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If I were to describe the Louis L'Amour novel-based television film "The Shadow Riders" in two words that might seem to contradict each other, they would be: dimwitted and fun. No, this is not a great Western or a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. Intellectually and screenplay-wise, it's mediocre at best. But in terms of the entertainment that one receives from viewing it, especially fans of the old-fashioned Westerns like myself, it both promises and delivers. There is not a single smart line or moment in "The Shadow Riders", but it's thoroughly entertaining and I was not bored with a single moment of it. I was not mightily impressed either, but I had the time of my life.

I have not read the original novel by Louis L'Amour, but judging from my research, the basic plot remains the same. The film stars Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott as brothers who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War and return to their home in Texas only to find that their sisters, brother, and Elliott's girlfriend (played by Elliott's real-life spouse Katharine Ross) have been taken by renegade Confederate soldiers led by a bloodthirsty, revenge-seeking colonel (Geoffrey Lewis), who plans to sell them as slaves in Mexico in return for guns and ammunition to continue a war he feels has not ended.

If somebody had come up to me after viewing "The Shadow Riders" and told me that it was made in the 1950s or 60s, I would have believed it. That could very well be the magic that works in this otherwise dimwitted Western. It has the same spirit, the same style, the same manner and rhythm of dialogue and story that the old, action-packed classics had. Yes, it's an old-fashioned Western, but that's not a bad thing at all.

Yes, the film also has many moments where disbelief must be suspended. Just like in the old Westerns, when there's a shootout, the good guys score a direct hit every time and the bad guys, no matter how many shots they fire, always seem to miss. There's a scene where Selleck and Elliott are charging into an enemy camp trying to stampede their stolen cattle and are firing three to five shots from their six-guns into the air instead of wisely saving ammunition for fighting the enemy that's rousing in front of them. And I also thought it was silly how Geoffrey Lewis and the always competent Gene Evans—as well as everybody else it seems—was drawn relentlessly and vulnerably to a middle-aged Katharine Ross. Not to mention that the attitudes of several characters seem written for actors of an adolescent age even though the film was meant for adult actors.

You get my point. "The Shadow Riders" is not an intelligent film. And like I said earlier, it's not a very well-made one either. But it's most certainly entertaining in the guilty pleasure range and it's eye candy with its all-star cast, many of whom are veterans from the old Western period like Harry Carey Jr., R.G. Armstrong, and Ben Johnson, who steals every scene he's in as the brothers' renegade uncle. If you're not a Western fan, there's really no big reason to see "The Shadow Riders". But if you are, or if you want to see Dominique Dunne in her last film role, then by all means, see it. You will have the time of your life.

Good, old-fashioned western with two golden age actors, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr., from the John Ford and John Wayne movies. Of course, Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross also know how to act and provide some entertaining characters.

Next, Dominique Dunne provides some interesting vignettes. Her homicide/murder soon after the movie was tragic and deprived us of a promising career. The movie is based on a Louis L'Amour western with the same name. The movie is good, but the book is much better. The character Colonel Hammond (Gene Evans) is a sailor and gun runner in both, but he is also Kate Connery's relative in the book. This is a major area where the movie deviates from the book.

Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott play Mac and Dal Traven, two amiable brothers who fought on opposing sides during the Civil War. Now, the war is over, but one revenge-crazed associate of Dals', Major Ashbury (Geoffrey Lewis), is intent on keeping the war going. To that end, he's made an alliance with a rascally gun runner, Holiday Hammond (Gene Evans). Meanwhile, Ashbury and his men have gone on a spree of crimes including the kidnapping of members of the Traven family.

This Louis L'Amour adaptation (by executive producer Jim Byrnes) amounts to agreeable entertainment, with the expected stunts, action scenes, and lovely scenery. The story is nothing special, but it's not hard to follow, and it DOES kill time amiably. What really makes it work as well as it does is the able cast, including such Western veterans as Ben Johnson (as Mac and Dals' scoundrel of an uncle, Black Jack Traven), R.G. Armstrong, and Harry Carey, Jr. Elliotts' real-life longtime companion, Katharine Ross, is vibrant as Kate, and it's no surprise that the two of them share a natural chemistry. Jeff Osterhage co-stars as a scrappy Traven sibling. Other familiar faces include Dominique Dunne (in what was sadly her last role), Marshall R. Teague, and Jane Greer as Carey's wife. Selleck and Elliott look right at home in this genre, just as they always do, and show off plenty of charisma. Johnson clearly has fun getting to play a colourful role.

The writing might not be particularly sharp or witty, but these filmmakers, led by director Andrew V. McLaglen, *still* manage to show their audience a pretty good time. Nobody ever appears to take any of this very seriously, anyway. It's just "good", lighthearted, amiable, predictable TV-level Western storytelling.

