Ride Out for Revenge (1957) User Reviews

That's what this town's got, an epidemic, a hate, a disease.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 27 October 2013]

Ride Out for Revenge is directed by Bernard Girard and written by Norman Retchin. It stars Rory Calhoun, Gloria Grahame, Lloyd Bridges, Joanne Gilbert, Frank DeKova and Vince Edwards. Music is by Leith Stevens and cinematography by Floyd Crosby.

A black and white Civil Rights Oater, Ride Out for Revenge has good intentions and no little amount of dramatic worth. Not everything works, as it's certainly portrayed in simplistic terms, but the anti-racist core of the story is worthy of viewing investment.

We are in the town of Sand Creek and the inhabitants are all bitter victims to the Indian Wars. One man stands alone in Sand Creek, Tate (Calhoun), a one time superlative Indian Fighter who now finds himself in love with a Cheyenne woman and firmly of the liberal mind that war has no favourite side: Misery is equal regardless of race, creed and colour. But can Tate avert an impending massacre that is brewing because of bile strewn hatred? Sand Creek is the base for Capt. George (Bridges), a cowardly drunkard who just wants the Cheyenne out of the Black Hills and down to some army governed reservation. But when cold blooded murder rears its ugly head, and tragedy strikes on both sides of the fence, Sand Creek approaches its day of reckoning.

The Wages of Sin, eh Captain?

There's no great production value on offer but the film still looks splendid thanks to Crosby's (High Noon) photography. Thematically it's a formula that even by 1957 was hardly original, but the under valued Calhoun oozes enough stoic machismo and emotional conflict to really engage those interested in the Civil Rights side of this period in history. Though the fact that he is lusted after by the twin beauties that are Gloria Grahame and Joanne Gilbert marks him out as one lucky dude!

Maybe you's like to know what a savage girl does when her savage father's murdered? She cries. She cries just as hard as you did when John was killed.

Is it preachy? No, it isn't. It's a viable narrative doing the best it can on a "B" budget. It should be noted that it very much beats the drum for both sides, it makes sure we know that all parties are scarred by the horrors of this distasteful war. OK! So it wont give the superior Devil's Doorway a run for its money, or even be fit enough to tie the boots of Broken Arrow, but it shouldn't be readily dismissed as weak "B" movie fodder. Besides, it has enough character interest and an extended knife fight by the river to make it at the very least a time waster for the Western faithful. 6.5/10

Adequate Western.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 19 June 2013]

More sensitive to the feelings of the Indian people than other films of the time, the watchable B Western "Ride Out for Revenge" has some good performances and a decent story to recommend it, even if it's heavy handed in pushing its message home and ultimately forgettable. It does take the viewer out of the movie to see obviously white people playing Indian characters, but then Hollywood still wasn't ready in 1957 to be truly politically correct.

The stolid Rory Calhoun plays Tate, a marshal from the small town of Sand Creek who's sympathetic towards the local Cheyenne tribe. Of course, helping him to form that opinion is his love for Pretty Willow (Joanne Gilbert), the daughter of the tribes' chief Yellow Wolf (Frank DeKova). When the chief is cold bloodedly murdered by a gunman, it angers the chiefs' son Little Wolf (Vince Edwards) who leads his people in a raid. Even after suffering a personal loss during the raid, Tate finds that taking care of business is still a tough proposition.

Calhoun is fine, Edwards amusing even in light of his miscasting, and Gloria Grahame makes the most of her not terribly important role. But the movie really belongs to a wonderful Lloyd Bridges, who's perfectly slimy as a racist, greedy, cowardly Cavalry officer. It's Bridges who keeps things interesting for the duration; surely a member of the Cavalry had never been portrayed in this negative a light before. Otherwise, nothing about this is anything special - not the direction (by Bernard Girard) nor the script (by producer Norman Retchin, based on a novel by Burt Arthur), although the music (by Leith Stevens) and cinematography (by Floyd Crosby) are nice.

