Gunsight Ridge (1957) User Reviews

Great cast in a good flick ..........

[revdrcac · 7/10 · 18 June 2006]

In this western starring Joel McRea, the star goes undercover along the Arizona border to investigate several nasty border ruffians. Mark Stevens co-stars and as always turns in a fine performance. The script is good and holds the viewers interest throughout.

Joel McRea was at his best in this western detective yarn..... a story not unlike those from his radio series Tales of the Texas Rangers . A great cast of western character actors make the most of an interesting story.

Any western with this cast would be exciting and this film does not disappoint. Enjoy this one, they don't make 'em like this anymore ...

A better than average Western from the "B" western era

[DaveSFV · 7/10 · 25 June 2008]

Better than average western. Lots of studio lot actors that you always recognize but rarely know their names. Nice scenes with Slim Pickens (stage coach driver) and Dan Blocker (bartender). I did not recognize L Q Jones though, he was one of the four ruffian ranch hands. Story line wanders a bit but not objectionably so, and actually helps to keep your interest as it is not a plain, bad guy gets caught by good guy, that Republic Pictures turned out during that era. There was one element that is a constant in westerns of that era and that is the single daughter living with her single dad, the sheriff and his daughter. I also enjoyed the filming locations. One was very obvious as being Old Tucson and the others I suspect were in the Northern San Fernando Valley or maybe close by Santa Clarity Valley or Simi Valley. Worth watching if you enjoy old black and white westerns, better than average actors, and a more complicated story line.

Late B&W B Western

[whitec-3 · 7/10 · 28 April 2012]

Other posters are right to mention this film's formal qualities—strong acting, excellent b/w cinematography, and poignant touches like the villain's piano interludes and Carolyn Craig as the farm girl—along with the film's historical status as a late specimen of the B western film when television was chock-a-block with shoot-em-ups.

This transitional historical moment gives Heartbreak Ridge a hybrid quality, as it combines the movie western's intensity and depth of character with the TV western's bare staging. The script itself could hardly offer less to work with, with the back-stories for the hero and villain being provided only by Joel McCrea's Irish affectations and Mark Stevens's 2 or 3 lines about having the talent to play the piano but not the money or leisure. "Gunsight Ridge" is a good title, but if like me you wait in westerns for at least some allusion to explain a title, for this one you have to wait until someone casually mentions a border obstruction that will provide the setting for the final showdown.

The western in any medium is always fairly minimalist—the more I've watched, the more words seem only pauses in action, landscape, and music. Given such plain fare, skill matters more than brilliance: for instance, Joel McCrea could ride a horse, and the cinematographer knew how to capture his skill. Cameo bonus: the groom in the quirky border town marriage is the late Jody McCrea, who would play the comic Bonehead in early 60s surfing-beach movies with Annette and Frankie.

Only One Would Leave Gunsight Ridge Alive!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 20 July 2013]

Gunsight Ridge is directed by Francis Lyon and written by Talbot and Elisabeth Jennings. It stars Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens, Joan Weldon, Addison Richards, Darlene Fields and Carolyn Craig. Music is by David Raksin (title tune sung by Dean Jones) and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.

McCrea plays Mike Ryan, an undercover Stage Line agent who while investigating a series of robberies takes the job of a deputy Sheriff in a border Arizona town.

Gunsight Ridge is a neat little Western, better than most of its black and white type because it rises above its formulaic story to reveal interesting characters and good strands of plotting. In the mix is the detective work as Ryan hunts stagecoach robber Velvet Clark (Stevens) whilst also enforcing law in the town. There's a gang of ruffians on the outskirts of town known as The Lazy Heart Boys, who offer a side-bar of criminal activity, while Ryan and the Sheriff's daughter (Weldon) start to build an attraction. There's cold blooded murder on show, a rampaging stagecoach sequence through the rocky terrain and a finale up in them thar rocks that satisfies greatly. It is also a film that looks and sounds terrific. Raksin's score is full of thunder and sorrow, while Laszlo's moody photography is atmospherically noirish.

