Jory (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Jorge FonsRelease Date(s)
1973 (June 16, 2026)Studio(s)
David Kirschner Productions/Cinematografica Marco Polo S.A. (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: C
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: B
Review
Good intentions can’t save Jory (1972), a very minor coming-of-age Western not in the same league as that same year’s The Cowboys or even Macintosh and T.J. (1975), a much better and more interesting film made on a similarly tight budget.
Arriving in the Western town of Santa Rosa, unemployed attorney Ethan Walden (Luis Buñuel actor Claudio Brook) and his 15-year-old son Jory (Robby Benson) look for work at the home of Frank Jordan (Benny Baker), Jory becoming, if fleetingly, a stable boy. However, that first night at the local saloon, Hap Evans (Ted Markland) becomes jealous of prostitute Dora’s (Anne Lockhart) shifting attentions toward Ethan, and senselessly murders him. (At the saloon, tending bar, is an uncredited Howard Hesseman.) Later that same night, Jory confronts the dead-drunk Evans, hitting him over the head with a rock, killing him.
Fleeing town, Jory joins horse driver Roy Starr (John Marley) and his right-hand man, Jocko (B.J. Thomas, of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head fame), whom Jory idolizes for the way he handles his six-shooters, like a performer at a Wild West show. Jocko teaches Jory how to shoot, (major spoilers) but in town, showing off, Jocko is easily gunned down by no-nonsense Jack (guest star Brad Dexter, of The Magnificent Seven). Once again, teary-eyed and overcome with emotion, Jory takes the law into his own hands and guns down Jocko’s killer.
At the end of the trail, Roy tries to instill some sense into the unformed, impressionable teen, encouraging his attraction to Amy (Linda Purl), the teenage daughter of rancher John Barron (Todd Martin), though a range war with rival rancher Thatcher (John Kelly, dubbed by Les Tremayne) threatens the peace once again.
Made by the producers of the box office hit Love Story (1970), a fact emphasized on the posters, Jory plays like those involved had never even seen a Western before, let alone made any. I’m no gun expert, but Jocko and Jory handle their guns as if they were toy cap pistols, carelessly pointing them at others and themselves even during casual conversations. Whatever happened to “Never point a gun at someone unless you intend to use it?” Jory, who never so much as touched a gun before in his life, is revealed as an instant fast-draw and crack-shot the first time he fires one. Sometimes, Jory doesn’t even have to aim, just fire in the general direction and he always hits his target dead-on. In this regard, Jory has the credibility of Bobby’s Hero, the infamous Billy the Kid episode of The Brady Bunch.
Robby Benson, who gets an “and introducing” credit though he had an uncredited bit in Wait Until Dark (1967), surely runs the gamut of emotions required by the script, but the character is poorly conceived. The movie doesn’t appear to have been conceived for a primarily teenage audience, given the violence in every reel. (It was rated “PG.”) Virtually every man within spitting distance of Jory winds up dead. Benson and the film do better in scenes where Jory interacts with sympathetic saloon girl Dora (19-year-old Lockhart, in full flower of womanhood) and Amy (17-year-old Purl, still very much a teenager). Benson had appeared in a Tokyo production of the musical Oliver! with Purl, and through his mother, convinced the producers to import her services from Japan, where Purl was living at the time.
Though everything revolves around Benson’s character, pock-faced, gray-haired John Marley is top-billed, undoubtedly his only starring movie. Like Benson he’s fine, doing what he can, adding some credibility to a mostly unbelievable story, but like Jory he’s stuck playing an underdeveloped character. Singer-songwriter B.J. Thomas, who in Jory has a head of hair voluminous enough for three heads, isn’t terrible but clearly is no actor; his only other credit in this capacity is the even more obscure Jake’s Corner (2008).
A U.S./Mexican production shot mostly in Durango by Mexican director Jorge Fons, like other cheap Mexican productions, Jory’s studio interiors are all grossly over-lit, adding to the unreality. Everything is evenly, very brightly lit, generating zero atmosphere and hardly acceptable in an era before electric lights. Even TV shows like Gunsmoke were better lit and more atmospheric. Indeed, the entire production resembles an extended episode of Little House on the Prairie or a run-of-the-mill TV-movie.
Despite all these shortcomings, Kino’s Blu-ray, licensed from StudioCanal, is a winner. The 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is nearly perfect, with excellent resolution and color, while also completely free of any signs of damage or wear. The DTS-HD Master Audio (2.0 mono) is also excellent, and supported by optional English subtitles. The disc itself is Region “A” encoded.
The only extra feature is a good one: Are We Going to Survive This? is an extended interview with star Robby Benson, who warmly discusses the production, and has many amusing and informative anecdotes to share.
Unengaging and, at times, unbelievable, Jory might appeal to Western genre completists and Robby Benson fans, but others beware.
- Stuart Galbraith IV