Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Fresh and Exciting

An Exercise In Nonsense

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Moderately enjoyable, this woodsy adventure features tough, no nonsense performances by Sterling Hayden and David Brian, a sentimental one by vet Adolph Menjou and a Hruba-licious performance by Vera Ralston, the Norma Shearer of Republic studios, aka married to the boss. She's simple window dressing in this familiar story of the rivalry between two men in the logging industry, one good (Hayden) and one bad (Brian). He will stop at nothing to keep Hayden out of his way, including sabotage and murder. Menjou, as Ralston's father, tries to keep the peace and right a wrong, and pays dearly. The war is on, and there will be no tree standing if Brian has his way.After a pretty theme song over the credits, Ralston gets to sing (dubbed!) two campy songs and Hoagy Carmichael, the town's only piano AND accordion player, gets a novelty number as well. Ralston gets better photography this time than she has in some of the other films I've seen her in, and she's not bad, but fortunately, the focus is on the men. Hayden and Brian are both very good, and Carmichael and Chill Wills provide some minor laughs. Menjou is given some really melodramatic dialog but instills it with his customary class. Good color scenes of how the industry works helps this out. But the logging industry has been dealt with on screen in better ways, so this just remains formula.

****SPOILERS*** Hard knuckles action adventure movie taking place in the timber country of Montana that has the just graduated from collage with an engineering degree Tim "Timber" Chipman played by the sterling Sterling Hyden who come to take over his father's timber business; only to later find out that his old man is hospitalized with a cracked skull and not expected to live. On top of all that Tim also finds out that the big man or timber baron in town the ruthless and take no prisoners in the timber business Croft Brunner, David Brian, is planning to steal his father timber company right from under him. It's Brunner who through a shyster friend of his found out that the ban on cutting down trees in the area is being lifted through a technicality in the law that no one, but him and his lawyer, knows about! With Brunner in control of Tim's timber company he can makes millions in the logging of timber while having a desperate Tim, who's already tens of thousands in debt, selling it all to him for only pennies on the dollar!With his old man passing away from his injuries Tim decides to run it all by himself with the help of his logger crew headed by the simple-minded but strong as an ox Axe-Handle Ole, Howard Petrie. It's Ole who's since been on the outs with his former slave driving boss Brunner since he took over the business from the late Mr. Chipman. It's when Tim started courting the beautiful saloon singer at the "Vermillion Belle" Lynne Tilton, Vera Ralston, that the extremely jealous Brunner has a crush on that sparks start to fly in both "Big Sky" as well as "Timber Country". In fact it was Lynne's dad Brunner's drunk shyster lawyer Swiftie "The Hat" Tilton, Adolphe Menjou, who's doing everything under the table to stall his client Brunner from taking over Tim's lumber business because, beside being employed by him, he hates his guts!****SPOILERS**** It's when Brunner in a fit of rage, in finding out what he's been doing behind his back, smashes Swiftie's brains in and tried to pin his death on Tim that the truth comes out from Axe Handle Ole, whom Brunner also worked over, that not only did he kill Swiftie but Tim's dad as well! Brunner meanwhile sent for a number of out of area goons to dynamite the train that Tim is using to transfer his lumber only to have them later chicken out when the truth comes out that the man who hired them, Croft Brunner, is a suspected double murderer! The final showdown has Tim with Lynne's help finally put an end to Brunner and his dreams of monopolizing the timber business in the state of Montana by putting an end to him. The movie's stirring theme song "Timberjack" was preformed by the country & western singing group called "The Lancers".

Lesser Hoagy Carmichael is better than the top drawer effort of a lot of composers. And Hoagy and the songs he does with and without Vera Hruba Ralston is the best thing about Timberjack. Which as you probably gathered is a story about logging.Sterling Hayden comes home after the murder of his father and finds that dad's rival David Brian is ruling the roost there and eliminating competition. Originally Hayden was going to sell, but he and his father's foreman Chill Wills decide to stay and fight.Timber isn't all that Hayden and Brian are scrapping about, they've also got saloon entertainer Vera on their minds and on their libidos. Vera is as wooden as ever, but she's something to look at in a low cut dress.But the real treat is Hoagy Carmichael, playing the piano and accompanying Ralston and himself. Several songs were written for this film and Carmichael is always a treat. There is also an adroit performance by Adolphe Menjou as Ralston's father, an attorney with a drinking problem. He's never bad in anything he does even if the film isn't top drawer.Timberjack also features some good location cinematography, especially in the forest scenes and the logging scenes. Fans of Sterling Hayden and Hoagy Carmichael should like this, most especially the latter.

Well,she certainly worked hard and that's a fact.Through most of the movie she appears to be looking desperately at the other actors as if for their approval,like a puppy having mastered a new trick.She gyrates around the saloon,sings in a sub - sub Dietrich fashion a song or two that brings new meaning to the word "banal" before killing the bad guy with a backshot a sniper would have been proud of. In a logging camp full of exotic Europeans with names like Ole and a positive cornucopia of lousy accents Sterling Hayden searches for the truth about his father's death.Nearly as wooden as the logs he wants to send downriver,Mr Hayden is tall and fair and freckled.Unlike Miss Ralston he doesn't seem to care whether anybody likes him or not. Adolph Menjou is rather sweet as Miss Ralston's father who is killed by the bad guy with a single punch to the chin.Perhaps not surprisingly his hat comes off and is later found by Miss Ralston in the bad guy's office.Thus exciting her suspicions.Steady now.... There's plenty of treetop action - enough to set the Health and Safety boys running for the phone - and a lot of manly fistfights. Hoagy Carmichael does his usual piano - playing saloon bar philosopher part and sings a love song to a dog.Go figure. Not so much a negative experience,more a "Oh,is that it?" kind of movie. Just when you think it can't go on for much longer - it doesn't.For connoisseurs of the slightly camp only.