Rod Ralph

This is one of the best western movies i have ever seen-ever since I took my cap gun to the Mayfair theatre back in the 50’s. Brando’s. Scene at the Mexican watering hole is superb, John Saxton (RIP) is perfect in his role as the bad guy and the character actors are great. Brando’s character is the model for all of Clint Eastwood’s westerns. This and One Eyed Jacks are my faves.

It helps to be a Catholic to understand some of the underlying nuances of character in the movie. De Niro is outstanding in his role of Monsignor as is Duvall in his role of LA PD detective. Superb performances by all and the period scenery is incredibly good. The story involves the way in which the church bureaucracy bent to deal with unsavoury businessmen to achieve bricks and mortor growth in the diocese and the connections that some had in previous lives to prostitution. The story revolves around the horrible murder of a Catholic call girl, and how those connections ultimately came to affect the lives of all concerned.

She is a smarty pants that often reads her own bias into cases. Once she has her mind made up it’s game over. I used to like her but now I find her annoying.