Ese soy yo

Excellent and funny story of Agry-town, a place where everything costs ten dollars and a man can be hung for being on the right side of a fight -- but the wrong side of the law. Hypocrisy and the essential weakness of human nature are humorously juxtaposed with Scott and his friends' hardboiled masculine ethic. Only the ending is a disappointment -- rushed and somewhat confused. Lang's writing is good and very barbed but somewhat predictable as the famous Ranown cycle winds down with this film.

The Pacific Film Archive here in Berkeley CA has been showing these films for the last few years, and in 2000 I and my mother had the chance to meet the director, the very charming, funny, and intelligent Bud Boetticher, and also the people who are restoring these movies for Columbia. They're doing a wonderful job, and hopefully soon we'll all be able to enjoy restored, less yellowed prints of these classic films (especially the incredible "Seven Men from Now") on DVD. Put any pressure you can on Columbia, folks, let them know you want to see these films on DVD, because the restoration is already well underway -- we just need to let them know there's an audience out there!

I'm familiar with Scott's work and am a fan. This film doesn't quite fit in with films like The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Decision at Sundown etc. Scott shares the screen with lots of supporting characters- LQ Jones, Craig Stevens and all the Agry men. The film opens with Scott happily heading to West Texas via Agry after a profitable Mexican run. He just wants food, probably something of a binding nature and drink. What no women? Only one woman here of interest- Barbara James uncredited as Nina the judge's Mexican housekeeper. Scott has barely any interaction with any females-Jennifer Holiday. Our Scott stands for loyalty, bravery, a fair fight, love of your belt, gun and Texas. I'll give him that. There is no compelling villain here as the Agry's are a bunch of double dealing B movie bumblers. Amos Agry reminds me of a young Andy Devine. Scott is good as a very relaxed murder defendant in a back barroom courtroom. This flick therefore falls toward the lower rung of the RS canon IMHO. I'd see it again, but I'd be riding lonesome.

High quality Boetticher western that succeeds on almost every front.

Scott is first class, less taciturn than usual and displaying a gift for wry humour not always evident in his performances. The supporting cast is well above average and Barry Kelley, Tol Avery and Peter Whitney, in particular, are all excellent, playing their parts to near perfection.

The scenery, both in and out of the town is wonderfully evocative - cacti to die for! - the guitar music is hauntingly beautiful and the colours are bright and pleasing.

If I have a criticism at all, it is that the plot is a little too convoluted - too many twists and counter twists - but, in the face of so much that is good, this is but a minor quibble.

Incidentally, the only women in the production have such tiny roles, they are not even named in the cast list. So no-one "gets the girl" this time round!

While the western genre is not my favourite one of all film genres (not sure which one is my favourite due to trying to appreciate them all the same), there is a lot of appreciation for it by me. There are a lot of very good to great films, with the best work of John Ford being notable examples.

One of seven films director Budd Boetticher made with lead actor Randolph Scott in the late 50s (a great pairing), 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is a fun worthwhile film, very interesting too for being tonally different, that doesn't disgrace either of them, both in fact are fairly well served. It is far from one of their best collaborations, for me it is one of their weaker ones but only because 'Seven Men from Now' and 'The Tall T' particularly set a high standard. It is of good interest though and doesn't deserve to be overlooked.

'Buchanan Rides Alone' has flaws. It does at times get over-complicated and the ending is rushed and underplayed, perhaps ridiculous too.

The film does lack the depth of characterisation that Boetticher/Scott's best outings had, with the villains being rather one-dimensional.

However, Scott has fun and is very likeable here, of his films with Boetticher it's with 'Buchanan Rides Alone' that contains the most likeable main character. The supporting cast are not quite on the same level but do give above average performances if never quite standing out properly, with only Craig Stevens not quite fitting.

What is immediately noticeable and intriguing about 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is its tone. Instead of the tense and elegiac tones from their other films, this adopts a more cheerful and humorous edge, with a snappy, lean (with no ramble or fat to distract) and often very funny script and lively pacing where the film never gets dull. The story is compelling and entertains and intrigues, although for my tastes as said there is a little too much going on and clarity suffers.

Boetticher directs efficiently and the music fits very nicely, having presence but never getting over-bearing. 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is a great looking film, the photography in particular being beautiful to watch.

Summarising, a fun ride and worth a look. Boetticher and Scott did better though. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Perhaps the only really unjustified feature of this Western is the title. They should have kept the original, "The name's Buchanan" - a line which crops up sufficiently often in the first five minutes to verge on becoming a catchphrase for the title character. One thing Buchanan *doesn't* do is ride alone. For a cowboy hero - particularly one played by Randolph Scott! - he's an unusually cheerful and sociable type, who picks up friends and allies almost everywhere he goes. I don't believe I've ever seen Randolph Scott smile so much in all the rest of his films put together - and it has much the same shock value as a grin on the face of Leonard Nimoy.

But it's mainly the humour that sets this film apart from a hundred other unpretentious B-Westerns. The plot twists don't hurt, either. This slender piece bears as many stings in the tail as the final chapters of a Hercule Poirot mystery. Tables are turned by one side upon the other so often that it verges upon the ridiculous; a point milked to wry appreciation by the script. The other interesting point is that Buchanan himself has little influence over the course of events. He merely (albeit adroitly) rides the tide, as the bickering Agry brothers provide the main engine for the plot. This film is far less of a one-man star vehicle than many Westerns of its era. To a degree, it might even be suspected of spoofing the genre.

I spotted only one technical blooper: as the sheriff(?) leaves the jail after demanding the keys, the far side of the street, for one brief aberrant moment, appears to consist of red-brick houses with paned-glass windows! Young de la Vega's horse really is a beautiful animal, on the other hand - the beast fully bears out the script's claim that the de la Vega horses are some of the best-bred in the country. Judging by the stunts, it was also presumably a trained performer - I wonder what its 'day job' was? :-)

To summarise: a cheerful, swift-moving Western with a touch of dry humour that helps it to stand out among a host of other B-movies. If you've watched 'Unforgiven' too many times, until your guts feel like treacle - if you can't take one more coarse joke from 'Blazing Saddles' - then try 'Buchanan' for a breath of fresh air, and watch Randolph Scott for once in his life having fun!