Warlock (1959 film)

Plot

Warlock is a small Utah mining town of the early 1880s. Cowboys working for Abe McQuown (Tom Drake) often come into town to shoot the place up, kill on just a whim, beating or humiliating any deputy sheriff who tries to stand up to them. The Citizens' Committee decides to hire Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda), a renowned gunfighter, as town marshal in spite of the misgivings of some, such as old Judge Holloway (Wallace Ford) who insists that the situation should be handled within the law (though a loophole prevents it from being done effectively).

Blaisedell, famous for his golden-handled guns, arrives in Warlock with his devoted friend, Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn), his club-footed, right-hand man, who is no slouch with a gun himself. Morgan has a reputation as a heavy-drinking gambler, but Blaisedell insists that Morgan is part of the package. They even take over the local saloon and rename it the "French Palace" (something they appear to have done in previous towns, since they bring the signboard with them).

Their first encounter with McQuown's men is without bloodshed. The cowboys are intimidated by Blaisedell and one, Johnny Gannon (Richard Widmark), stays behind. Gannon has been put off by their propensity for killing, particularly the shooting of victims in the back, for some time now and resolves to be more law-abiding.

Morgan learns that his old flame, Lily Dollar (Dorothy Malone), is coming to town on the stagecoach, and she is accompanied by Bob Nicholson (Sol Gorss), brother of Big Ben Nicholson, who was recently killed by Blaisedell. Lily had left Morgan for Big Ben and knows that Morgan pushed Ben into challenging Blaisedell, who killed him as a result. She wants Blaisedell dead to punish Morgan.

Morgan sets out to meet the stagecoach but it is robbed by some of McQuown's cowboys as he watches from a distance. He takes advantage of the situation to kill Bob Nicholson unseen. Lily arrives in town and sees Morgan there. She believes that he pulled the trigger, although this is based on intuition rather than evidence.

The robbers are arrested without incident by Blaisedell and a posse. Before taking them to Bright City for trial, the sheriff, who disapproves of Blaisedell, accepts Gannon's offer to become Warlock's new deputy. Gannon takes his law enforcement duties seriously.

The robbers, one of whom is Gannon's younger brother Billy (Frank Gorshin), are cleared by a jury intimidated by McQuown. The cowboys, led by Billy, immediately confront Blaisedell and Morgan in the street. The deputy asks them to leave and tells Billy, "I ain't backin' him, because you're my brother, and I ain't backin' you, because you're wrong." A cowboy tries to shoot Blaisedell in the back but is spotted by Morgan and shot. Blaisedell kills two others, including Billy, after giving him a fair chance to back down. McQuown's smooth-talking man Curley (DeForest Kelley) posts wanted notices for Blaisedell, declaring the cowboys "regulators" in mockery of his quasi-legal status. Gannon vows to stop any regulators who come to town and McQuown angrily stabs him in his gun hand.

Townspeople begin resenting the presence of Blaisedell and Morgan, exactly as Blaisedell had predicted. However, he has started a relationship with Jessie Marlow (Dolores Michaels) and decides to marry and settle down, much to the surprise of Morgan, who wants to move on to another town.

Despite his injured hand, Gannon must face the cowboys alone after Morgan pulls a gun on Blaisedell, who had volunteered to back the deputy. With help from the citizens and from Curley, who promised him "a fair fight," Gannon unexpectedly kills McQuown and breaks up the regulators for good. Warlock has outgrown its need for the two gunfighters, but Morgan cannot tolerate the idea that Gannon is now more of a hero than Blaisedell, and he resents Lily's attraction to the deputy, too. In the course of an argument, Blaisedell learns the truth about the deaths of the Nicholson brothers and turns his back on Morgan.

That evening, in a drunken state, Morgan shoots up the town and calls out Gannon, intending to kill him. Blaisedell locks the deputy in his own cell, insisting, "Tom Morgan's my responsibility." Initially content to seem cowed, Morgan is pleased Blaisedell is a hero again. No one else realizes that it is he, not Blaisedell, who is the unbeatable gunfighter. Townspeople jeer and mock Morgan as he walks away. Publicly proclaiming his superiority, he challenges Blaisedell to a showdown. Morgan shoots off Blaisedell's hat before being fatally wounded a split-second later. Satisfied that Blaisedell's legacy is secure, Morgan's dying words to him are: "I won, Clay, I won!"

A grief-stricken Blaisedell carries his friend's body into the saloon, which, to the sound of thunder in the sky, he burns down. Doing his duty, Gannon tells Blaisedell that he will arrest him in the morning if he does not leave town. After what has happened, Blaisedell can't face staying in Warlock and decides to leave anyway. Jessie refuses to accompany him. She insists that she is no Tom Morgan, to which he replies that the time might have come to "find another Morgan." The next day, Gannon and Blaisedell face one another, the latter wearing his famous golden-handled guns. Blaisedell outdraws Gannon, but then throws his guns into the sand, smiles at Gannon, mounts his horse and rides away.

Production

Released by Twentieth Century Fox and shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope, the film was adapted from Hall's novel for the screen by Robert Alan Aurthur. The supporting cast includes DeForest Kelley, Frank Gorshin, and Tom Drake.

Cast

Inspiration

The inspiration for Blaisedell, Morgan and Lily Dollar probably comes from one of the West's most (in)famous trios: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Kate Fisher. Morgan's club foot suggests a reference to Clay Allison.

Alternative titles