“And that’s the way it happened. Give or take a lie or two.”
That oft-used phrase in the film Sunset is a pretty good way to describe the entire production. Blake Edwards had a pretty good run with his Pink Panther franchise until Peter Sellers died and the franchise became somewhat of a spoof of itself after his death. That might have worked, except the franchise was already pretty much a spoof. But Blake Edwards has also had some luck with more serious subjects, and Sunset is likely the best example of such an attempt. That doesn’t mean the film doesn’t deliver plenty of humor and light moments. But for Blake Edwards, this was as serious as it gets. He bought the rights to an unpublished novel by Rod Amateau, who had mostly written for television. The film was set to star James Garner as Wyatt Earp and Robert Duvall as Tom Mix. The production budget couldn’t handle the demands of both stars, and Garner was retained while Edwards would pass on Duvall. Bruce Willis was mostly a television star at the time and could be had on the cheap. Of course, that soon changed, but Edwards didn’t get a bounty here, because Willis wasn’t quite as good as he would become. In fact, James Garner went on record that he would never work with Willis again because he treated his job like he was in high school. And he never did. Julie Andrews was also once signed, but skipped because she didn’t want to play the mother of a grown son. The film was also going to showcase a new kind of cinematography called the Introvision system. The idea was that you could insert your iconic locations into the background, but it ended up costing more than going to the real locations, and no one was ever really happy with the results. The system has faded into memory, but unfortunately Sunset has not. Thanks to Mill Creek’s Retro-VHS releases, this film gets another chance for you to catch it. Trust me when I say it’s worth the effort.
It’s 1929, and movies were about to change. The Silent Era was ending, and a new world of sound was opening up the movie experience as studios rushed to get in the new game of sound motion pictures. It’s also the year of the first Academy Awards, and that gala is about to be tainted by a murder in town. There’s no reason to fret, because one of the most famous lawmen in history happens to be in town. James Garner arrives as the legendary Wyatt Earp, one of the last surviving icons of the wild west. He’s here as a consultant for a movie being made about his life. Bruce Willis is terribly miscast as Tom Mix, the actor who is going to star in this big film. The two of them kind of “buddy up” and end up caught in the mystery surrounding murder in Hollywood.
There are a ton of cliches here, and many times they work. There are so many characters that are common types from this kind of a film. Malcolm McDowell plays Alfie Alperin, the rather seedy owner of the studio named for himself. He’s a thug who is used to getting his way, and McDowell plays him with all the slime you could ask for without ever crossing the line into obvious spoof. He’s straight enough to take seriously as a old time villain. Mariel Hemmingway plays the standard hooker with a heart of fool’s gold. She owns the local brothel. There’s gangster Dutch (not Shultz), but we get it. Richard Bradford and M. Emmet Walsh play the corrupt cops who are on the gangsters’ payroll. While all of these distractions are playing out, Earp is the one who is going to try to get the bad guys just like he’s always done. It’s all sometimes a romp but almost always compelling. It turns out that Alperin has a grudge against Earp, and that is what’s driving the mysterious events in the film.
James Garner is the thing that makes it all work. I’m not just saying this because I’m a huge Rockford fan. You can’t help but be captivated by a guy who almost never carries a gun but bluffs well because of his reputation. Of course, when he really needs one, you know he’s packing then. Garner also plays the fish out of water who understands his surroundings better than the other characters who live this life. But he’s still a fish out of water. He’s a frontier lawman whose days are over, now surrounded by automobiles and film cameras, which play totally against his experience. But Earp is played as a guy who doesn’t have to understand any of that. Just when you think he’s clueless, you discover he knows human nature, and that hasn’t really changed much. The fatal flaw here, however, is that he’s paired with a raw Bruce Willis who has no chemistry with his co-star, and I can honestly see why they didn’t get along. Willis is just having fun, and I don’t think he gave a crap about anything Tom Mix was supposed to be about. He’s got an inappropriate grin that ruins any real moment, and Willis just loves mugging for the camera, and because of that Blake Edwards lost his real chance to make something with a little more depth. Willis keeps telling us by his own body language that this is a farce. Look. I love Willis in many films, but his immaturity and inexperience torpedoed what should have been a great movie.
Speaking of Rockford, the film has Dermot Mulroney in his first film role. In 2010 Mulroney would star as James Rockford in a failed pilot remake of the series.
In addition, the score was composed by Henry Mancini, who had been a favorite of Edwards and wrote the now classic Pink Panther Theme.
Here’s the thing. The film’s trouble was Edwards’ reputation and Willis’s inability to tap that charm he would develop in later years. But the cinematography is beautiful, and the film’s plot still has enough beats to keep you entertained for the full two hours. Edwards would always call Sunset his lost opportunity, and that’s tragic. But the film remains a pretty good watch anyway. Here’s a chance for it to ride off into the sunset with a proper audience … one last time. “OK. I’ve made my point. Take it or leave it.”
