Review #590: Ride the High Country.
Cast
Randolph Scott (Gil Westrum), Joel McCrea (Steve Judd), Mariette Hartley (Elsa Knudsen), Ron Starr (Heck Longtree), Edgar Buchanan (Judge Tolliver), R.G. Armstrong (Joshua Knudsen), Jenie Jackson (Kate), James Drury (Billy Hammond), L. Q. Jones (Sylvus Hammond), and John Anderson (Elder Hammond) Directed by Sam Peckinpah.
Review
Well, well, I'm finally doing a review of a Peckinpah film. I didn't know it would take this long to get to him, but hey, here we are. This was his second film (his first being The Deadly Companions), and he would direct only 14 films in the 22 years, from 1961 up until 1983, up until his death in 1984. Peckinpah is known for his eccentricities and range of violence of shown in his films, such as The Wild Bunch. But what about this film? This movie is more about the story of loyalty then about the action, and it works just fine. Scott and McCrea are brilliantly paired well against each other, and the way their friendship progresses throughout the movie is a useful part of what makes the movie work. It's not the rugged terrain, or the fairly decent action, it's the relationship between these two characters, and the others as well, about how the legends may fade, but their stories won't. The supporting cast is excellent, especially Hartley, who is certainly interesting to watch. This is on the whole a fairly decent movie that certainly shows the strengths of the good ol' Western. 10 to go to #600.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
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