (pre-60s/70s) – insult the intelligence of viewers and loses their respect. There are numerous 50's Westerns that are guilty of these types of eye-rolling contrivances and plot holes.Nevertheless, there's definitely enough good in "The Law and Jake Wade" to give it a thumbs up, especially the two strong leads, their love/hate relationship and the fascinating explorations of good and evil, law and outlawry, friendship and rivalry. Too bad the film's glaring negatives hold it back from greatness. Still, it's one of my personal favorite Westerns. DeForest Kelley (aka Dr. McCoy) appears in a peripheral role as one of Clint's heavies.The film runs 86 minutes.GRADE: B

TheLittleSongbird The film is a little too short perhaps and the love interest subplot wasn't as well developed as it could have been. However, there is a lot to recommend The Law and Jake Wade. As a western and a film, it is fine and suitably tense, and I didn't mind the Indian attacks actually, they weren't outstanding but they weren't awful that they make you think "oh god this is appalling". Plus the climax, the Comache attack on a ghost town, I thought was well choreographed. The Law and Jake Wade is beautifully photographed, and the scenery is luscious. The score is lovely as well, and I was impressed with the clever screenplay and the acting. Robert Taylor I can find dull, like in Ivanhoe(that is of course my opinion) but he has enough charisma and grit to carry the picture, and Richard Widmark is all nasty and sneering as his adversary. John Sturges's direction is superb, and the story is very well-constructed. Overall, underrated and well done, not perfect but definitely worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

mgtbltp I watched this out of the new Warner's DVD set tonight, I had caught it on TV about a month or so ago under a less that ideal setting. This time it had a proper viewing and my undivided attention. The film was Directed by John Sturges, and I can't recommend more that you see this alone for the gorgeous cinematography by Robert Surtees. Here is a Western that in outdoor locations and settings looks perfect. The sagebrush engulfed ghostown at the end is really impressive. Either they went to the trouble of building a partially collapsed wooden aqueduct to a water tank or the set was an actual real ghostown .These locations are all in Lonepine, Death Valley, and The Alabama Hills. Why no recent Westerns in the last 30 years have not been shot there is beyond me, but using those locations would be like slipping into a comfortable old pair of shoes and would also give a certain cachet to a work. Those locations are not as singularly iconic as the Buttes of Monument Valley, but they actually represent even more the West as a whole because they provide an infinite variety of jagged peaks, flat plains, alluvial fans, eroded badlands, and boulder fields.The film stars Robert Taylor as Jake Wade , a reformed outlaw, Richard Widmark as Wade's old partner in crime Clint Hollister from the Civil War Kansas/Missouri border war. Patricia Owens is Peggy Wade's fiancé who knows nothing of his past. Robert Middleton plays Ortero a member of the old Wade-Hollister Gang. Henry Silva is in one of his stock quasi lunatic hothead roles he played so well, as new gang member Rennie. De Forest Kelley (Bones from Star Trek) is again playing a heavy (very similar to what he played in Warlock) gang member Wexler, Eddie Firestone is I believe minor gang member Burke who rounds out the main cast.The story is basically that a reformed Wade finds out that Hollister has been captured and held in a jail awaiting a hanging close enough nearby to allow Wade to break him out in order to pay back a dept owed (Hollister saved his life). After accomplishing this Wade splits with Hollister to go back to his reformed ways, things don't quite go as planned. It seems that on the last job Wade & Hollister pulled Wade disappeared with $20,000.*note bene those who watch this the way they take no chances and bind this Wade's hands behind his back in stark contrast to the stupid remake of 3:10 to Yuma.The only minor things keeping this Western out of a top ten list are that the night time scenes are all shot on obvious sets one of which has a ridiculous backdrop painting of Monument Valley, looking very out of place. Another is that though all the clothes of the actors who have been on the trail supposedly for days are suitably well dusted up, none of the actors have any stubble or the beginnings of beards. And finally the way Robert Taylor looks & plays his part seems just a tad off the mark (old Hollywood style), its like the difference between Sturges' "Gunfight at the OK Corral" and his "Hour Of The Gun" the way in the former Lancaster appears as Earp with the way in the latter Garner looks as Earp.This is a definitely a Western to own.