Jimson Weed and coffee don't mix

THE BURNING HILLS (1956)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A western starring a largely stoic Tab Hunter as a stalwart cowboy hero and Natalie Wood as a strong-willed, half Mexican, half English woman is an unusual combination. Of course, if you expect the usual prerequisites of the average western from the 50's or earlier, you've got them in 1956's "The Burning Hills." There are elongated fistfights, myriad shootouts, an adept half-Native American tracker who can spot hoof prints and their formation like nobody's business ("and a jackrabbit in a hundred miles of brush"), and more and more of the same.

Natalie Wood's role has pizzazz and a lot of heart as Maria Colton, who does all the work around the farmhouse while her younger brother is a tad cowardly and her drunk uncle lays around all day sleeping (Stereotypes alert, for those keeping track). It must be that jimson weed that makes one lazy, which we learn from this film is not a good combination with coffee because it might keep you awake? It is supposed to be a hallucinogen and poisonous but I was confused by the effect it ends up having. Yeah, they try that on some anonymous villainous ranch hands (Claude Akins being the most memorable) and the effects are less than stellar. Back to Maria's character, she initially thinks that our hero (Tab Hunter replacing John Wayne) is a bad white man after she finds him unconscious. Slowly they develop an affection for each other and she shelters him until the villains come into play. Hunter is Trace Jordan, who seeks revenge for his brother's death at the hands of some ranch hands hired by a Mr. Sutton (Skip Homeier, a hell of a good performance from a character that, well, disappears a little too soon). He wants to own the entire valley and kill all settlers who want a piece of it. Of course, this is a common subplot in any western.

For a while, "The Burning Hills" (based loosely on a Louis L'Amour novel) sets its spurs in action and Hunter, more handsome than anything else, dominates the screen - you can't help but look at him. Ditto Natalie Wood as the no-holds-barred Maria who fires a pistol in the air at fairly close range nearly shooting the villains in the face! Of course, by the end of the flick, Hunter takes center stage in a fistfight over rocky waters that goes on for an eternity and she sits in her horse concerned. What happened to the fearless Maria we see in the beginning? One noteworthy moment is after she fires the pistol, the ranch hands get close to her as if they are ready to attack her. They don't but it is a nice touch of tension and a hint of the violence to come.

It is a watchable enough flick with one too many lulls (miscegenation is only hinted at yet never really discussed) yet for Natalie Wood and Tab Hunter film fans, it is worth a view (they both fared better in "The Girl He Left Behind" released shortly after "The Burning Hills").