The Jack Reacher Cases (The Man Behind The Gun)

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It's definitely a film that has to be watched if you are going to seriously explore the Randolph Scott movies because he had such a filmography. Oh dear! What a disappointment. I've been watching old Westerns on British TV for decades, and I wasn't aware of this one until its showing yesterday - most other Scott Westerns come around every few years or so and are usually worth watching again. Some posters, such the famous “Women of Britain say GO!” depict women as timid, frightened and almost trapped in the home while their husbands went off to the front line. The young boy clutching on to the skirt of his elder sister who in turn embraces her mother for support, drives home the message that women and children could be taken together as helpless victims of the war who needed to be protected by men. No doubt this was a successful persuasive tactic from the propaganda poster companies for encouraging men to fight but it proved to be an unsustainable way of depicting women as their position in society changed throughout the war. As Diana Condell and Jean Liddiard note in their book Working for Victory: Images of Women in the First World War, the war presented an opportunity for women to go beyond the traditional feminine role and to gradually immerse themselves in the public sphere. However the prospect that women could now do the same jobs as men posed problems for the idea that women were powerless and in need of protection from the war. How could a woman be both helpless and helpful for the war at the same time? It would seem that as the war progressed, posters were asking women to do both, arguably an impossible combination.

The John Johnson Collection participates in a scheme run by Oxford University’s Department of Art History, through which students can gain experience of the curation of collections. We have been fortunate to welcome Nina Foster, who has been working on posters in the First World War. Bit worrying. I sat down to watch this film and it took a while for me to realise I'd seen it, and less than two years ago. This time I did persevere and watched it all the way through, and still wasn't impressed. It's a bit like a stew into which everything has been thrown, with an unappetising result. Particularly after President Wilson’s sudden U-turn on American belligerency, the government had to work hard to convince civilians to support the war, and this was doubly true for soldiers, many of whom were drafted against their will.

Telling you who the head of the secessionist group would spoil things, but I will say it's one very deadly individual.

It is good action entertainment for those who like their westerns action filled. An Easy-Going Gent with Deadly Guns...and a Reputation to Match!

I had to resume this film from the beginning at the fifty minute mark because I was getting so confused with the plot strands. There seemed so many! Who were the good guys, who were the bad guys all that kind of thing because it was so confusing. To me anyway! It's a good job the film had only a modest running time to allow this to be practicable. Each of these men published books arguing that sexual control, paired with the stimulation and re-routing of sexual energy was crucial to motivating soldiers. Unlike traditional moral reformers, they did not seek to suppress sex drive but sought to harness its energy to drive masculine striving. It's a shame because there was some good work that went into this film from both the cast and the crew. There are elements of humour, action, romantic scenes. Good location photography and sound. Some good performances from the supporting cast as well.