The Wonderful Country

This is really just a film for Robert Mitchum fans. He is "Brady", a hard-nosed drifter who manages to get embroiled in some gun-running on the US/Mexican border, then to break his leg, then to have to fight off the designs of Julie London's "Helen" (who happens to be married to a Yankee captain - Gary Merrill). The film is certainly not dull - aside from some gently smouldering scenes from Miss London, poor old "Brady" is constantly jumping ships with aplomb - trying to stay just one step ahead each time. The dialogue is sometimes quite pithy, and there are plenty of action scenes. Mitchum brings some charisma to the screen, but London should have stuck to singing, her acting never had very much depth to it. The rest of the film is just a little bit too busy - too many characters, too many complications and by the end I wasn't sure if I was really so very bothered.