El secreto del jinete

Tight, efficient western story (not a "saga") about a man who uses a prisoner to get his brother into the open for revenge. In the meantime he strings along a beautiful stranded woman and 2 outlaws who hope to kill Scott and turn his prisoner in for a pardon for themselves. The climax before the evil-looking "hanging tree" is very impressive, although the film could have built Van Cleef into a stronger villain (perhaps the realism of a villain who isn't all that bad was part of the plan). Excellent synergy of all the vital elements by the director in this, one of the best of the famed (and hard to find) Ranown films.

Another in the series of short but very good westerns with RS. Scott is a one man Brigade. Take the Tall T, Comanche Station and the others in the RS genre; mix em up throw em in the air and you come up with the next in the series. I don't mind but my wife keeps complaining the movie is the same as the last RS flick. True to his code, Scott doesn't show much interest in Jayne Mansfield-like Karen Steele. A standout performance for Pernell Roberts as the bad guy. James Best known for his Jimmy Stewart imitation to entertain Burt Reynolds in Hooper,is on hand for some interesting supporting acting. I didn't see the ending coming and I hate to leave you hanging so I won't say a word.

Ride Lonesome is that rare B-film, one that eclipses in a wink most of its bigger budgeted brethren. The return of scripter Burt Kennedy (who had not done the two previous Scott/Boetticher films) to the Ranown company (founded by Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown), the close group harmony, resulted in an obviously glorious reunion for all concerned.

Shot entirely outdoors, like "The Tall T," we have large open spaces, but a tightly confined group. This time the bounty isn't gold or money - it's outlaw Billy John (James Best). Former sheriff Ben Brigade has captured him, counting on Billy John's brother Frank (Lee Van Cleef) to come get him. Brigade has a score to settle, the murder of his wife, and he intends to settle it at a tree that holds relevance to both lawman and outlaw. Scott is joined by two minor lawbreakers, in whose hope of amnesty provided by the turning over of Billy John to authorities, provides the alliance of adversaries so common to the Boetticher films. Pernell Roberts, the more worldly and intelligent of the two, like Brigade, is looking for personal redemption, and the hope of his own ranch once he settles down. He acts a big brother to the less intelligent, and basically decent, James Coburn, in his filmic debut, is a long way from his more forceful character that would surface in later westerns of Sturges and Peckinpah. Karen Steele is on hand again (she was in "Decision at Sundown"), the group finds her alone in a way station, threatened by the Indians who killed her husband. She serves as conscience and libido stimulator, and her breathtaking appearance is highlighted in what is one of the film's most humorous moments ("I said her eyes").

So, avoiding the Indians on their trail, and the threat of Frank's gang, Brigade leads the group to the inevitable showdown at the hanging tree that will determine the fate of the group, and the individual futures of each.

Ranown, Boetticher and Kennedy had one more film to go, the actor was slowing down - after years of averaging three per year, there were just two releases in both 1957 and 1958, Ride Lonesome was the only film for 1959, and 1960's Comanche Station would be the sole film for Scott until 1962's valedictory film known as Ride the High Country.

This the sixth of seven westerns director Budd Boeticher made with producer/star Randolph Scott and while it follows the same basic formula of the others its not a bad thing since most on their own are well paced, action packed, suspenseful and ably lensed by Charles Lambert who has wonderful eye for the west and this is no exception.

In this one Scott plays bounty hunter Ben Brigade. He's taking murderer Billy John back to Sant Cruz for a reward and this gets the attention of two tired desperadoes since it includes amnesty for anyone who brings him back. With Indians on the warpath he forms an uneasy alliance with the two as well as take Mrs. Carrie Lane who runs the stage stop along with her. In addition to this quartet of issues Brigade is also being pursued by Billy's brother.

If they were car makers John Ford and Anthony Mann would make Cadillacs while Budd Boeticher would manufacture Volkswagons. While he does not have the star power or budget of those western masters he nevertheless produces the same quality product with impressive wide open space compositions effectively punctuated with symbols and clues. He may only make compact westerns but they almost always offer a good clean economical ride.

