The Jayhawkers

Director: Melvin Frank Melvin Frank

Overview

In this pre-Civil War western, Jeff Chandler stars as a power broker engaged in battle with bounty-hunter Fess Parker.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/24/2012
UPC:	0887090038300
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	19,959

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Fess Parker	Cam Bleeker
Jeff Chandler	Luke Darcy
Nicole Maurey	Jeanne Dubois
Henry Silva	Lordan
Herbert Rudley	Gov. William Clayton
Frank de Kova	Evans
Don Megowan	China
Leo Gordon	Jake
Shari Lee Bernath	Marthe
Jimmy Carter	Paul

Technical Credits

Melvin Frank	Producer,Director
Norman Panama	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The Jayhawkers is an okay Western; you won't be overwhelmed by it, but it will definitely keep you entertained, especially if you are an avid fan of the genre to begin with. The film's biggest assets are its cast, its cinematography and its score. That last-named, by Jerome Moross, is one of the finest and least-acknowledged Western scores that Hollywood has ever produced, filled with the leaping fourths and fifths that are the musical equivalent of the open Western lands, and about as thrilling and beautiful as has ever been written to accompany a picture. Loyal Griggs's photography is equally delicious, filled with stunning hues and capturing both the epic scope of the outdoors and the emotional lives of the characters. And Jeff Chandler and Fess Parker have never been better. Parker's quieter performance is at first overshadowed by Chandler's larger scale charismatic villainy. The two play off of each other very well, and they carry a great deal of the film. They'd do even better if the screenplay were stronger; it's functional but it never goes as far or as deep as it seems to think it does. And Melvin Frank's direction lacks the poetry and insight that a John Ford would have brought to the piece.