LUCKY LUKE (1991)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*

The only consistent marvelous element of this live-action adaptation of the venerable Belgian comics-feature is that the hero's horse talks (with no lip-movements) to him, and Lucky Luke talks back. I think maybe one or two other characters hear the horse talk, as well. There are one or two examples of "fallacious figments" that have little to no impact on the story, like Luke being able to outdraw his own shadow. There are a couple of scenes that hint that the hero has some unusual property of good luck, but these are rather nugatory as well.

As I said above, LUCKY LUKE the franchise, first published in Belgium, proved extremely popular with European audiences with its antic take on the exploits of a laid-back gunfighter in the American West. The original hero, however, was IMO something of a goofy take on the visual persona of Gary Cooper, This resulted in the image below:

Now, by the time actor Terence Hill essayed his version of Luke, he had become internationally famous for his character of Trinity, a western rogue featured in assorted knockabout comedies. Hill almost certainly used his star-power to secure the job of directing the 1991 LUKE, given that he had only directed one earlier movie in 1984. He's probably the one who decided to eschew the usual look of the comics-character for a dominantly white outfit. Did the color symbolize the hero's purity of heart? The world may never know.

LUKE adapts "Daisy Town," one of the albums produced by the character's creator. I have not read that story, but I' m reasonably well acquainted with the parameters of the series, including the fact that the aforesaid town is the gunfighter's main base of operations.The first time Movie-Luke visits Daisy Town, it's clear he's been there before from the familiar way he greets the lovely saloon-singer Lotta Legs (Nancy Morgan). However, when rowdies make trouble for Lotta, Luke easily defeats them with his mad gunfighting skills. She then talks Luke into becoming the town's sheriff.

The script then puts forth an idea that had strong sociological possibilities, for Luke does his job so well that Daisy Town gets very dull. Lotta, laid off from her saloon job because no one's patronizing the establishment, asks Luke if he might let up on enforcing the law quite so efficiently. Pure-of-heart Luke rejects that possibility, though he doesn't seem offended, or even moved in any respect, given that Hill's Luke never shows any expression but absolute coolness.

To interrupt this tedium, Luke's most persistent foes, the Dalton Brothers (no relation to the historical figures), arrive in Daisy Town, having been released due to jail overcrowding. Knowing from their past defeats that Luke can master them all, the outlaws scheme to inflame the neighboring Ute Indians against the town. This includes selling the braves on a vision of the banality of the 20th-century world, with traffic jams and a nuclear explosion. However, after all of this setup, the war between cowboys and Indians dwindles down to a big nothing. The movie terminates in a duel wherein Luke easily bests the nasty Brothers and puts them back in the calaboose, at which point he rides off into the sunset-- perhaps ensuring that Daisy Town will return to a state of relative lawlessness.

Though LUKE was initiated by an Italian production company, the movie was shot in the States and most of the major players, aside from Hill, are Americans, like Morgan, Ron Carey and singer Roger Miller (voicing the talking horse). Possibly one of the other adaptations of the franchise might capture the original's appeal better, for this incarnation, ostensibly a pilot for a LUKE TV show starring Hill, is so laid-back that it made me want to lay down and go to sleep.