It's the characterisation of Velvet Clark that is the trump card though. He is shown to be a ruthless killer and thief, yet he also has a sympathetic edge. He is given some depth by the writers, shown to be a frustrated pianist, he's tortured by his artistic leanings and how he has ended up on the wrong side of the law. With McCrea doing another in his line of straight backed and stoic man of the people turns, the dual aspect of good and bad characters works beautifully. There's other little character moments of worth as well, such as Carolyn Craig playing a young farm girl romanticising herself with the outlaw Clark, and old Sheriff Jones (Richards) obsessed with catching the robber because he doesn't want his perfect record blemished.

Comfortably recommended to fans of 1950s "B" Westerns. 7/10

Aa worthwhile film with a reasonable story and quality cast and score.

[stripes-7 · 7/10 · 14 January 2007]

Francis Lyon always chose to have one (usually short and out of context) spot in his films that displayed some sort of tenderness, some sort of heart, in a figure that seemed to have neither. In this film, the guy in the black hat (Mark Stevens) happens up on an old abandoned shed in the middle of the desert. He goes in to find that there is nothing of use, but spies an old upright piano. It's long been neglected and is covered in dust. He blows the dust off and sits down to this abused keyboard. Suddenly, he is playing a very beautiful little piece that belies his present roughness and coldness and lets the audience know that it was not always this way with him.That he came from somewhere better, in another place, another time. David Raksin wrote this music. Its very quiet, simple and goes straight to the heart. It's been exactly fifty years since I have heard it last, but I remember every note as if it had been only yesterday.

Perhaps one day it will appear again, but for now, I must depend on my memory if ever to hear those quaint chords again.

Just Call Me "Velvet"

[dougdoepke · 3 April 2008]

Pretty fair Western. The script meanders some, but with characters coming in and out of the story line, it's not a conventional screenplay. McCrea plays a stagecoach agent on the trail of hold-up man Mark Stevens. They're not exactly routine good-guy bad-guy. As a deputy sheriff, McCrea enjoys collecting county taxes and getting a 10% cut-- and how many tax collectors have you seen in a Western? Also, bad guy Stevens plays the moody piano, not well, but enough to suggest a sensitive soul lurking somewhere inside-- and how many Western villains have you heard named "Velvet"!. Then there's teen-age Carolyn Craig alone on the prairie, doing a good frontier imitation of Debbie Reynolds, and ready to hook up with anything in pants. I like the four rowdy cowhands who take about 10 minutes to totally trash a cabin. The scene may be unnecessary, but it sure looks like someone's having a lot of fun. Also worth noting is the final shootout, which takes good advantage of the scenery and reminds me of the final shootout in the classic Winchester 76. All in all, there are some offbeat touches for a cowboy movie of the 1950's. And besides, any film with that great Western star Joel McCrea is worth watching.

A decent viewing.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 12 April 2014]

"Gunsight Ridge" is an adequate, likable B Western that finds its star, Joel McCrea, in fine form. For the most part, it's routine, but it does have some nice touches, especially in the way that it treats its villain, Velvet Clark (Mark Stevens). Clark is definitely the bad guy, but we are treated to scenes in which he reveals what his preferred line of work would have been, had the reality of his situation not interfered. There's a rich array of character actors, and some very beautiful ladies. Both the music (by David Raksin) and cinematography (by Ernest Laszlo) are well done. Francis D. Lyon directs quite capably, and does particularly well at staging a suspenseful "last stand" finale that plays out without any score.

McCrea stars as Mike Ryan, a stranger who comes to a small town for a purpose known only to him. He impresses the local sheriff (Addison Richards) enough to get himself deputized, and he handles things such as collecting taxes from locals, while also helping out to determine the identity of the bandit who's been robbing stages. Forming a subplot are the run-ins that Mike has with the ill-behaved boys who work at the nearby Lazy Heart ranch.

