The Savage Horde

Yes, as a French movie buff, the translation of this western title is the same as THE WILD BUNCH - LA HORSE SAUVAGE one; and the most funny is that another Joseph Kane's western, made several years later, MAVERICK QUEEN, had its tile translated in French by the same title : LA HORDE SAUVAGE. Follow me? That said, this purely typical Republic pictures western is rather good, despite Wild Bill Elloit's presence; he, who was used to Z westerns, fifty minutes long. Just good.

Wild Bill Elliott whose later westerns for Republic were pretty good does another fine one in The Savage Horde. He plays one of two brothers, a gunfighter named Ringo who shot an army captain and the army in the person of Colonel Douglass Dumbrille wants him. And charged with bringing him in is Lieutenant Jim Davis who is Elliott's younger brother.

Escaping the army's clutches, Elliott arrives in the town of Gunlock which is in the midst of a range war started by the local Ponderosa owner Grant Withers who's backed by his tough foreman Roy Barcroft and a murderous gunslinger in Bob Steele. He's also got the local judge Will Wright in his pocket and he's courting Wright's daughter Barbara Fuller who is also being courted by young Noah Beery, Jr., the leader of the small ranchers. Seems that Withers thinks that government land and open range are his exclusively.

Naturally Elliott sides with the little guys, but he's a fugitive and of course that is always in the back of his mind. But even fugitives are entitled to some romance and he has it with hash house owner Lorna Gray.

As you can see there are a lot of plot elements, but they're woven nicely into a tight no frills story that doesn't waste a minute of film frame. Pay attention to Wright as a troubled figure and Withers who is a bit more complex than most standard B western villains are.

Most of all there's Bob Steele who in my book was always better as a villain than a cowboy hero. His gunslinger Dancer ranks right up there with the villain roles he did in The Big Sleep, The Enforcer and South Of St. Louis. He's one murderous punk in this one.

I would strongly urge anyone who is a western fan to check out this and other westerns done by Bill Elliott after he stopped being Red Ryder.

Johnny Ringo appears in many westerns and there are many stories about him. No one knows which are true or false. Here he appears with a brother, who is an Army Lieutenant.

Ringo shot and supposedly murdered another lieutenant and the Army is after him. He holes up in a town where his old flame has a restaurant without his gun.

There is a range war going on and he gets drawn into the side of the good guys. He has to pick up his gun again to save the day. Off he rides into the sunset with his brother to face charges vowing to his girlfriend he will return.

Of course he will.

Bill Elliott does a good job. He has been in over 200 films by the time he made this, so he had a bit of experience. Another veteran (Noah Beery Jr.) was also here as Ringo's partner.

If you're anything like me, movies with no regard to continuity are just too distracting to enjoy. This little gem caught me by surprise right from the first few scenes because its continuity is absolutely dead on perfect. There are probably very few people who are fooled by sound stages versus the real outdoors. Not much can be done to satisfactorily convince the viewer that the actors are in the desert when they are actually in a studio with sand on the floor. BUT! This movie uses continuity to make the transition from indoor sound stage to outdoor reality as seamless and believable as I've ever seen. Watch closely as Wild Bill Elliot goes into a crouching position at the campfire on the sound stage to the exact same crouching position at the outdoor campfire. Someone cared about details like this in a 1950 western when it seems like no one in today's movie making industry can keep the level in a water glass within two inches of the proper level from scene to scene.

Watch this movie for everything it has to offer, but while you're doing that PLEASE keep an eye on the near perfect job the continuity department did. I'm afraid this kind of pride in workmanship is a fading Hollywood legend.

On the run after killing a man in self-defense, Ringo (Bill Elliot) lies low in a cattle town that isn't as quiet as he hoped it would be. A power-hungry landowner is trying to push out the local ranchers. When Ringo's sense of justice gets provoked, he throws in with the ranchers to fight against proctor and his band of hired guns. But doing the right thing means risking capture and death, especially when the army puts Ringo's brother, Mike, on his trail.

A fine Bill Elliott western that is intelligently scripted, and features some depth in the characterisation. Grant Withers as Proctor- villain -isn't a pencil twirling villain and has some scruples such as not turning to gunplay, especially against older folk, but his overpowering ambition and losing the leading lady makes him go totally bad. He's quite a shrewd character who seems to be winning the range war, and even manages to oust Ringo - Bill Elliott - out of the way. Speaking of which, Wild Bill acts brilliantly as the gunfighter running from the cavalry and ends up helping the ranchers, and without a gun. Well not until the very end.

The Savage Horde is an engrossing western featuring great performances and nice gunplay at the end. Bob Steele does fine as trigger-happy gunslinger on Proctor's side called Dancer.