Overall, not a bad way to spend 78 minutes.

Six out of 10.

So So Preachy B&W Western With A Message

[wgie · 5/10 · 30 July 2009]

Lloyd Bridges shines as a cowardly calvary captain while actor, Vince Edwards, looks terribly miscast as an Indian in this Bryna Film Production. Bryna Productions was the company that was formed by actor, Kirk Douglas, that produced such films as "Spartacus", "Last Train From Gun Hill", "Paths of Glory", etc. I suspect this film was shot around the time that "Last Train From Gun Hill" was shot as some of the scenery where Rory Calhoun (Tate) has a confrontation with Vince Edwards (Chief Little Wolf) appears to be the same area where Earl Holliman rapes and kills Kirk Douglas wife in "Last Train From Gun Hill". What "Last Train From Gun Hill" has that this film doesn't have is a good script, a solid plot and beautiful Technicolor. "Ride Out For Revenge" is an interesting and entertaining film in so far as it points out the many wrongs that the "white man" has inflicted on the Indians as well as the hatred that has been sowed over the years through the losses of life from both sides. The plot puts Tate (Rory Calhoun) who loves an Indian princess (Joanne Gilbert) in the middle of an Indian vs "white man" confrontation. Now add the fact, that gold is found on the Indians land. Throw in a cowardly captain (Bridges) who hates Indians but would love to have their land and their gold. Sprinkle a widow (Gloria Graham) and a child (Michael Winkleman) that have both lost spouse and father by Indian massacre. Add a touch of vengeful Indian (Vince Edwards) whose father has been murdered by the town's people .... and you have all the ingredients for what is to come. The film, in my opinion, is at best a mediocre western with a very important but "preachy" message. What I found most interesting and important was the morale of the film which can be found is some of the final dialog of the film. Pretty Willow (Joanne Gilbert) says "If everything changes ... what will happen when someone comes to take the land from the "white man" and Tate (Rory Calhoun) responds "I don't know I never gave it much thought."

Cheyenne don't want to go to reservation

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 25 May 2017]

This is essentially the story of 3 men: Captain George(Lloyd Bridges), Chief Little Wolf(Vince Edwards), and Tate(Roy Calhoun). Captain George, a cavalry officer with seemingly only a handful of men to command, charged with keeping the peace in this frontier area, actually foments trouble by ordering the killing of Cheyenne Chief Yellow Wolf when he came to town asking for essential supplies to survive the coming winter. The chief didn't understand that Cpt. George had no authority to issue such supplies, since they were not on a reservation. Yellow Wolf had favored peaceful coexistence with the white settlers, whereas his son, Little Wolf, who succeeded him, talked of stealing the needed supplies from the army depot, and against going to the reservation in Oklahoma, which Cpt. George had received orders to facilitate. An additional reason for wanting the Cheyenne gone was that Yellow Wolf had brought a sample of gold-bearing rock from near the Cheyenne camp to show to Cpt. George, hoping to use it as a bargaining chip.

Opposing the goals of both Cpt. George(and the army) and Little Wolf was ex-Indian fighter, Sheriff Tate. He wants peace and the status quo returned. But, the town's people interpret his stance as pro-Cheyenne. Many of them, including Tate. have lost loved ones to Indian murder, hence are not willing to tolerate Tate's position. Also, they know his girlfriend is the sister of Little Wolf, which they believe colors his stance. Thus, a town council recommends that they find a new sheriff. Even the death of his adopted son at the hands of the Cheyenne doesn't dissuade him from the relatively pro Cheyenne stance. At this point, Cpt. George wants both Tate and Little Wolf dead. Tate feels he must kill Little Wolf to prevent an attack on the town. Yet, when he has a chance to shoot him, he cannot. Pretty Willow(Joanne Gilbert)arranges for Tate to meet Little Wolf, out between the town and village. Somehow, Cpt. George receives this information, so plots to kill the two together, if they haven't already killed each other. Tate and Little Wolf knife fight each other, eventually falling into a lake. At this point, Cpt. George arrives, and shoots into the water, apparently killing Tate, while Little Wolf comes to shore. I will stop here, and let you find out the conclusion by seeing the film.