McCrea is quite engaging, playing a lead character who's every bit the good, honest, dependable hero. His supporting cast reads like a who's who of veteran talent. In addition to Richards, there's Robert Griffin, I. Stanford Jolley, George Chandler, Slim Pickens (who's quite amusing in his brief part), Herb Vigran, L.Q. Jones, Morgan Woodward, Dan Blocker, and Hank Patterson. Jones and Woodward are fun as two of the antagonistic Lazy Heart ruffians. McCrea's son Jody has a small part as a young man getting married. Joan Weldon, Darlene Fields, and Carolyn Craig are all quite pleasing to look at in the female roles. Best of all is Stevens, who's appropriately intense and not entirely unsympathetic.

"Gunsight Ridge" is not particularly memorable, but it is sufficiently entertaining for an agreeably paced 86 minutes.

Seven out of 10.

Rough Stretch of country

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 December 2012]

Joel McCrea stars in Gunsight Ridge as an undercover agent for Wells Fargo which has been getting regularly robbed on a certain stagecoach run through the territory of Addison Richard who is the sheriff. He's not getting the job done so McCrea's brought in.

The title refers to a particularly rough stretch of country where McCrea has his final showdown with the bad guy or at least the chief bad guy.

There are two sets of them, one is a group of four cowhands from George Chandler's ranch who do a little cattle rustling on the side, two of them western standbys L.Q. Jones and Morgan Woodward. The other is a man of mystery who plays an exquisite piano and goes by the unlikely western name of Velvet. This is a guy who clearly has some issues which in a better script would have been more explicitly dealt with. Mark Stevens may have had his career role in playing this man.

Addison Richard gives a nice performance as an aging sheriff who won't quit until the stagecoach bandit is taken dead or alive. McCrea does what he can to help and the sight of Richard's pretty daughter Joan Weldon gives him all that more interest.

Viewers might also note the presence of farm girl Carolyn Craig who helps both Stevens and then McCrea. She's one lonely girl with a budding libido and an itch to get off the farm. In a bit role as a bartender is Dan Blocker who with his frame and voice you can't miss.

Not one of Joel McCrea's best westerns, but his fans should like it.

Movie Review

[tomwal · 7/10 · 10 May 2017]

Gunsight Ridge is a "B" western with an "A " cast. Excellent story line ,understated score and fine photography all combine to tell the story of an agent played by McCrea who is sent to solve a series of robberies.Mark Stevens pretends to be a washed out mine owner while really robbing banks and stages. McCrea hires on as a deputy sheriff while investigating the crimes. When the sheriff Addison Richards is killed,McCrea vows revenge.Unusually somber atmospheric tone makes Gunsight Ridge a classic western. Rating ....Seven stars out of ten.

Dark Violent Western!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 30 June 2017]

"Gunsight Ridge" is another of those entertaining little 80 minute westerns that star Joel McCrea made in the latter part of his career. This one is a low budget black and white oater that is nonetheless made more entertaining by the off beat casting of Mark Stevens as the psychopathic killer Velvet Clark.

Mike Ryan (McCrea), an express undercover agent is travelling on a stagecoach along with Molly Jones (Joan Weldon), the daughter of the town sheriff and townsman Billy Daggett (I. Stanford Jolley) when they are stopped by a pair of bandits. After the stage is underway, bandit Velvet Clark (Stevens) gives his partner "both barrels" because he had been recognized. This was the first killing in a series of robberies.

In town, Ryan teams up with sheriff Tom Clark (Addison Richards) to track down the murderer while at the same time, pursuing the lovely Molly. Velvet and Ryan are both staying at Mrs. Donahue's boarding house. Ryan walks in on Velvet while he is quietly and discreetly playing the piano. He reacts violently to having been seen doing so.

