Way of a Gaucho (1952) Rory Calhoun, Gene Tierney, Richard Boone, Hugh Marlowe Movie Review

Way of a Gaucho (1952)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Gene Tierney in Way of a Gaucho (1952)

Away in Argentinia

Wealthy landowner Don Miguel Aleondo (Hugh Marlowe) and his adopted brother Martin Penalosa (Rory Calhoun) are like chalk n cheese. Whilst Don Miguel is for the development and civilization of Argentina, Martin is an independent Gaucho who believes in the old fashioned ways. It is those ways which lead him to killing a man for insulting his brother and ending up in jail. With the new law saying he should face the death penalty Martin is able to avoid the death sentence by joining the military but soon discovers military life and being ordered around by Major Salinas (Richard Boone) is not for him. But after going AWOL and saving Teresa Chavez (Gene Tierney) from an Indian raiding party Martin has to deal with the consequences of his decisions.

Look at the screenshot of the beautiful Gene Tierney laid out in the grass resting, her shirt torn across the shoulder giving you a tantalizing view of her body. It is one of the many memorable images which fill up "Way of a Gaucho" especially when this quickly cuts to Rory Calhoun standing bolt upright on top of his horse as he surveys the horizon. Unfortunately it is the cinematography which captures plenty of Argentina's beauty which is the most memorable thing about "Way of a Gaucho" as the story, characters and acting is only average and fail to match up to the movie's look.

The thing is that the story is simple with Rory Calhoun plays Martin who is trying to keep hold of the old fashioned ways in a world which around him is changing and he can't escape it. It leads to him living a life on the run from the forces and that means when he meets someone he wants to settle down with it isn't that easy. The trouble is that it is such a generic storyline that it just fails to get you gripped. Yes there is action, drama, romance and a near miss with a spider but ever does this really become exciting.

It is the same with the characters as whilst the trio of Rory Calhoun, Gene Tierney and Richard Boone play their parts well their parts are forgettable. As such it becomes more of a case of writing casting with Calhoun being handsome, Tierney gorgeous and Boone having that nature about him ideal for playing bad guys.

What this all boils down to is that "Way of a Gaucho" just didn't do it for me and beyond the location shots ended up a forgettable and generic Argentinean western but not one which is bad, just not above average.


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