La muraille d'or

I think it's the sensational color and the locations that lure me to this film. The time period fits well into it also. The deeply saturated blue sky and the arid desert draw me in like a magnet. In 1955 I was ten years old, and numerous rail trips through the west, with stops in Tucumcari, New Mexico, are brought to mind with films like this one. I recently visited Oatman, Arizona, where much if not all of this film was shot, only because of the film. Of course as would be expected, I found nothing in Oatman identifiable with the film after all these years, except the deep blue sky and the arid desert. Jeff Chandler was always a favorite, and his role as a strong silent mining engineer of American Indian heritage, plays well with Jane Russell's role as a rich bored adventurous young woman, almost a forerunner of "Green Acres" without the laughs. All of these sensory elements entice my 10 year old's psyche to the surface. The film offers great release for me. In 1955 one of the railroads used a young Indian boy's image as a logo, and General Motors Pontiac division used a similar theme. I was fascinated by Indian lore at the time, and the mystery and remembrance of it all comes into relative focus with this film. Not a film for everyone, but as far as I am concerned, they made this one for me.