Seven out of 10.

The Shadow Riders is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and adapted to screenplay by Jim Byrnes from the novel written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Dominique Dunne, Ben Johnson and Geoffrey Lewis. Music is by Jerrold Immel and cinematography by Jack Whitman.

A CBS TV production, The Shadow Riders has Selleck (Mac Traven) and Elliott (Dal Traven) as brothers, who even though they fought on different sides in the Civil War, there fondness for each other still exists. With the war now officially ended, the brothers meet up and head for the family home, here they find their parents telling of how their sisters and Dal's girlfriend Kate (Ross) have been abducted by Renegade Rebels. The men promptly set off in search of their loved ones...

It's all very much standard stuff, both in plot telling and production values. Exuding very much a family feel, it's a disappointingly bloodless and sexless picture, with some cliché'd dialogue, poor musical accompaniments to certain scenes (tonally way off) and filler sequences thrown in for good measure. That said, it's very much a harmless piece, with the two male leads good company to share some time with, while Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. offer up a welcoming presence. Location scenery is also well photographed, keeping things airy, and ultimately it's a decent enough time waster for Western fans not expecting an under seen gem. 6/10

This should've been a better movie. Good actors, good production, but the music and overall tone are so whimsical and undercuts the drama. Ex: the music is 100% wrong for this. There are numerous fights and dramatic scenes in the whimsical fun music comes up and completely destroys the trauma of the scene. This would be a great candidate to be remade in the same seriousness of the book. Also, the camera work is so tight obviously a TV movie. They should've at least show the landscapes, and the grandeur of the west. That in itself is an important part of any great western, showing how small the combatants are against the landscape. Overall it's just an average TV movie.

The cast of Ben Johnson, Sam Elliot, and Tom Selleck in a western is unbeatable.

Some have compared this movie to The Sacketts (same writer, same cast), and gave is something of a pan.

I found the story line in general, and a couple of the sub-plots, very very entertaining. I think you have to recognize that adultery has been around since the beginning of time. The treatment of of Uncle Jack (Ben Johnson) reminded me a lot of one of my uncles, and the dialog just sounded right.

While the scenery may have looked a little California, the place settings in Texas were genuine - Big Springs and Baffin Bay are real places. Baffin Bay is at the south end of Padre Island off Laguna Madre - home of the best bay fishing in Texas.

Brothers Tom Selleck (Union) and Sam Elliott (Confederacy) split on the issue of the Civil War but are now reunited after Selleck saves Elliott from some carpetbagger lynchers.

But when the two oldest Traven siblings arrive home they find that the place has been raided and the two youngest who are girls have been taken by Comancheros. So say parents Harry Carey, Jr. and Jane Greer. A neighbor woman Katherine Ross who was with the girls was also taken. Selleck and Elliott pick up a third brother Jeff Osterhage and a roguish uncle Ben Johnson.

We've got a pair of villains. Former Confederate Army colonel Geoffrey Lewis who doesn't believe in surrendering has turned outlaw and wants to move into Mexico and raise an army so the south shall rise again.

Which forces Lewis to deal with smuggler/gunrunner Gene Evans who has some Snidely Whiplash like intentions towards the women. Neither trusts the other and Evans makes a chump out of Lewis.

The whole thing is directed by big screen western veteran Andrew McLaglen and it's nice to see best friends Carey and Johnson reunited under McLaglen's direction. McLaglen also does well by his younger stars who would have been marquee names as cowboy stars in old Hollywood.

Western fans will like this.

Being a huge fan of Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot in westerns, I have to say that I was underwhelmed with the show. I actually bought the DVD just because it had Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot AND was a Louis L'Amour story. I had not heard of it but figured I couldn't go wrong. While the combination of Selleck, Elliot and L'Amour should have been golden, they turned out to be brass. The production value was very "television" (it was made for TV). It is what it is in that regard. However the action sequences were (IMHO) amateur. The hero knocks out the bad guy with one punch. The bad guys never see the hero's sneaking through the bushes in broad daylight. It just had a typical 80's TV show feel to it. I still felt it was worth the purchase for Selleck and Elliot even if the story and production didn't support them very well.

If three guys ever looked like rugged, craggy-faced cowboys, it has to be the trio that starred in this made-for-TV movie: Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck and Ben Johnson. With those guys, and a whole lot more, and a story written by Louis L'Amour, this is about as western a Western as you'll ever find.....and it should be better than it is.

There is just too much "Rambo" mentality in the good guys never get hit and the bad guys get hit with every shot. That, and a few comments made such as "(adultry) is no big deal" has no place in this story and that kind of liberalism is more with the filmmakers than the people of the Old West.

The film is just "fair" in about every aspect, nothing of note, despite a lot of similarities (cast and author) as the better-made "The Sacketts."