Tate, if he lives, has the choice of 2 beautiful women, who are in love with him. One is European: Amy(Gloria Grahame), his landlady, who is very anti-Cheyenne, since they killed her husband and she sees them as greatly inferior culturally. The other is Pretty Willow, whom he favors. I think this union symbolizes a take-home message that interracial marriages should be considered OK, even if they often impose extra burdens and incompatibilities on the couple. However, personally, I think I would have chosen Amy, Tate's age mate, who easily expressed her emotions. In contrast, the much younger Pretty Willow seldom expressed her emotions by her face or words. Even the death of her father, brother, and apparently Tate didn't excite any crying, wailing, etc.. She just clamed up.

I found several historical curiosities that relate to this film. The white town was given the fictional name of Sand Creek. Well, the infamous massacre of Cheyenne(mostly women and children) camped at Sand Creek, Colorado, created a stir among bipartisan whites, in it's day. Little Wolf was the name of a northern Cheyenne chief, who famously led a group of Cheyenne from the Oklahoma reservation to Montana, despite harassment by the army(see "Cheyenne Autumn") However, Yellow Wolf was the name of a Comanche, not Cheyenne, chief.

See it at You Tube.

Cute little western

[searchanddestroy-1 · 19 March 2023]

One more western where Indians are not necessarily the bad guys, the evil savages. Sensitive, delightful to watch if you do it closely enough, characters for whom you have feelings that you don't always have for westerns in general. The characters are very important and the story telling is smartly done in that purpose, emphasizing the relationships between those same characters. It is not tough, rough, brutal, nothing of that but instead a nearly pro indian western. The director Bernard Girard mostly worked for TV and rarely for the big screen. Only the ending is a bit smooth, predictable. I think it could have been better.

A sympathetic portrait of the American Indian

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 11 April 2015]

Some westerns portrayed the American Indians as unthinking, one- dimensional idiots--riding around in circles waiting to be picked off by folks in the wagon train or by the cavalry. Others, like this one, are more sympathetic and show these same people as multidimensional and decent.

When the film begins, the local chief is murdered. This is a serious problem, as the chief was a man of peace--and the new, younger chief is more headstrong and ready for revenge. Fortunately, there is a local guy (Rory Calhoun) who understands these Indians and treats them decently--and he can diffuse the situation. But the town is a hellish place that wants no part of peace and the local cavalry commander (Lloyd Bridges) is a cowardly jerk-face. With the Indians on the warpath and Calhoun's character the only person with any common sense, things look pretty awful for this stupid town.

The Indians are generally portrayed well. However, a complaint I often have is that the main Indians are played by white folks--such as Vince Edwards! So, it's like two steps forward and one step back. Overall, however, the film is interesting and presents a more balanced view of the west. The only problem is that, at times, the characters are a bit more like caricatures--a bit too one- dimensional to be believable.

The Cheyenne must move

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 30 June 2013]

Ride Out For Revenge is a sincere portrayal of the anguish of the American Indians, the Cheyennes specifically, in the aftermath of losing the Indian Wars. It also shows the bitter prejudice of the white settlers who have also suffered losses as a result of the wars.

The problem I find with this film is the rather unbelievably noble portrayal of Rory Calhoun in the lead. Not his fault, there's not much he can do with a character that's just too good. As is explained he's sustained personal losses himself, a sister and husband killed and he's raising his nephew Michael Winkelman and boarding with widow Gloria Grahame. As fetching as she ever was in movies, Grahame's got a real thing for Calhoun and he may have given her a tumble once or twice, but right now Rory has got eyes for Indian maid Joanne Gilbert.