Sheriff Jones has an obsession with catching the murderer so as to not leave a blot on his record. After leaving a poker game one evening, Velvet quietly robs the local bank. He packs the loot in a box of dynamite and rides to his modest little mine. The sheriff, having become suspicious, trails Velvet and accidentally blows up the dynamite box containing the bank loot. Velvet then shoot down the lawman and flees.

Along the way Velvet witness the Lazy Heart Ranch Hands (L.Q. Jones, Morgan Woodward, Jim Foxx, Steve Mitchell) hold up a train. He then decides to take the loot for himself. Meanwhile, Ryan following the sheriff, discovers his body and sets out after Velvet.

At a remote General Store, the local Justice of the Peace (Herb Vigran) and wedding guests trap the Lazy Heart bunch and hold them. Velvet rides in and tries to take the loot by posing as a detective. But then Ryan appears on the horizon and.................................

Mark Stevens plays the vicious Velvet against type. Without remorse he shot guns one person and guns down two others. That extra shot he puts into the sheriff shows his coldness. Joel McCrea plays..well Joel McCrea with his usual authority and dignity, a part he had come to master over the last 15 years of his lengthy career.

Addison Richards, long a recognizable character actor gets a larger than usual part as the sheriff and carries it off well. Joan Weldon was a leading actress in many 50s westerns but never went on to bigger and better things. Darlene Field plays Stevens' saloon girl friend who catches him in the act. Carolyn Craig has a nice bit as the naïve farm girl who encounter both Velvet and Ryan during Ryan's pursuit. Slim Pickens steals the opening sequence as the boozy stagecoach driver Hank. I believe he was one of a few actors who could actually drive a team of horses. Jody McCrea, Joel's son, plays the groom in the wedding sequence. And from the "blink and you'll miss him" dept., watch for Dan Blocker, of TVs "Bonanza" as the bartender.

Beautiful Images and Fun Script

[TedMichaelMor · 9/10 · 5 October 2010]

The reviewer who praises the cinematography for this film makes a great point. This film is beautifully photographed.

Ernest Lazlo's discriminating deep focus black and white cinematography is the glory of this film but much else deserves praise. For one thing, the narrative breaks cinematic icons in a way the foretells "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". These iconoclastic moments run throughout the film. One of the most central is the sympathetic view of the central outlaw Velvet Clark, who, though not quite the protagonist, almost serves as one. Joel McCrae plays against him with a quite almost bond that nearly gives the film a sense of depth.

A lovely iconoclastic sequence comes near the end of the film with the late Carolyn Craig playing a farm girl caught in the "romance" of the outlaw. She died much too young.

Robert Golden and Ellsworth Hoagland's editing is discerning. The music does not quite overwhelm viewers and I like that.

Director Francis Lyon's work is understated. He was a film editor and one has a sense he had the story well in control as he directed this film. He did some terrific television work and a Disney film set in North Georgia that I especially admire.

I think what one has here is a film full of promise with an almost witty script by Talbot and Elisabeth Jennings. I say almost because it never quite becomes entirely iconoclastic but it comes close. I very much enjoyed watching this movie.

Good Movie

[damianphelps · 6/10 · 19 August 2020]

This one is pretty simple, if you like McCrea you will like the movie. He plays the same character he plays in pretty much all his westerns and he does it well. Its a calm measured presentation with an undercurrent of the potential for action when needed. The story is good (not unique, but good), some fun scenes and some good action. Give it a go!

Unspectacular but not uninteresting.

[rmax304823 · 12 August 2011]

Joel McCrea is his usual stalwart self in this late 50s black-and-white Western. He finds a job as deputy in one of those dusty little Western towns with an old sheriff, whose daughter in pretty Joan Weldon, and a mean bandit on the loose, robbing people blind. Oh, we also have that gang of rowdy cowboys out on the ranch who take a break from rustlin' once in a while to come into town and bust things up a little.

So far it all sounds routine, and for the most part it is. There's McCrea as the good guy, Weldon as the girl he winds up with, and Mark Stevens as the miscreant.

