Ride the High Country

Revisonist splendour as Peckinpah starts his thematic obsession.

"All I want is to Enter My House Justified"

Sam Peckinpah's second feature film is today standing up as a must see and must own for those interested in the Western genre.

The film sees ageing lawman Steve Judd land a job of escorting a gold shipment safely to a bank in Hornitos. After running into old friend, and fellow aged lawman Gil Westrun, he hires both he and his young sparky sidekick Heck Longtree to hopefully see the job through to a successful conclusion. Yet Gil has other ideas, for where Steve is upstanding and adhering to the values he has lived his life by, Gil sees this as one last chance to actually get a big payday. The journey takes a further twist as...

I was never a great fan of Randolph Scott or Joel McCrea when they were churning out their standard western fayre, but putting them together here as couple of ageing veterans works really quite well. Judd (McCrae) used to be a marshal, but now hes picking up work when and where he can and his latest job is to escort a gold shipment through some risky territory. He decides that he will need a bit of help so ropes in his old friend Gil (Scott) and his friend Heck (Ron Starr). What we know but he doesnt, is that they intend to appropriate the gold for themselves. You get the sense that Gil would sooner work with his old partner, but lets just say its not going to stop them if he declines. Along the trail they encounter the young Elsa (Mariette...