Trouble in the Glen

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!

Made with massive profits as a sort of sequel to Republic's mega hit of 1952 THE QUIET MAN, this easy to love piece of B pic blarney shows just how stupendously successful THE QUIET MAN actually was. A lot of very profitable films in the UK ran into a law that saw the rentals marooned there and not able to be returned to the USA, in fact Disney and MGM made many films in the UK to soak up the rentals held in a bank trust there by this law. For once in it's budget constricted life the Kingdomof Repubic made soooo much money there they could'nt get it all home and were basically happily forced to make another version of THE QUIET MAN which I am sure suited them fine anyway. Obviously not as big nor as successful as that film, TROUBLE IN THE GLEN was the sort of charming rustic family film made regularly in the UK anyway. GEORDIE is a good example. TROUBLE has a great cast and a few surprises (such as Orson Welles) to add prestige..or maybe he was a Republic favourite after MACBETH. Anyway, TROUBLE is quaint robust fun and just like a hybrid of THE QUIET MAN and their own truly superb Americana drama made in 1956 COME NEXT SPRING and.... LISBON.

I saw this film in the mid fifties while in the Navy and was struck by Welles's performance along with Tucker and McLaglen. A subtle comment on social divisions, showing the Gypsy "Tinks" or itinerant tinkers of Scotland who form a class of social pariahs. The storyline is a bit thin but the two great blusterers, Tucker and McLaglen make it worth the price of admission...although I believe I saw this film on the hangerdeck of the USS Bonhomme Richard CVA-31 in 1955 for free...

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.

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).