Reite auf dem rosa Pferd

I was in the process of reading this book and then started watching a movie without knowing what the movie was. It was deja vu all of the sudden. It turned out to be this movie. I think that Robert Montgomery did a great job of capturing the character that was in the book. Tough but naive at the same time. A very good noir film that should get more play and recognition.

The dark atmosphere,the craziness of the music and the partying in the background all the time as the story unfolds. Maybe I had a leg up reading the book almost first. It's very rare when I think a movie based on a book is just as good as the book. I felt sympathy for Robert Montgomery's character. All the time thinking he was going to lose to the cheats. He had his own principals and stuck to them.

Can't say enough.

Good movie.

This is a classic pseudo film noir. It means to emulate, but not necessarily be, a true film noir.

Robert Montgomery is excellent and believable as a man driven to revenge the death of his war time pal.

The scenes with Wanda Hendrix as, in turns, a guileless teen, a knowing friend and a woman who 'sees things' are taut and dramatic. There are a few moments of humor there too.

Mr Montgomery's direction is both intelligent and convincing. There are moments of drama. Moments of near pathos. Moments of comedy. Moments of boredom - from the characters, not the audience.

The 'Fed' and 'Pancho' the carousel owner are interesting and engaging characters. Not hollow or cardboard cutouts that one might see in some films.

All in all it is a very enjoyable film and a must see for those that appreciate both the acting skills and the directorial skills of Mr. Robert Montgomery.

ROBERT MONTGOMERY never seemed quite as comfortable in tough guy roles as someone like Humphrey Bogart was--and this is a role that would have been ideal for Bogart. Not to say that Montgomery isn't effective--he's especially good in the latter part of the story where he must stagger around after a brutal beating. His direction too has to be commended, taut and keeping the sense of imminent danger lurking in the shadows at all times.

He plays a typical film noir character, struggling to wrong a right in a world where he feels alienated and suspicious of everyone. But it's a little too much of a one note performance with a sneer behind every sarcastic comment and never letting us know what he is really all about. That becomes true of the other characters too. We are never told why Wanda Hendrix (as a blue-eyed Mexican girl) follows him around so worshipfully after he has some rude exchanges with her. We never fully know why Pablo takes to him so instantly, enough to bear a brutal beating to keep his whereabouts a secret. Nor do we know why Art Smith follows him around at a respectful distance and seems to serve as his conscience when some expository dialogue trys to shed light on their characters. But keeping these characters as an enigma is partly what makes the film so fascinating.

Even the femme fatale is kept at a shadowy distance and Andrea King makes her an interesting woman whom we know has an ulterior motive in wanting to help Montgomery. Some extra tension is derived from the scene where Pablo (Thomas Gomez with a heavy Spanish accent) is brutally beaten while children nearby ride a carousel but become aware of their dangerous surroundings in the midst of a joyful ride.

Robert Montgomery is only partly successful as the bluntly outspoken tough guy and therein lies one of the film's chief faults. Furthermore, the low-key lighting cannot disguise the fact that almost all of the film's settings have a stagebound look to them, even the haven that Pablo supplies and where the carousel rides are taken. Most of the exteriors have that soundstage look with a rather stylized seediness to replicate a small Mexican town. It's an artificiality that cannot be ignored when watching the film.

Thomas Gomez won a Supporting Role Oscar nomination for his colorful Pablo. His thick accent reminds me of Akim Tamiroff and the other cave dwellers in Hemingway's FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. Gomez gives Tamiroff a run for his money.

Summing up: a fascinating but ultimately unsatisfying film noir with an ending involving the Mexican girl that can only cause speculation. Was her true motive revealed? The answer remains obscure.

I can only repeat: what a role this would have been for Bogart!!

From the film's opening scene, which shows the protagonist, Lucky Gagin, emerging from a bus into a dusty Mexican town, the viewer is hooked. There are so many good things about this film, primarily the acting performances -- Robert Montgomery is a standout, as are Wanda Hendrix, Fred Clark, Thomas Gomez, and Art Smith. They each completely occupy their characters and make them come to life. Another highlight is the dialogue -- there are numerous memorable exchanges between Montgomery and Hendrix, and Clark delivers two especially well-written diatribes that serve to solidify his character in the consciousness. The story itself is quite simple, and is driven far more by characterization than by plot, but that is what makes the film so good. The film also contains its share of classically dark noir imagery -- most memorable is the scene in which the Gomez character is savagely beaten by two hoods while a group of neighborhood children sail along on the nearby merry-go-round, at first gaily enjoying the free ride but growing increasingly somber and afraid as they witness the brutal attack. This one is a definite must-see, particularly for film noir buffs, but also for film lovers of all types.

In one of a couple of films done at Universal starring Montgomery that are hard to find. Ex-solider Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) arrives in the little southwestern town of San Pablo during a hectic fiesta weekend. He's come here seeking revenge against the man he holds responsible for his friend's death. But his quest may be derailed by one of the motley assortment of characters he meets: scheming federal agent Retz (Art Smith, spooky-eyed young Mexican girl Pilar (Wanda Hendrix), and boisterous carousel operator Pancho (Thomas Gomez), among others.

Montgomery does a very good job in both the directing and acting departments. The film showcases several stylish flourishes, and maintains an evocative, "stranger in a strange land" aura of uncertainty and mild paranoia. His performance as the plainspoken Gagin is also a nice stretch from his usual smooth charmer. He's blunt, occasionally rude, maybe not the sharpest guy in the room, but cunning enough to be a threat to those he targets.

The movie takes an unexpected turn in the last third which helps set it apart from the other crime pictures of the period, but in my opinion it weakened the resolution a bit. I liked Hendrix, and Gomez is affable in a character type he would go on to play several times in the future. Fred Clark, as a crime boss, and Art Smith as the fed, are unusual casting choices that work. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Thomas Gomez.