But it's not as formulaic as it sounds. As deputy marshall, McCrea's duties include collecting taxes. He balks at first but then complies eagerly when he finds he gets ten percent of everything he collects. The "good guys" in cheap Westerns are usually above such earthly concerns.

Then there's the sneaky bandit, Mark Stevens, he of the spirit-level black eyebrows. Apart from being a kind of interesting man himself, he plays a robber with motives unusually murky. He has a real talent for the piano, which he demonstrates once or twice. But, growing up in a poor family, there was no money for lessons and no connections to get him a scholarship to the Curtis Institute. This has left him bitter and, at times, ugly. But the script gives him something resembling a girl friend too, whom he seems to genuinely like.

None of the acting is bravura. McCrea is stolid and sensible, as always. Mark Steven is intense. Joan Weldon -- well, her acting can't really be criticized because it's so rudimentary. She wears one of those pointed 1950s brassieres that is more suggestive than no bra at all. She looked better in "Them", only three years earlier. But she was never an actress anyway. She was a singer in the chorus of the San Francisco Opera, and for THAT she will have my undying respect. I can act as well as she could -- so could you -- but, by God, I can't sing to save my soul. Well, not without a little chemical help anyway, and even then, not opera.

This was about the tail end of the enduring cheap Western B features. At one point, about when this was released, there were some twenty-one Western series running simultaneously on the three or four television broadcast networks, the unimaginative being driven out by the even less imaginative.

WESTERN THAT'S GOT QUIRK...ABOVE AVERAGE WITH ELEVATED CHARACTERS AND VIOLENCE

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 8 September 2021]

Surprisingly Rich Characters and Oddities Elevate this Hard-Edged Western with Joel McCrea as the Steady, Unwavering Fulcrum to Violent Outbursts and Interesting Interludes.

Marc Stevens is Against Type as the Villain "Velvet" who is a Closet Concert Pianist Wannabe.

His Frustrations are Ever-Present as He Robs and Kills Anything and Anyone in His Path.

Strange Things Happen.

Like a Meeting with a Pig-Tailed Teenager that can't Resist a Male "Stranger". Velvet Playing the Piano because He Can't Help Himself. Shot-Gun Violence with Both-Barrels

A Horse is Shot Down and another Horse is Blown to Pieces with Dynamite.

An Interrupted Wedding. A Rowdy Bunch that Demolishes the Bosses Home while Chugging Bottles of Whiskey because They didn't Get Paid.

Collecting Taxes. A Train Robbery, a Stage-Coach Robbery, a Bank-Robbery and that's Not All.

Overall the Oddities are Packed-In the 80 Min Script and the Personalities of the Characters are all a Bit Different for a Western of the Period.

Despite starring Joel McCrea, it's pretty standard fare...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 21 June 2017]

The film begins with Mike Ryan (Joel McCrea) heading to a town by stage. They end up being robbed and when one of the robbers loses his mask, his partner blows him away...as he's a man who wants no one to know his identity. That's because in town he's a respectable guy...which is why the sheriff is having a hard time figuring out who's been robbing the stage coaches. Now that Mike's in town to help, perhaps they'll finally have some action.

I had to laugh when folks in the movie kept complaining how old the sheriff was and how they needed a young guy...like 52 year-old McCrea (who actually looks a bit older). Still, he was fine in westerns and this one won't disappoint...nor will it particularly impress because so much of the story seems ordinary and familiar.

