This week’s mystery movie was the 1953 Warner Bros. film Blowing Wild, with Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Roman, Anthony Quinn, Ward Bond, Ian MacDonald, Richard Karlan and Juan Garcia.
Written by Philip Yordan.
Photographed by Sid Hickox.
Art direction by Al Ybarra.
Second unit director and editor Alan Crosland Jr.
Sound by Manuel Blake and McCluer Merrick.
Set decorations by William Wallace.
Makeup by Gordon Bau.
Musical direction by Ray Heindorf.
Wardrobe by Kay Nelson and Marjorie Best.
Blowing Wild, the Ballad of Black Gold, by Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster.
Blowing Wild, the Ballad of Black Gold sung by Frankie Lane.
Music composed and conducted by Dimitri Tiomkin.
A United States Pictures Production.
Produced by Milton Sperling.
Directed by Hugo Fregonese.
Assistant director Don Page.
Further information on Blowing Wild is available from the AFI Catalog.
Blowing Wild is available on Blu-ray from Critics’ Choice Video.
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As some folks noticed, Blowing Wild is purportedly a remake of last week’s mystery movie, Torrid Zone, although the script has been changed so radically that there’s very little resemblance. Torrid Zone was a comedy and Blowing Wild is a curious, forced, second-rate drama. You may recall that Warner Bros. suspended Lauren Bacall in 1948 because she refused to make the film, with Bacall saying that there was no script, no cast and no director. What Gary Cooper was doing making this oddball picture a year after High Noon is a question. The fight that concludes the film seems very labored and unconvincing.
Betting Bosley hated it or fobbed it off on one of the “alphabet critics,” who hated it.
Bosley weighed in. And he did not approve of such goings-on! (The New York Times, October 8, 1953):
So it goes right through this fable of loose adventure in the Mexican oil fields — little scraps of dramatic complications recognizable from countless previous films, and also more than little scraps — big sections — of painfully familiar dialogue….
Well, why isn’t it then an engrossing picture, equal to the sum of its “borrowed” parts? The answer needs a little explanation. It is a straight, uninspired patchwork job….
There’s no getting around the little matter that Philip Yordan’s script is a loose miscellany of random actions. And so, as a consequence, is the film.
For Monday, we have two mysterious gents.
Update: This is Gary Cooper, left, and Ward Bond.
For Tuesday, we have a mystery fellow.
Update: This is Juan Garcia.
To all who guessed Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Alas, Fred C. Dobbs does not appear in our mystery movie.
For Wednesday, we have a mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Ian MacDonald.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (mystery movie, Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious woman.
Update: This is Ruth Roman.
We also have this enigmatic fellow.
Update: This is Ward Bond.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (Wednesday’s mysterious fellow) and B.J. Merholz (Wednesday’s mystery man).
For Friday, we have a mysterious couple.
Update: This is Anthony Quinn and Barbara Stanwyck.
We also have this mysterious couple.
Update: This is Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (Thursday’s mystery guests), Mary Mallory (mystery movie and all mysterious guests), Greg (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guests), Sylvia E. (mystery movie, all mysterious guests, plus Friday’s mystery leads), Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie, Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests), Mike Hawks (mystery movie and Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests), B.J. Merholz (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guests), L.C. (mystery movie and mysterious cast) and Megan and Thom (mystery movie, Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mysterious guests).
ladailymirror.com 
I am getting a strong TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRES vibe.
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I think this is Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”
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That looks like Bogie’s hat in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but not his toupe.
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THE FUGITIVE (1947).
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An excellent guess! But alas, I’m afraid not.
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Gary Cooper and Ward Bond tidy up in “Blowing Wild.” Juan Garcia on Tuesday.
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On Tuesday, Ian MacDonald
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Ian Macdonald.
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Patric Knowles, ‘The Big Steal’?
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An excellent guess, but alas, I’m afraid not.
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WE WERE STRANGERS. Albert Morin today.
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An excellent guess, but alas, I’m afraid not.
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On Thursday, Ruth Roman and Ward Bond (again)
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BLOWING WILD. Gary Cooper and Anthony Quinn Monday, Juan Garcia Tuesday, Ian MacDonald Wednesday, and Ruth Roman and Ward Bond today.
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Ruth Roman and Ward Bond in Blowing Wild.
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“Blowing Wild” 1953
Mon – Gary Cooper in the FG, Ward Bond next to him.
Tues – I’m guessing that this is Juan Garcia as El Gavilan
Wed – Ian MacDonald. Didn’t recognize him at all – the scary guy (Frank Miller) from High Noon. Terrified me when I watched that movie as a kid. Brrrr…
Thu – Ruth Roman and Ward Bond
Fri – Barbara Stanwyck, Anthony Quinn and Gary Cooper
The various reviews of this film compared it to “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. It reminded me more of last week’s mystery movie, ” The Torrid Zone”, only with oil rigs rather than bananas. It has a lot of the same elements; wife and best friend were once a “thing”, friend wants best friend to help (with oil rigs instead of bananas), new girl wants funds to get outta Dodge, best friend likes new girl rather than pushy dame. But – not a lot of laughs in this darker tale. If there’s a grin or two, they come mainly from El Galivan and Bond’s character.
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Tuesday: Juan Garcia
Wednesday: Ian McDonald
Thursday: Ruth Roman; Ward Bond
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Ian MacDonald, Ruth Roman and Ward Bond in BLOWING WILD.
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Ruth Roman and Ward Bond Blowing Wild.
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Blowing Wild (1953) w/Ruth Roman, Ward Bond, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Anthony Quinn, Juan Garcia, Tito Junco, Ian MacDonald…
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The movie is Blowing Wild. Our guests are Ward Bond, Ruth Roman, Ian MacDonald, and Juan Garcia. The poster on IMDB makes Gary Cooper look like he has a pencil mustache.
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Anthony Quinn and Barbara Stanwyck, Stanwyck and Cooper.
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Anthony Quinn, Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.
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BLOWING WILD 1953. Seldom shown despite its fine cast. Plot reminds me of TYCOON 1947 with John Wayne
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