Le Cavalier traqué

"Riding shotgun" begins interestingly enough with voiceover by Randolph Scott. That is fair enough and what I would expect from the lead, as he manages to free himself from being tied down by a very young Charles Bronson, who plays Pinto, a robber cum murderer who owes very little to intelligence and not only does a poor job of tying up the fearsome gunhand but actually leaves Scott's gun and horse nearby. That is not all, another dimwit in the group also drops the Derringer that is used as bait for the evil Marady (reliably played by James Millican) to entrap Scott.

Confusing enough? Not as confusing as comparing this modest Western with HIGH NOON, a masterpiece on many levels, including an incisive attack on HUAC and McCarthyism.

That said, I found it confusing, if not downright exasperating, to see Scott decide to stay in a barroom while the town's residents plan to lynch him, fire shots at him, goad the deputy sheriff Tub Murphy (the Christian name Tub fits, he spends most of the film eating) into doing something about Scott while Marady and Pinto proceed to rob the local bank. The barroom owner is understandably peeved that his prized mirror might be shattered by bullets, as Scott fires one to kill the flame of a candle giving away his position. All of that makes for a mid-section with many different faces, and not much of a connecting thread, but the ending is great with Scott suddenly taking the limelight again and making sure that the robbers will not be able to use their horses to flee. Even poor dumb Pinto gets his due while trying to mount, and Marady's good luck piece changes hands!

Good fun, decent direction by the ever predictable and steadfast André de Toth. OK photography and script... for a B Western.

I'm glad to see that a majority of reviewers liked this film. I did, too. It's one Scott Western that's passed me by until now, though others are frequently shown on British TV.

The plot was more original than many 1950s' Westerns, and the town looked a little different to those so often seen. As has already been remarked, the townsfolk were a quirky lot, and there was some nice minor characterizations, especially the guy fondling a rope all the time.

What little love interest there was was unnecessary, doing nothing to the plot.

One might quibble at Scott's wish for a messenger to be sent to recall the posse. There wouldn't have been enough time to track it down and for it to return in time to combat the raid. And how obliging of Scott to ride so precisely under the tree that Bronson could jump on him. At least the revolvers ran out of ammunition after being fired six times, forcing their users to reload, unlike in some Westerns where they seem to have eight or more rounds in them.

I'll be happy to watch it again some time.

Larry DeLong(Scott) is Riding Shotgun on stagecoaches, keeping them safe. After a holdup, the town first thinks that he's a coward and then decide that he must be a part of the gang -- and they're gonna get him! Meanwhile, the real baddies are heading to town to rob the bank and only Scott can prevent that.

Not quite up to High Noon standards, but a good yarn. Randolph Scott comes through, once again!

Seeing "Riding Shotgun" again after half a century is a welcome reminder of the peak that the western film of the fifties achieved.

Director De Toth, who actually had ranch experience despite his Hungarian origins,obviously took great satisfaction in finding such a variety of effective angles and pieces of western imagery to present what is a well constructed story. When our weathered hero has to shoot out the candle in Fritz Feld's "dirty little cantina" it not only provides a chance for master cameramen Bert Glennon ("Stagecoach") to do an effective light change but it also gives us a couple of reels of the disturbing image of the blackened door-way that no one in the town is game to enter, not sure if Randy is dead or not.

The film making is better than most of the bigger pictures could muster.

The Warner western street re-dressed. Interesting cast - Joe Sawer in a non comedy role, punching it out with Scott, Charlie Bronson getting started, Millican in his best part - are those Frank Ferguson, Cesare Gravina and Bob Steele in uncredited walk-ons?

Pretension free, work like the Scott-De Toth series made going to the movies a rewarding, addictive habit.

"Riding Shotgun" is a very entertaining western, were only they all so good. It boasts an unusual story and pacing: 80 percent of the movie takes place between a bloody stagecoach robbery in the beginning of the movie and a violent casino robbery at the conclusion of the movie. During this 80 percent middle period, Scott is alone in town trying to convince the elders to recall the sheriff and posse which have gone after the stage robbers, who Scott knows robbed the stage to draw the sheriff-posse out of town so they could more easily rob the casino. And the townsfolk think Scott is part of the gang of stage robbers and wants the sheriff-posse recalled to protect the gang. So what we have is this intriguing story, rugged handsome Scott, good color photography, some humor supplied mainly by deputy sheriff Wayne Morris and cantina-owner Fritz Feld, an interesting/wacky group of townsfolk (in varied dress,looks and demeanor ), beautiful Joan Weldon, and Scott's narration. Unfortunately the ending doesn't live up to the delicious intro, but the ride was most enjoyable. And nice fade-out.