"It's hard to know right from wrong, but when you're sure, you do what you have to."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 11 June 2022]

This is pretty much a by-the-numbers Western with stagecoach agent Mike Ryan (Joel McCrea) keeping his identity under wraps until he gains confidence in Sheriff Tom Jomes (Addison Richards) being on the up and up. Jones has a daughter (Joan Weldon) that immediately catches Ryan's eye, but that romance doesn't play out until the very end of the story. Ryan's investigation has him catching up with frustrated piano player and stagecoach robber Velvet Clark (Mark Stevens), after a stable encounter in which the hooded bad guy tries to take Mike out in a spirited tussle. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd object to a nickname like Velvet if I was a gambler in the Old West; it just doesn't set the right tone to my mind. With minor distractions by a bunch of rowdies called the Lazy Heart Gang, Ryan closes in on Velvet's attempt to escape during an extended chase through mountain country, but the final showdown seems rather anti-climactic, as Ryan gets the drop on Clark and takes him out with no fanfare. The closing scene has Ryan in a clinch with Molly Jones after she's had the entire afternoon to think it over.

Gunsight Ridge

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 5 May 2024]

The latest of a series of stagecoach holdups in the Arizona Territory takes place on a stagecoach in which Mike Ryan, undercover agent for the stage line, and Molly Jones, daughter of the local sheriff, are passengers. The bandana masking one of the robbers slips and he is killed by the gang-leader Velvet Clark. The latter masquerades as a respectable piano-playing citizen of the community.

The townspeople are aroused enough over the continued robberies that they ask Sheriff Tom Jones to resign but they agree to give him more time when he takes on Ryan as a deputy. Circumstantial evidence leads the sheriff to Clark, but the latter kills him and escapes. Ryan tracks him to Gunsight Ridge where there is a showdown.

Gunsight Ridge is a sort of a detective western but there's no mystery as we know from beginning that the culprit behind the robberies is Mark Stevens who plays a miner- he is quite a tortured character, especially when he tinkles the ivories. He had great ambitions to be a great piano player but he couldn't afford lessons to reach an "Amadeus" level. Stevens is excellent in his role, balancing between cold-blooded killer and a sympathetic character. In contrast, McCrea is more breezy, good-humoured yet tough and determined. There's some good action intersected here and there but a tense atmosphere is at the centre. It's a well-paced and engaging western with good performances all round.

Shoot the piano player, not the horse he rode in on

[fredit-43004 · 7/10 · 2 October 2022]

I watched this film for the first time today. As mentioned by other comments, this is an excellent B-western, with a good cast led by Joel McCrea. There are a couple of things worth a comment--the villain seems to be a fairly accomplished piano player but presumably his frustration in not getting to Carnegie Hall has caused him to instead turn to murder and armed robbery. I don't know if I necessarily see the connection, but after all, this is a western and motivation need not be entirely believable. Also, there is a scene in this film (not graphic) in which a pack horse carrying dynamite is intentionally exploded. This casual animal cruelty is something I could have done without.

Minor flaws don't detract much from good story and excellent cast

[morrisonhimself · 9/10 · 2 December 2017]

"Joel McCrae" -- almost all you need to say.

But here he is surrounded by extraordinarily talented actors, all working well together in a much better than average script.

Many of the characters get a chance to stand out, including one played by one of my favorites, the great Herb Vigran. I actually had a chance to meet him when he was playing in a stage version, in Los Angeles, of "Merton of the Movies."

A certain major TV series star played "Merton," but, to be honest, he was the least talented actor on stage.

Herb Vigran could have given him lessons -- as could a very young girl (maybe 7?) in the cast -- on how to project. But Herb Vigran had been around and started with some built-in talent that just grew and grew in his years as, for example, a villain in the "Superman" series, and in guest appearances in such other shows as "Adam 12."

He was also a charming and gracious person.

Leading lady Joan Weldon was outrageously padded and I wonder, again, why talented actresses allowed themselves to be so used. She was already beautiful, she did have talent, and being made to look almost grotesque simply made no sense.

There were three other important female characters, merely one more factor that prevents "Gunsight Ridge" from being properly called a "B movie."

As a character not named in the credits except "Farm Girl," young Carolyn Craig just plain stole every scene she was in. She was a really beautiful 23-year-old who looked younger, and had an amazingly expressive face. In short, she was a marvelous actress and I would bet she was stage trained.

