The Shadow Riders

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.

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

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.

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.

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.