Not enough time to deliver the proper material here, so will return another day. But as for this quibbling with the casting, etc., etc. Some negative reviews mention the word "turgid." But for years, in the Sunday New York Times weekly TV listings, the capsule finished with "Thank you Victor Young." Sooooo -- Akim Tamiroff IS Pablo, gives the performance of his life, should have won the Oscar. Joseph Calleia as El Sordo is just one example of how the supporting cast carries this flawed giant on its collective back. Watch young Joaquin's lips move as he prays his last prayer while El Sordo and his men die fighting. Watch Pablo tell Anselmo, "Do you want to die? Then shut up." Watch Pilar tell Pablo, "No one understands you -- not God, nor your mother, nor I." BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE is Victor Young's score, and Young's love theme is among the most beautiful ever used in ANY MOVIE ANYWHERE. It's final appearance comes as Jordan sends Maria away, and no one cries better than Bergman. "Now you're going, and you're going well and fast and far...." Heart rending is not done with a finer edge than this. One of my life's true regrets is I didn't get to see in in a real movie theatre of my childhood. So go ahead and whine about all the faults. Tears still come to my eyes every time. And that's what Hollywood is all about. If Hemingway were here right now, drunk or sober, he'd say the same thing, with some cussin' thrown in.