"Rosa" was the girl-friend of the bad guy and, as played by Darlene Fields, about whom is nothing known, was a very sympathetic person. Darlene Fields also was beautiful, and I'm surprised so little is know about her. She too gave a superlative performance and should have been in dozens of movies and TV shows. What a shame we know so little about her.

Another great actor was Addison Richards who seemed the perfect career law enforcer.

All the other cast members deserve mention, too, but we're running out of electrons. Let me just say, again, nearly every one had a chance to stand out as characters and every one performed superbly.

There were two or three director flaws, but there is no reason to mention them. They did not detract much.

One major flaw, though, is that one character who is killed off early is not listed in the credits. And the actor who played him really deserves mention.

There is a very good version of "Gunsight Ridge" at YouTube, but for some reason whoever uploaded it allowed most of it to be added on again after "the end."

It doesn't hurt the viewer: You just stop when the movie stops. But do start! This is an excellent movie, and would have earned a "10" except for the director flaws and one sound flaw.

A Different Western

[januszlvii · 9/10 · 26 February 2021]

Gunsight Ridge would be another routine Western except for Mark Stevens bad guy Velvet Clark. He is a sociopath who murders several people in cold blood ( including Sheriff Tom Jones) , and tries to strangle hero Undercover Agrnt Mike Ryan ( Joel McCrea) to death. You see a couple of scenes where his insanity comes out. One where Ryan sees him playing the piano ( Velvet is an excellent player but does not want anyone to know), and another where he abuses a horse. He has a hatred for humanity, because he was too poor to get piano lessons. He has one scene where he shows some decency. It involves a farm girl Carolyn Craig and a piano. Both Ryan and Velvet have women who really like them: Sheriffs daughter Molly Jones ( Joan Weldon), for Ryan and saloon singer Rosa (Darlene Fields) for Clark. Spoilers ahead: Of course you know there will be a showdown between Ryan and Clark and as you can predict Ryan wins and will end up becoming Sheriff and marrying Molly. Again a different western and worth watching mostly for Stevens. 9/10 stars

A killer with a very soft touch

[clanciai · 8/10 · 4 March 2024]

There is a romantic touch to this western mainly about ruffians going berserk or killing each in cold blood, but a curious element raises it above any B level and endows it with lasting interest - the fact that the main villain and murderer plays soft music on the piano. When he is interrupted by some dame who happens to overhear his music and draws nearer he is violently upset by the disturbance, which reveals a very sensitive mind. For some reason the pianos in these westerns are always perfectly well tuned, although they stand as lone monuments in a very harsh and desert country, which makes you wonder how they got there at all, but this quiet soft romantic music deserved no less than a well tuned piano - there are two of them here. Joel McCrea is the lead trying to do something about the local villainy in this remote part of a desert country, and he is always reliable, especially in westerns. Mark Stevens as the villain makes a peculiarly tragic character, as all he wanted was to become a pianist while his destiny brought him totally out in the wild, waywardly astray. It's an interesting and enjoyable film and better than most westerns, as it definitely deserves some closer attention.

For Mark Stevens only

[searchanddestroy-1 · 11 December 2022]

Not Joel McCrea, who is here as he was for almost his entire career, except the awesome FORT MASSACRE, in which he gave his best performance ever, even better than in RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY. So, if you seek something unusual, far from cliches, focus instead on Mark Stevens character, the villain, but excellent two faces character: one face the ruthless outlaw, and the second face, the good law abiding citizen. Yes, definitely yes, Stevens is as good here as he was in the terrific JACK SLADE, a very ambivalent, ambiguous character, a piano player and a cold blooded killer in the same time; He is here the Nemesis of McCrea and I love this. Some lines in Stevens character remind me Robert Mitchum's role in FIVE CARDS STUD, some scenes too: good citizen who is some kind of Dr Jekyll...See what I mean?