Scott's nearest threat in Ride Lonesome are not like previous cold blooded villains. Instead they are more Lenny and George from Of Mice and Men than James brothers but once they find out what the word amnesty means they are prepared to kill to get it.

Scott as usual is the same tough, humorless, stoic he plays in the other westerns while Barbera Steele is more dance hall girl than pioneer woman. What differentiates Ride Lonesome from the other Boeticher westerns is the characters of Sam Boone and Whit. They may be surly and have some rattle snake in them but they are loyal to each other and the interplay between Pernel Roberts and especially James Coburn make them interestingly sympathetic.

For a 71-minute movie, Ride Lonesome is one of the most rivetingly memorable Westerns I've ever seen. Fans of epics and lots of mindless action should stay away. This is a thinking person's group character study of the five principals and the ubiquitous presence of Lee Van Cleef's "Big Brother" Frank despite a very economic amount of screen time.

True enough that in many ways, this plays a like a typical '50's "classic-formula"(including a misplaced-and-awkward Indian-Chief-wants-widow-for-squaw subplot) Western -- albeit exceedingly well-directed and well-acted. The dialog, richness of characterizations, and interplay among characters ultimately set this one apart. These come across as indelibly drawn real people who happened to live in the 1870's West. However, Boetticher fans need not threat that he has totally abandoned his contributions to Western Mythology. The rather spartan genre-emblematic symbolism he does include resonates all the more as a result of this efficiency.

This is true despite the presence, nay -- especially due to the presence of Randolph Scott and his pitch-perfect interplay with charmingly roguish Boone, marvelously essayed by Pernell Roberts. Neither ever loses sight of who and what the other man is. Both share a healthy amount of mutual respect mixed with healthy skepticism and awareness of an inevitable dark cloud shadowing their temporary alliance. Roberts, in particular, evokes every bit of sardonic humor, masculine charm, and fidelity to his own peculiar code that the script allows him. Scott, for his part, is far closer to the dark bitterness of Will Kane than he is when playing most of his heroic characters.

Both characters are more-than-ably joined in the ensemble by half-witted-but-loyal cowpoke Whit (James Coburn), homicidal man-boy Billy (James Best), and-abandoned-wife-and-later-widowed Karen Steele. The female actor is quite appealing visually and as convincing as possible in her role given her contrived introduction into the plot. Once we get past the Indian subplot, she comes into her own as she gradually learns who Scott's and Robert's characters truly are, and adjusts her emotions accordingly.

But, one facet of this film that has always stuck in my mind is the way Boetticher and Kennedy brilliantly collaborated to have Van Cleef essay Big Brother Frank, the movie's ultimate villain - especially considering the many High-Noon-ish parallels. He neither portrays a Big-Brother-Frank-Miller type of cocksure-but-defiantly-laconic swaggering gang leader or a typically unrepentant Lee Van Cleef villain. Instead, we get a somewhat remorseful, increasingly bemused, but immutably duty-bound human being of real-flesh-and-blood feelings. It is only after exhausting potential alternatives that he reluctantly comes to terms with the inevitability of his final conflict with Scott. And, his reluctance to do Scott further harm seems genuine, only to be trumped by his commitment to free little brother Billy.

But, as good as the entire ensemble is, the film draws a good deal of its charm and heart from Pernell Robert's performance as Boone. I note this as an aside, because Roberts went on to make only one more indelible feature film performance before getting overshadowed on Bonanza. Even worse for his promising career, directors reportedly found him nearly impossible to work with and there was no love lost between him and his fellow cast members who felt he thought himself superior to all of them; intellectually speaking, he was probably right, but that bought him nothing in Hollywood. Eventually, he had a fairly long run starring in a highly rated series that for some reason, has had no shelf-life on reruns called Trapper John, M. D. But, there, too, Hollywood scuttlebutt indicates that he made few friends. After just re-watching his marvelous work in "Ride Lonesome", and recalling other performances, I found myself thinking that these off-the-set issues were truly unfortunate because Roberts truly exuded leading-man-caliber talent. Instead I can only urge other IMDB'ers not to miss this performance.

Despite the economic budget, the cinematic and sound-related choices are impeccably executed. Contrasts are especially effective. My rating for this near-perfect Western is 9/10.