Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film A Covenant With Death. The TCM television channel played A Covenant With Death as part of their 'Weekend Features' lineup on September 27. Enjoy!
A Covenant With Death
A Covenant With Death is a 1967 American legal drama film directed by Lamont Johnson (in his feature directional debut), with a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus and Saul Levitt based on the 1964 Book of the Month novel of the same title by Stephen Becker. The film stars George Maharis, Laura Devon, Katy Jurado and Earl Holliman.
Plot: A 1920s Mexican-American judge (George Maharis) presides over the trial of a man (Earl Holliman) accused of killing his wife.
Acting: George Maharis played Benjamin "Ben" Lewis. He did a fine job acting, but to be honest, I wasn't sure if I liked Ben as a character all that much. He wasn't the greatest person toward the woman in his life. Not sure why he was written that way. He's rude to his mother and his love interests. Ben seems to be a competent judge though. Maharis' four most notable roles are The Satan Bug, The Happening, Exodus, and the television series Route 66.
Laura Devon played Rosemary. No doubt a beautiful lady. She didn't have much to work with in this role, but I think she did fine with it. I felt bad for Rosemary; Ben didn't treat her very well. Her four most notable titles are Gunn, Goodbye Charlie, Chamber of Horrors and The Twilight Zone television series. I've seen her in Chamber of Horrors.
Katy Jurado played Eulalia Lewis. She is my favorite part of the movie because she didn't take any crap from her son. She was also the only actual Mexican playing a Mexican role. Apparently, Jurado gained 25 lbs. for her role and entered a hospital as soon as filming wrapped in order to lose the weight. Her four most notable titles are High Noon, the Brute, Arrowhead and Fe, Esperanza y Caridad.
Earl Holliman played Bryan Talbot, the man accused of murder. Funnily enough, he didn't have that big of a role in the film. His performance didn't stand out to me in any particular way. His four most notable titles are Forbidden Planet, The Sons of Katie Elder, Giant and the television series Delta. I've seen him in Forbidden Planet.
Technical Aspects: In early 1966, Stephen Becker's novel "A Covenant with Death" was assigned to William Conrad's new production company within Warner Bros. for adaptation to the screen, along with An American Dream by Norman Mailer and Speak Not Evil by Edwin Lanham.
Filming began in May 1966 with six days of shooting on location in New Mexico followed by six weeks of interior filming at the Warner Bros. studios. Most of the New Mexico filming occurred at a historic ranch near the Black Mesa, north of Santa Fe. Approximately 70 local extras were employed as well as more than 50 Indians from the San Ildefonso Pueblo.
From TCM: The cast is an appealing blend of veterans (O'Connell, Jurado, Kent Smith, Sidney Blackmer and Whit Bissell) and younger actors (Maharis, Holliman, Gene Hackman and Wende Wagner). Jurado drew fine notices fro her warm and wonderful turn as the cigar-smoking mother, or s The Hollywood Reporter called it, "Miss Jurado's first role as an older woman."
Critics generally agreed that the premise of A Covenant With Death was provocative and the movie at times riveting, but overall it meandered too much. "A genuinely original idea for a drama weighing justice, prejudice and the human conscience is studiously frittered away," declared The New York Times.
The production values were superb, however, as trade paper Variety noted: "Johnson's visual style is good, and at home in a large-screen environment. Robert Burks and his Technicolor camera provide mobility. A substantial, and rewarding, assist is the full-bodied score by Leonard Rosenman: it is refreshing and welcome change of pace from contemporary scoring which often is little more than isolated riff gimmickry."
A Covenant With Death was released in major cities as part of a double feature with a re-release Battle of the Bulge (1965). In Britain, the film was cut by 25 minutes to make it a true B feature.
Final Thoughts: A Covenant With Death provided an interesting look at the law and justice. I think I have to agree with previous reviewers that the film didn't know where to focus its attention. I liked the film, but I think it would've been better had they left out eh romance bits (if you can even call them that) between Rosemary, Ben and Rafaela. If the film had focused primarily on the crime, law and justice it would've been much better.
Ben's relationship with all the women in his life, including his mother, were quite confusing, and honestly not needed for the main story. The important parts of the film were muddled by the relationship fluff.
Despite the unneeded romance, I would watch this movie again. The acting was great and the story was interesting and relatively easy to follow.
Where to watch it: According to Google, A Covenant With Death is currently available on Sling TV with a subscription. But you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
