Rancho Notorious (1952)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Silvia Richards (story)
Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 March 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Where anything goes...for a price!

Plot:

A western based on the story "Gunsight Whitman" by Silvia Richards. Vern Haskell, a nice rancher, seeks...

Plot Keywords:

Bank Robbery | Chuck A Luck | Corruption | Election | Gambling

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Altar Keane
Arthur Kennedy	...	Vern Haskell
Mel Ferrer	...	Frenchy Fairmont
Gloria Henry	...	Beth Forbes
William Frawley	...	Baldy Gunder
Lisa Ferraday	...	Maxine
John Raven	...	Chuck-a-Luck dealer
Jack Elam	...	Mort Geary
George Reeves	...	Wilson
Frank Ferguson	...	Preacher
Francis McDonald	...	Harbin
Dan Seymour	...	Comanche Paul
John Kellogg	...	Jeff Factor
Rodd Redwing	...	Rio (as Rodric Redwing)

Also Known As:

Chuck-a-Luck (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #15331) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986)

Company:

Fidelity Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Director Fritz Lang had originally planned to call this film "Chuck-a-Luck". However, the studio insisted that its name be changed to "Rancho Notorious" and when Lang asked why, he was told that it was because Americans wouldn't understand what "Chuck-a-Luck" (a gambling game commonly played in saloons in the Southwest) meant. Lang replied, "Well, it's a good thing that they all know what 'Rancho Notorious'[which has nothing to do with anything in the film] means!"

Quotes:

Altar Keane: Go away and come back ten years ago.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Marlene (1984)

Soundtrack:

Gypsy Davey

Great pulp Western by the great Fritz Lang

Rancho Notorious is a gorgeous film, with beautiful Technicolor cinematography. It almost reaches the poetry of a John Ford film, or a great film noir, but falls just a little short. Arthur Kennedy plays Vern, a rancher whose fiancee is brutally raped and murdered. He goes out for revenge, following the clues. He ends up at Rancho Notorious, a hideout for outlaws run by Alder Keane, played wonderfully by Marlene Dietrich in one of her most memorable roles. She's fully in her philosophical mode here, like she was in Touch of Evil a few years later. She's so sad, so beautiful. She also has a great musical number. Mel Ferrer is also quite good as Frenchie Fairmont, a lethal cowboy who loves Alder. There are also a lot of great supporting actors playing colorful villains, especially George Reeves (T.V.'s Superman).

The story is quite great. There are a couple of problems with characterizations, especially Vern. He's mostly great. He's mostly a noir hero, flawed in his own right but always believing that he's on an entirely moral quest. The film goes wrong when he becomes the romantic hero. He's too creepy. Dietrich simply dominates him. Mel Ferrer fairs much better in that way. The climactic sequence also disappoints. The other major flaw is that damn theme song. Rancho Notorious is pulp, it's very over-the-top, but that goofy song would make anybody laugh. Also, the name Chuck-a-Luck inspired a lot of laughs in the audience (I was lucky enough to see it at a theater).

Overall, though, Rancho Notorious is a great film, quite haunting in its own right. It's one of Lang's best, by my reckoning, up there with Fury and M. 9/10.