The "bad guys" were presumably hired because of their ability to shoot straight and protect their nasty leader. But when it comes to a gun fight, these guys can't hit anything. It's pathetic. And of course the "good guys" can't miss. Still targets, moving targets, riders on speedy running horses at a great distance. Doesn't matter. They hit them all. And do it with old black power pistols at that. And I know the big name movie stars can't take risks on the set, but sometimes the doubles just don't look much like the heroes. And wearing the same clothes doesn't really help. This is an entertaining movie and that's what its all about. I just wish Hollywood would try a little harder to add some realism.

(1982) The Shadow Riders WESTERN

Adapted from the short story by Luis L'Amour stars Yankee, Tom Selleck as Mac Traven in peculiar circumstances teams up with his older brother Confederate soldier Dal Traven played by Sam Elliot to retrieve some of their nieces, and Dal's wife, Kate (Sam Elliot's real life wife Katherine Ross) from a human smuggling operation for the expectation of rifles.

This movie is not bad considering it was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen synonymous for directing many of John Wayne movies on the later stages. At this point, he has a knack to how how Westerners act and talk. Also in this are veteran actors of Harry Carey JR and Ben Johnson.

Four of the best all time best western actors performing with Tom Selleck and Catharine Ross at their best -- Harry Carey, Jr., Ben Johnson, Geoffrey Lewis and Sam Elliot -- make the best of a Louis L'Amour story. Purists may be put-off by the geographical inaccuracies; there is no Baffin Bay or Converse County, Texas. The location looks more like the California coast than Texas.

So in spite of the caste, this is a mediocre made-for-TV movie. The plot has promise but the uninspired dialog drags it down. The background music doesn't contribute at all, rather it conflicts with the actions on screen. Who puts music more fitted to a comedy in a drama? It would have helped this movie a lot to have the correct background music.

One of the worst of the made-for-TV westerns, this cheap-looking production features slapdash direction (by the unremarkable Andrew V. McLaglen of THE UNDEFEATED fame), an often silly script, and poor production design. Not only that, but it's all dragged down by Jerrold Immel's horrendous score, which is one of the worst examples of "Mickey Mouse-ing" I've ever heard. An excellent cast, several of whom appeared in the earlier and more successful TV-movie THE SACKETTS (in which Immel's music was slightly better but still pretty awful) is woefully wasted here. I wanted to like this movie but found it very disappointing.

I have not read the Louis L'Amour novel on which this is allegedly based, but hopefully L'Amour's original has a little more going for it in the credibility department. Rock Hudson's CSA officer in "The Undefeated" tested the credibility threshold but at least there was a twisted sort of logic to his goal in that movie. Such is not the case here and you are left waiting for the guys in the white coats to sedate Geoffrey Lewis and take him away to the quiet room.

Which is unfortunate because it wastes great chemistry in the pairing of Selleck and Elliott. The titles and the credit sequences are first class with "period" stills Civil War daguerreotypes.

The return home of the brothers is the highlight of the film and almost makes the thing worth watching. Jane Greer and Harry Carey, Jr. are excellent in this very moving film moment.

Katherine Ross has a nothing role and it is too bad Dominique Dunne ended her career playing a minor supporting role in a wasted opportunity movie.

Ben Johnson seems to enjoy himself in this although he probably should have been taken to that quiet room along with Lewis.

A good strategy is to watch the first 25 minutes up until the first beach scene, then walk away because you will have seen everything worth watching by that point.

Even though these brothers don't call themselves Sacketts, the story really seems a prequel to the movie by that name since the brothers are all played by the same people, There names in the story are the same, and much of this story is connected to that story. In the Sacketts it starts out with Orin (Tom Sellick) as either the mayor or running for the job at the same time as getting married. So I found it a bit strange to basically have connecting stories...But different last names.

Unfortunately that was the least of the problems. The Sacketts must have been directed by someone else because that's a for TV movie that looks professional. This one comes across a pretty amateurish. Then again maybe they were working on a very tight budget so they couldn't do a lot of re-shoots or very extensive editing. It was a shame to see such a good cast sometimes come across as rookies. Had they been able to get better directing and editing this too would have been a pretty good western......Oh....And as someone else said...Drop that music that often didn't match the situation. I like the comparison to the Dukes Of Hazard....That's spot on in my opinion.

One last thought. As an old duffer that was around in 1979 when this was released....I remember TV back then, and I really can't be too tough on them because many of the shows were made like this. I think the Sacketts probably got more money because it was a bigger and longer production. Anything over one night kind of went into a Mini Series mode so the productions seemed bigger. Too bad they didn't meld the stories, but I suppose there was a issue if the brothers from Shadow Riders weren't Sacketts. Otherwise putting this as the first night followed by the next two parts would have worked out just fine.