I'm also not sure why a troop of cavalry is stationed in the town where Calhoun is marshal. But they're there and headed by Lloyd Bridges a captain who never would have found his way into any John Ford cavalry film. He's as slimy as they come. When chief Frank DeKova comes into town to plead for supplies for his people, he gets shot down in the street like a dog and son Vincent Edwards vows vengeance. That sets in motion all the events of the film that follows.

With characters I just could not buy, Ride Out For Revenge falls short of its goal for sympathy for the Cheyenne. One of the main characters dies and one is thought to have died in the end. The actual death of the first should have set off a big inquiry.

Kirk Douglas's Bryna Productions produced this one and Kirk was wise not to take the lead himself here.

Lethargic Liberal Western

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 26 August 2020]

Shot by the Oscar-winning cameraman of 'High Noon', with Lloyd Bridges again playing a coward (he was then treading water just before his career hit dry land in 'Sea Hunt'). Produced by Kirk Douglas' company Bryna, it's a sombre, talky little black & white potboiler of interest for taking the side of the Indians, with an inexpensive cast (by then sadly including Gloria Grahame in an ugly wig in a whiny supporting role) going through the motions.

Avoid at all costs

[doug-balch · 1/10 · 13 May 2010]

You might be tempted to watch this movie when you see that Gloria Graham is the female lead and that Lloyd Bridges costars. Don't make that mistake.

This thing looks like a high school play. It's a "civil rights" Western, where the Indians are a metaphor for blacks in the South.

OK message, but there is no art to this movie. Graham's part is nothing. Bridges has just a little more to work with, playing a sleazy, cowardly cavalry captain.

This is a good opportunity though to categorize three types of Westerns:

The "Cold War" Western, where the cowboys represent freedom and individuality, while the Indians are a foreign menace trying to take their freedom away. All that stands between freedom and destruction is the bravery of the U.S. cavalry.

The "Civil Rights" Western, where the whites are the bad guys oppressing a racial minority.

The "Vietnam" western, where the oppression of the Indians becomes a much wider metaphor for global Western imperialism and colonization.

No One Wins

[januszlvii · 6/10 · 18 December 2020]

Ride Out For Revenge is a strange movie. Spoilers Ahead: Everyone loses one way or another. The protagonist Marshal Tate, has his nephew Billy get killed and loses his job. Why does he? Because he tries to do the right thing for the town and the Indians. The heroine Pretty Willow ( Joanne Gilbert), has her father Chief Yellow Wolf ( Frank DeKova) and her Brother Chief Little Wolf get killed. The Indians are forced out of their homes by the whites because of gold ( which no one gets), the army ( especially Captain George ( Lloyd Bridges)) are shown to be cowards and murderers, and Amy Porter ( Gloria Grahame) who wants Tate gets rejected by him. In the final scene, Tate and Pretty Willow are on a hill looking at the Indians moving out, and she asked "what would happen if this happened to the whites?" He admitted "I never gave it any thought." Those two will be married, but they did not exactly look happy. She really loves him, but she is not happy that she does ( she considers whites the enemy). He really has no place except alone with her ( especially because he killed Captain George ( although he deserved it because George tried to murder him)). Again a very strange movie and slightly above average. 6/10 stars.

Lloyd Bridges puts up a good fight anyway!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 15 October 2014]

Saddled with a ridiculously corny and over-talkative screenplay in which all the clichés of white men versus Indians are trotted out, plus the spectacle of Vince Edwards of all people playing the Indian chief's son, while the co-star of reasonably competent hero Rory Calhoun, namely Gloria Grahame, listlessly walks through a trite and entirely superfluous role, this is a movie to avoid. The director is a gent named Bernard Girard who worked mostly as a writer and director in TV. He just loves filling the screen with repetitive close-ups. In fact, the movie would be much more interesting if shorn of at least twenty minutes of this utterly boring material. On the other hand, most of the action footage is staged with reasonable competence and the use of some mildly attractive natural locations is at least a step in the right direction. Also on the plus side, Joanne Gilbert certainly lives up to her "Pretty Willow" name, while Frank DeKova manages to make his Indian chief reasonably credible. Lloyd Bridges, alas, has large slices of the script's verbosity to contend against, but at least he puts up a good fight.

