"Blowing Wild" showed unexpectedly the other day on cable. Seldom seen these days, this film reunited once again Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Alas, they are not as effective in it as they were in either "Ball of Fire", or "Meet John Doe", two of the best comedies of the 40s, bar none. The film was directed by Hugo Fregonese.The setting is an unnamed Latin country, which must have been Mexico. It focuses on the people that wanted to get involved in the oil business because of the wealth it generated. There is a sequence that parallels Henri-Georges Cluzot's "The Wages of Fear" as Jeff Dawson and Dutch Peterson are asked to transport a crate full of dynamite to a nearby oil drilling site. It's a rustic route full of dangers and local bandits. Probably this was purely coincidental since both films came out in the same year in two continents apart.Gary Cooper, who appears as Jeff Dawson, a wildcatter, seems to be acting on auto pilot. He was always a minimalist actor. He was not too expressive a man on the screen. Playing opposite Ms. Stanwyck, whose character showed an explosive nature, he did not show any emotion to speak of. Barbara Stanwyck, in contrast shows a talent for impersonating an ambitious Marina Conway, who had a romance with Dawson in the past. She is now married to a Paco Conway, a man she feels disgust for. She tries to rekindle whatever they shared in the past with bad results.Anthony Quinn makes an impression with his Paco Conway, the man that had the good fortune of striking rich with the oil he found. Mr. Quinn has a great scene at the local watering hole where he dances with a young woman and later pretends to be a matador with another. Ward Bond is also seen in the movie as Dutch Peterson, Dawson's partner. Ruth Roman has an important supporting role and she does well. Ian McDonald, who was in "High Noon" with Mr. Cooper has a small part.It's easy to see why the film has kept its appeal. The copy shown was of superior quality. Sidney Hickox's cinematography was memorable, and the same can be said about Dimitri Tiomkin's musical score. Frankie Laine is heard with the theme song throughout the movie.

I remember seeing this as a14 year old in England when it was first released. It has stuck in my mind ever since. The combination of Gary Cooper's world weary persona, Dimitri Tiomkin's evocative score, the great rendition of the title song by Frankie Laine and the powerful sense of loss and what might have been all combine to make a fantastic couple of hours. One thought did occur when I watched it again last night was how old the characters all were... We take it for granted today that most roles are played by 25-35 year old actors (and actresses)that to see Cooper, Stanwyck, Quinn, Bond etc. brings one up with start. Lovely film, though, and I look forward to seeing it again.

Blowing Wild is some sort of modern times western, unpretentious but interesting.Ruined friends Jeff Dawson (Gary Coooper) and Dutch Peterson (Ward Bond) are stuck in a small South American city after bandits blow to pieces their only oil well. As they wonder around they run into wealthy Paco Conway (Anthony Quinn) a former close friend of Dawson who is in the oil business and hires him to give him a hand. Dawson takes the job just to raise the money that will bring him and Dutch back to the United States. Paco's wife Marina Conway (Barbara Stanwyck)has had something with Dawson in the past and she seems willing to revive it. Bandits are also around menacing Paco's oil wells. Circumstances mix up and the plot turns out interesting as it shows the disturbing relationship between Jeff, Paco and Marina.The film was shot in black and white by Argentine director Hugo Fregonese who makes a good job here in a story about friendship, ambition, passion and murder. Frankie Lane sings the adequate title song.Cooper is very good as the straight minded Dawson as also is Anthomy Quinn as the self made man that really loves his wife. Barbara Stanwyck's character is the center of the plot and she renders an outstanding performance in another of her many "mean woman" roles. Ward Bond and Ruth Roman -Jeff's romantic alternative- are a strong support. There's also Ian McDonald playing one of his usual unsympathetic characters and meeting Cooper again after High Noon (1952).Blowing Wild is an acceptable product in its kind. You won't miss a great movie if you don't see it, but you'll enjoy it if you do.

Gary Cooper is looking for work somewhere in South America when he meets an old friend with a succesful oil-digging company. His wife, however, is an old love from Cooper and the tension can only lead to bad things. On top of it all, the country suffers from bandits who destroy and rob all material. The story has a negative undertone about the failure Americans have when trying to make it big outside their motherland just like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Bogart. The characters are well thought-out and all of them have a solid background. Gary Cooper's character has a past he'd rather forget and it made me think about his character in High Noon. Unfortunately the movie seems to be made in a rush, but due to the story, drama and character studies I give this a 7 out of 10! And for me that's rather a lot!