Messer an der Kehle

As a fan of Virginia Mayo,I was disappointed :she has three or four scenes and that's it ;the real female lead is Karen Steele ,an OK actress but without her colleague's appeal.

"Westbound" is a very short western ,without a dull moment;some characters -not Mayo's ,too predictable- are interesting particularly the one-armed ex-soldier who keeps on repeating he is only the half of the man he used to be .Randolph Scott is good as usual as the loyal hero on a mission to send gold to the Yankees ,who takes under his wing the young couple exposed to a sinister-looking guy's violence.

Budd Boetticher made the best of an average screenplay,much to his credit.

The not so good first. The use of weaponry by all of the characters years before it was available. Much of the clothing appears more appropriate for a modern day dude ranch rather than the 1860's west (although I always love Randy's dark blue shirt, dark blue pants and yellow bandanna). The writing and characterizations just were not on a par with the other Scott/Boetticher efforts.

The good news. This is a Randolph Scott western. None of the above matters. Enjoy!

Westbound does not form part of the "Ranown "cycle of Westerns on which star Scott and director Boetticher collaborated in the 1950's and which included such stone classics as Comanche Station,The Tall T and Ride Lonesome .These were the work of the excellent screenwriter ,later director, Budd Kennedy while this has a workmanlike script from a pair of studio hacks The storyline is a little thin and this is the only major weak spot in a tense and crisp Western which takes the Civil War as its backdrop .Scott plays a Union cavalry officer assigned to re-establish a stage line that he once managed before the war ,the purpose being to ship gold from California to the Federal banks .He must overcome a Confederate agent ,in the form of Andrew Duggan and still he finds time to romance the feisty and gallant heroine played by Karen Steele Boetticher directs with style and aplomb ;there is a lively musical score and some limpid colour cinematography by J Peverell Mackay that adds real lustre to the look of the picture . Add some strong performances and you get an above average minor Western with a crisp running time and lots of lively action by way of diversion .It is a very neat little movie indeed and recommended to Western fans in particular

Agree with other viewers that "Westbound" is the least of the seven Budd Boettcher/Randolph Scott westerns. But the assured work of both Director Boettcher and Star Scott take this up a notch or two from the run-of-the-mill fifties oater. Nice work too from Michael Pate as the arch villain (watch the way he moves). And it's good to see Virginia Mayo, even in a throwaway role. In most other respects, though, this just isn't up to Boettcher's other work with Scott, and the fact Boettcher dismissed and virtually disowned it is no surprise. The movie lacks the tough, lean feel that makes the others real classics that can be seen over and over. One viewing is enough for "Westbound."

I've been considered Budd Boetticher one of great western director on cinema industry, but Westbound is a point outside the curve, quite sure, an ordinary plot, predicable and senseless, having in the beauty Virginia Mayo as the first waste, she was flouted, just few laconic scenes, Randolph plays Captain Hayes who was a former manager of Overland stage line in the pastime, his main assignment enforced by the Union Army is restore the safety of stage line steadily undermined by southern on Colorado territory, he arrives in town accompanied by a cripple soldier Rod Miller (Michael Dante) who had cut your lefty arm infected by gangrene and waived of the war, often blaming himself as a half man, supported by his young wife Jeannie Miller (Barbara Steele), on the Julesburgh's town the rich man Clay Puttman (Andrew Duggan) no longer wants make part of the Overland line, he resigned due has strong southern roots, although has in mind finds an easy way to stopping the shipment gold thru the stagecoach line from California, nonetheless he has a dangerous gang behind leading by an unsavory assassin Mace (Michael Paté) who have his own rules, uncumbering his blind boss, a minor movie from Boetticher, for your notable relevance 7 out 10!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7