Pacifist rides against vengence

[daniewhite-1 · 4/10 · 26 August 2020]

1950's B-movie melodrama character machinations provide a plot mechanism for telling a pacifistic morality tale against human hate and violence and all the associated "dark side of the Force" via a narrative based on exploring the wrongs done by white settlers and the associated cycles of aggression.

As such 'Ride out for Revenge' channels a very old vein of storytelling, including indeed the central Christian message itself.

The production has all the associated limitations of the b-movie budget but there is just about enough outdoor filming and the public scenes have extras and costumes sufficient to help the viewer plod on through the film without being unconvinced by the pictures on the screen.

I rate a 4/10 for the presence of Gloria Graham and her performance in a supporting role. The humanitarian message that provides the central thrust of the material is a timeless plea for shared humanity manifest in a 50's b-western film context deliberately inverting the forms of its more conventional contemporaneous stories.

I recommend to fans of Gloria Graham and to any film fan interested in 50's westerns but this will be an 'acquired taste' and it isn't quite good enough to get a higher rating that I reserve to b-movies that really surprise and outperform their obvious limitations of scale.

Mild, at Best

[dougdoepke · 16 April 2013]

A sheriff battles his gold hungry town and a cavalry captain who covet gold-rich Indian land.

The movie's pretty unremarkable except for the cowardly cavalry captain (Bridges). Cavalry officers were generally not portrayed in such a negative light. But here Bridges tries hard, if not very persuasively, to be as craven as possible. The film came along at a time when Hollywood was beginning to recognize the Indians' side of the struggle over land. Thus their side gets a fairer treatment than had been usual.

Calhoun plays an Indian sympathizer who tries to control the more bloodthirsty whites in the town. And, of course, he has an eye for the comely Indian maiden (Gilbert), who happens to look a lot whiter than he does. But then Hollywood never cast real Indian women as major romantic interests, even though they might use real Native Americans in all the other parts.

I'm not sure why cult actress Grahame is in the film since her part appears inessential. I guess it was for marquee value, though her best years are clearly past. On the whole, it's a rather dull western, without the expected big shootouts, but with a lot of talk instead. Its heart is in the right place, but not much else, I'm sorry to say.

Not Subtle

[boblipton · 4/10 · 8 May 2020]

When Army officer Lloyd Bridges murders the local chief so he can steal their gold, Indian-shtupping ex-Marshall Rory Calhoun goes on the warpath.

It's good vs. evil, with Bridges all but frothing at the mouth after Frank Dekova -- yes, he played an Indian chief before F TROOP, and the rest of the town with him, even though remaining chief Vince Edwards seems like a reasonable guy. With Gloria Grahame under the subtle directorial hand of Bernard Girard. Floyd Crosby is credited as the director of photography, but this is one time he mailed it in.

Lose The Kid

[rogueforte · 5/10 · 25 June 2023]

This is a mostly pretty standard, Saturday morning kid's western. John Wayne could have easily been cast in the Rory Calhoun role (Tate) with no appreciable difference. Fans of Gloria Grahame and Vince Edwards will like it, even though there's nothing particularly memorable about their acting or scenes.

The biggest detriment is the large amount of screen time given to 'Little Billy'. You could see it coming right at the beginning of the movie, although his fate isn't particularly typical in these kinds of movies.

A real shame because, otherwise, it's not such a bad movie. As other's have mentioned, Lloyd Bridges' over-the-top, bad guy performance is the most redeeming quality. The other is the more sympathetic attitude given to the Native Americans' plight.

