Dieser Mann weiß zuviel

Seeing "Riding Shotgun" again after half a century is a welcome reminder of the peak that the western film of the fifties achieved.

Director De Toth, who actually had ranch experience despite his Hungarian origins,obviously took great satisfaction in finding such a variety of effective angles and pieces of western imagery to present what is a well constructed story. When our weathered hero has to shoot out the candle in Fritz Feld's "dirty little cantina" it not only provides a chance for master cameramen Bert Glennon ("Stagecoach") to do an effective light change but it also gives us a couple of reels of the disturbing image of the blackened door-way that no one in the town is game to enter, not sure if Randy is dead or not.

The film making is better than most of the bigger pictures could muster.

The Warner western street re-dressed. Interesting cast - Joe Sawer in a non comedy role, punching it out with Scott, Charlie Bronson getting started, Millican in his best part - are those Frank Ferguson, Cesare Gravina and Bob Steele in uncredited walk-ons?

Pretension free, work like the Scott-De Toth series made going to the movies a rewarding, addictive habit.

A Randolph Scott Western from the 1954. Scott plays a stagecoach guard who rides shotgun as their transport is about to enter their next stop. What Scott doesn't know is that his sworn enemy is going to lure him from his duties (Scott has vowed revenge in voice over for a past crime) so that an elaborate heist is attempted. Working again w/Andre De Toth (House of Wax), this Scott vehicle is unique in the fact it almost plays like a Western noir where narration & a weird story structure keeps the barely ninety minute feature interesting & quite watchable. Look for Charles Bronson (billed under his birth name Charles Buchinsky) as a member of the villain's gang.

I'm glad to see that a majority of reviewers liked this film. I did, too. It's one Scott Western that's passed me by until now, though others are frequently shown on British TV.

The plot was more original than many 1950s' Westerns, and the town looked a little different to those so often seen. As has already been remarked, the townsfolk were a quirky lot, and there was some nice minor characterizations, especially the guy fondling a rope all the time.

What little love interest there was was unnecessary, doing nothing to the plot.

One might quibble at Scott's wish for a messenger to be sent to recall the posse. There wouldn't have been enough time to track it down and for it to return in time to combat the raid. And how obliging of Scott to ride so precisely under the tree that Bronson could jump on him. At least the revolvers ran out of ammunition after being fired six times, forcing their users to reload, unlike in some Westerns where they seem to have eight or more rounds in them.

I'll be happy to watch it again some time.

"Riding Shotgun" is a very entertaining western, were only they all so good. It boasts an unusual story and pacing: 80 percent of the movie takes place between a bloody stagecoach robbery in the beginning of the movie and a violent casino robbery at the conclusion of the movie. During this 80 percent middle period, Scott is alone in town trying to convince the elders to recall the sheriff and posse which have gone after the stage robbers, who Scott knows robbed the stage to draw the sheriff-posse out of town so they could more easily rob the casino. And the townsfolk think Scott is part of the gang of stage robbers and wants the sheriff-posse recalled to protect the gang. So what we have is this intriguing story, rugged handsome Scott, good color photography, some humor supplied mainly by deputy sheriff Wayne Morris and cantina-owner Fritz Feld, an interesting/wacky group of townsfolk (in varied dress,looks and demeanor ), beautiful Joan Weldon, and Scott's narration. Unfortunately the ending doesn't live up to the delicious intro, but the ride was most enjoyable. And nice fade-out.

Stagecoach guard Larry Delong (Randolph Scott) is obsessed with catching criminal Dan Marady who leads a ruthless gang and killed his relatives. He falls into trap, hog-tied, and left to die in the sun. The stagecoach gets attacked and the men are killed. Larry escapes and returns to town. He is surprised to find that most of the population believe that he is part of Marady's gang and they are unwilling to listen to his warning of an imminent return of the gang to raid the town. Meanwhile, Marady's gang is infiltrating the town.

This is a great depiction of mob rule. These regular town folks may seem like cartoons but they are more real than one expects. These are men of pitchforks and torches. I love the regular people turning on the hero. As for the criminals, I expected them to be more ruthless. This is still an old fashion western which is barely more than seventy minutes. It doesn't go as dark as it could have. The last act is doing a happy Hollywood ending. The narrating is a little interesting in that it gives Larry's gunfire some inner monologue. I wouldn't mind a modern remake with a more brutal final act.