Ride Lonesome

In the past year or so, I've made a determined decision to get more accustomed to pre-1970's films from around the world, particularly genres I've previously given short change to, such as musicals, war films and westerns. I have to admit it's greatly enhanced my appreciation of cinema in general. It's amazing how great some of these films actually are.

Since cinema is the greatest love of my life, I also collect books on film, trying to find out anything and everything I can. As the old Calvin Klein commercial goes, 'A man has many loves, but only one Obsession'. An unexpectedly great and relatively inexpensive find was 'The Editors of American Cowboy's The Top 100 Westerns of All Time,' from 2011. Looming at #52 was this, and its write...

You just don't seem like the kind that would hunt a man for money.

Ride Lonesome is directed by Budd Boetticher, written by Burt Kennedy and stars Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Coburn, James Best & Lee Van Cleef. Charles Lawton Jr. is the cinematographer (in CinemaScope for the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California location) and Heinz Roemheld provides the musical score. Film is part of the Ranown Western cycle involving Boetticher, Scott, Kennedy and producer Harry Joe Brown.

Bounty hunter Ben Brigade (Scott) captures wanted outlaw Billy John (Best) and tells him he's taking him to Santa Cruz to be hanged. Best boasts that his brother Frank (Cleef) will soon be arriving to ensure that doesn't happen. Brigade isn...

Solitary people dwarfed against an arid, empty, hostile landscape

A leathered, weathered bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) captures his quarry (James Best) in the wilderness of east-central California intending to take him to Santa Cruz, but has to team-up with two dubious men (Pernell Roberts & James Coburn) and a lone woman (Karen Steele) at an isolated swing station to deal with Mescalero Indians. Meanwhile the young outlaws gang are on their trail (Lee Van Cleef, etc.).

"Ride Lonesome" (1959) is one of five Westerns from 1956-1960 written by Burt Kennedy, directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. The others are: 7 Men from now, The Tall T, Buchanan Rides Alone and Comanche Station. Two additional films omit wri...

I usually find Randolph Scott to be a bit lightweight but he's on top form in this classy revenge western. He plays bounty hunter "Ben" who apprehends "Billy John" (James Best) for murder. He is taking him to town for a reckoning, but what he really wants is to capture that man's even more murderous brother "Frank" (Lee Van Cleef) as he has some old, visceral, scores to settle. En route he rescues the feisty "Carrie" (Karen Steele) from an attack by quite an eccentric group of Indians and alights on "Sam" (Pernell Roberts) and "Whit" (James Coburn) to help give them a fighting chance against the certainly pursuing sibling. Now I don't suppose there's loads of plot jeopardy here, but the story unfolds gradually and effectively and Van Cleef ...