Mediocre performances, weak material

[helbigbob · 5/10 · 3 December 2022]

The story plays off of the hatred of Native Americans, and although there is a thread of support for equality and fairness, there's enough race-baiting stereotypes here to satisfy all spectrum of viewers. Gloria Grahame delivers a mannered, poor performance as a spurned love interest. The material is weak; her character goes from hating Indians (they killed her husband) to delivering a sanctimonious speech about hatred toward the end. Lloyd Bridges is over the top, easy to loathe. His character is a weasel. We get to see Vince Edwards, the future Dr. Ben Casey, as an indian. The best performance here is from Rory Calhoun, whose character has a strong moral compass; his performance is good leading man material. He's cool, relaxed and steady. Calhoun is the only reason to enjoy the film. Overall, not much new ground covered in this film. Nothing special.

Thought-provoking western

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 12 April 2024]

The 1950s were not an easy time for liberal filmmakers, given the red scare and blacklisting that occurred in Hollywood. The conservative establishment wanted to control the amount of power liberals had over film projects. Because leftist ideas could be dangerous to the establishment, and those ideas came from the writers and the actors who spoke their words on screen, writers and actors were the easy targets. Occasionally there would be someone like Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas conservative audiences still liked, despite these actors' politics leaning to the left.

Douglas had formed his own production company, Bryna, in the middle of the decade. Most of the films that Bryna made starred Douglas or pals of his, and they were often released thru United Artists. Typically, they had limited budgets and were workshops for progressive stories that would not be seen on television at this time. Westerns dominated the TV airwaves in the 50s, and a feature film in this genre would have to set itself apart from what could easily be found for free on the small screen. Something like RIDE OUT FOR REVENGE is not standard conservative fare.

Rory Calhoun takes the lead role of a marshal who is stripped of his badge because he's an Indian lover, quite literally. He's fallen for the daughter (Joanne Gilbert) of a murdered chief who refused to obey army orders and take his people from the Dakota territory to Oklahoma where they would basically be prisoners on a government reservation. Calhoun sympathizes with this tribe of Cheyenne natives, and he's not afraid to voice opposition.

Calhoun's outspoken views put him directly at odds with an army captain (Lloyd Bridges) who is as racist and unsympathetic as they come. Bridges is behind Calhoun's public demotion, and he intends to get the tribe moved out of the territory so he and others like him can claim land that is rich in gold. Complicating matters is Gilbert's brother, the new young chief who has taken their father's place- he's played by Vince Edwards who a few years earlier had portrayed HIAWATHA (1952).

There's an interesting subplot involving second-billed Gloria Grahame. She's a widow in town who runs the boardinghouse where Calhoun and his orphaned nephew (Michael Winkelman) live. Grahame lusts after Calhoun and is in a tizzy because he won't dump the native maiden (Gilbert) he loves.

Grahame is not all selfish; she is fond of Calhoun's nephew and considers herself his surrogate mother. The boy is shockingly killed off in the middle of the film during a skirmish that sees Edwards and his fellow tribesmen seek revenge for the death of Edwards' father. This skirmish takes place in town against the whites while young Winkelman is attempting to run away because he's mad that his uncle is siding with the Cheyenne. Yes, there are some heavy themes playing out in the story.

The death of Winkelman's character, an innocent boy, becomes a rallying cry among the locals and the army unit, led by Bridges, to enact a new policy of revenge against the Cheyenne who still are not heading off to the reservation willingly. Because Calhoun's own nephew became a casualty, he is expected to help kill Edwards. But in an emotional scene, he is unable to pull the trigger; and this leads to a knife duel in a nearby river instead.

Ultimately Edwards dies and Calhoun ends up with Gilbert. She is not expected to go off to the reservation as she will become Calhoun's wife. Meanwhile, Grahame seems to have accepted her fate as a lonely widow. She gets off a few good lines telling Bridges that she pretty much considers him scum, which means with all that venom and passion inside her, she'll probably end up marrying him!

The film's last scene is the most thought-provoking part of the whole movie. As they watch her people being displaced, Gilbert asks Calhoun what will happen when the whites face losing their land someday. It seems like a progressive apologetic statement from filmmakers in 1957 who are producing a document that lets minorities of the future know that the white hegemonic power would ultimately be history one day.