Trouble in the Glen (1954)

Strong and Moving!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Captivating movie !

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

When American visitor Forrest Tucker comes to Scotland with a mysterious agenda, he finds himself taking on more than he can chew in dealing with powerful Orson Welles and his feisty daughter (Margaret Lockwood) with whom he starts off on the wrong kilt. Welles is the owner of a road which he refuses to open to the locales, and Tucker is desperate to get him to open it. Lockwood refuses to allow Tucker to see her father, and soon it's a battle of wills between each of them. After Lockwood publicly humiliated Tucker, he sets off on delicious payback, and this opens the way up for them to begin communicating. It's sort of a Scottish "Taming of the Shrew" where the shrew won't bend, that is until he allows her in on a little secret that changes everything. The plot turns deadly as the Scottish locales (lead by Victor MacLaglen) band together to take desperate measures to get the road open.For much of the film, the atmosphere is light and comic, so the sudden twists towards the end are jarring. This was produced and directed by British film veteran Herbert Wilcox, so I'm wondering if he first had wife Anna Nesgle in mind for Lockwood's part. She's tough, crafty and no-nonsense, but don't expect the vixens of her Gainsborough type villains here. Tucker is a rugged but easy going hero, and Welles is a big pussycat underneath his character's gruff exterior. Some pretty Scottish scenery adds to the flavor, although a little bit of bag pipe music goes a long way. Oh, and by the way, my tagline at the top of this review is Welles' line, not Tucker's.

Although Orson Welles is prominently featured on the VHS box cover, Forrest Tucker and Margaret Lockwood are the leads here, together again after LAUGHING ANNE. Republic leading man Tucker headlined several solid westerns and war films throughout the 1950's, but this is far from his best. Definitely a poor man's THE QUIET MAN, as noted earlier, this film pales in comparison, only competently directed by Herbert Wilcox and featuring very little action---the 'climactic' fight leaves a lot to be desired, and the story moves along at a snail's pace. Welles hams it up delightfully, but he's barely on screen for ten minutes.Forgettable film; there's really not much going on here. Fans of THE QUIET MAN may be interested in this lesser work by the same author, but if you're looking for lots of comedy OR action, you'll be disappointed. To see Tucker and Lockwood in a more interesting film, check out LAUGHING ANNE (1954).

It all started with a fish. Wealthy South American Sanin Mengues has returned to the Scottish home of his forefathers and is Laird of the Glen. However his poor attempts at fishing frustrates his foreman Parlan to the point where he insults his boss and is promptly fired. This sparks a great unrest across the Glen and a standoff between the landowner and his employees ensues. Into the mix of this comes American Major Jim Lansing, returning after the war to find that he is now going to have to broker peace rather than make war.Following the success of similar films trading on Celtic/Gaelic "charm" and the like, this film was produced with quite an impressive (on paper) cast hoping to cash in. The problem is with the plot – it isn't focused on Sanin Mengues so much as it is on Lansing, his little Scottish girl and his romances, and my gosh is it dull and sentimental. The stuff involving Sanin is at least boisterous and quite fun but this is mostly placed on the sidelines and it means that the film is mostly pretty boring. It wallows too much in unconvincing sentiment and relationships that don't ring true, producing a main plot thread that almost totally fails to engage in any way shape or form.The noisy plot thread involving Sanin is reasonably fun mainly because of a hammy piece of p*ss-taking from Orson Welles, who just seems to be enjoying himself in a different film from everyone else. He is comparatively terrible of course but at least he is funny. Lockwood is totally wasted in the film with nothing to do of any merit and, although she does try, there is a reason why few viewers would recall this film in her back catalogue. Tucker is wooden and dull, a fact not helped by how hilariously OTT Welles is. He may have third billing but he is the lead character and the film suffers as a result. McLagen is quite good and works well with Welles but the rest of the support cast are fairly average Scottish stereotypes.Overall this is a poor film that is built on a dull plot with big dollops of sentimentality. There are moments that are lively and funny but they are few and far between and certainly do not do enough to keep things interesting. If you're desperate for a dated piece of Celtic "charm" then by all means give this a go but I doubt many viewers will get anything from it.

Actually videoed and watched this film 'cos the film review book I was flicking through said it had the "most garish colour ever committed to celluloid". Well I have to say that it isn't so bad after all. And it's something that I wish was made more often today, a harmless and interesting diversion from life's problems, just sit back and forget about it all. Other films like this are John Wayne westerns and 50's film noir B movies. All are totally watchable if you are truly prepared to switch off from the year 2002, and more so than the contemporary offerings. Anyway, it's advertised as an Orson Welles film - he doesn't exactly spend a lot of time in it does he? ( Perhaps he was paid by the frame!)Interesting -- umm, 7 /10, agreed?, agreed!