Ride Lonesome

okay movie

The film's virtues are its economy and unpretentiousness, which serve to heighten suspense and focus on character development. It's really a marvel of filmmaking.

A fine Burt Kennedy script enables the Boetticher-Scott team to create an excellent western. Pernell Roberts as the "good baddie" is very fine, and the ending of the film is both unexpected and satisfying.

It's difficult to explain why I like Boetticher's westerns. This one for instance is so traditional in most ways. There is just something amiable about its combination of straightforwardness with a touch of complexity whereby nothing can be taken for granted. It has some superficial gloss but something seedy and grainy underneath, a sort of effortless grit. The cast rocks, featuring not only Boetticher's mainstay Randolph Scott but also the genre's luminaries Lee Van Cleef and James Coburn.

This movie is just so damn short. 73 minutes. As svelte as they come. The movie wastes no time faffing about. Yet, ironically, it manages to take its time. This is a roughly slow build. About as slow of a build as 73 minutes allow. It all comes together in that final scene, the burning hanging tree a symbol of settled vengeance and new beginnings.

Found this one less complex than prior films of these collaborators, and it's not as involving. Still a good watch.

the final image here is so damn cathartic when you're processing a loss.

This masterfully tense little western makes wonderful use of a simple scenario with a set of complicated and shifting relations between the five characters. Roberts and Coburn want Best for themselves since it seems that the bounty also includes an offer of amnesty. Scott refuses to budge on the matter, but it starts to become clear that his real interest is in letting Van Cleef catch up to them.

Boetticher can sure name a Western

The performances are a little staid but they barely hold back a strong story and evocative visuals, with mandatory mention of a ridiculously awesome final shot.

Viewed May 20, 2021.

One of the coolest end sequences ever. Just an all around cool movie. Movies need to be this long

Another solid western from the Boetticher/Kennedy/Scott partnership, there's a satisfying revenge story here with nuanced characters and a memorable final showdown in a fantastic setting. There's never a lull because it's all crammed into such a short runtime, although this does mean that there's far too little of Lee Van Cleef's villain.

Bud Boetticher set the stage with an opening that makes you feel the expanse of the west, then Randolph Scott's acting undermines all his work.

Ride Lonesome makes a strong case for the greatness of Boetticher. It showcases his visual economy and the subtle way he was able to relay psychological depth in a relatively straight forward plot that contains few surprises. The shots are key to any meaningful interpretation: characters are constantly framed against the vastness of nature, highlighting the loneliness that influences their behaviour. The opening long shot is superbly executed, and the final image is unexpectedly resonant.

In many ways Ride Lonesome is your standard western bounty hunter fare, but it does come into its own, and has a great ending. It's short, and the tension is never truly high, but this isn't a criticism. The bleak vistas and camerawork (including a cool 2-minute shot to usher in the film) are nice. Scott isn't a good actor, but the supporting cast (several future stars) and character interaction was great. Though I could have done without the woman and the Indians subplot cliche.

Star Rating: ★★★★★

A very conventional western where to plot is simple and well thought-out. I just didn't seem to enjoy it.

watched: 2012, 2022

#935

Ride Lonesome's great strength is its economic visual sensibility. This is announced from the very first shot, as the credits role over a stunning wide shot of a rock-laden landscape. Not only does Boetticher continue that very shot to begin the action, he ends up tracking downward into a pass that adds a menacing quality to this early sequence. The story is largely by-the-numbers, but the performances are compelling enough and the pace brisk enough for an enjoyable ride.

Standard but well executed western. The acting is a bit stiff but otherwise the nice story of redemption makes this worthwhile.

Mildly enjoyable revenge-themed Western. Decent performances and some good dialogue, but the film's best quality is its gorgeous scope cinematography, all those magnificent wide vistas and the final image of the burning tree. However, points off for some really vile racism, and a tinge of sexism too.

894

Short but sweet - Lee van Cleef's arrival gave it a bump.