This low-budget rural adventure is based upon
a real-life 1930s fugitive named Earl Durand, a mountain man who was arrested
for poaching, made a brazen escape from jail, and led authorities on a manhunt
lasting nearly two weeks. Before committing suicide, Durand killed four law-enforcement officers. The Legend of Earl Durand portrays the title character as a backwoods Robin Hood
who kills government elk to help feed local poor people, so his reason for
evading capture is, theoretically, continuing his good deeds. Since the filmmakers
never quite figure how to express that concept, The Legend of Earl Durand churns and spins through a painfully
overlong 110-minute running time. One wishes for the brisk fable this could and
should have been. Still, even with its considerable flaws, not least of which
is an ugly visual style—flat lighting and haphazard angles—The Legend of Earl Durand is watchable more often than it isn’t.
The presence of Slim Pickens, Albert Salmi, Martin Sheen, and Keenan Wynn in supporting
roles helps a lot. As for fair-haired leading man Peter Haskell, he comes
across as a shabby substitute for Robert Redford, clearly the sort of image the
filmmakers were after.
Awkwardly framed with cutesy
spoken/sung narration, the movie gives Durand a sympathetic origin story by way of a
prologue depicting his youth, then cuts to the protagonist in full
robbing-from-the-rich mode. His main adversary, manhunter Jack McQueen (Salmi),
is portrayed as a sadist with political ambitions, so the thematic deck is unfairly
stacked. In early scenes, Durand romances a pretty librarian and occasionally
brings her little brother along during adventures; throughout the first half of
the picture, Durand is as menacing as Sheriff Andy Taylor. Things get a bit
tougher once the manhunt begins—for instance, Wynn plays a retired Army officer
who zooms over the Grand Tetons in a biplane, then commands a posse armed with
primitive rocket launchers. Wynn blusters well, Pickens reliably essays a likeable
idiot, and Sheen supercharges the scenes in which he plays a simple-minded
Durand accomplice. So while there’s a lot to dislike here, there’s also a fair
amount to appreciate.
The Legend of Earl Durand: FUNKY
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