Ride a Crooked Trail

As simple case of mistaken identity puts wanted bank robber Audie Murphy in position of Sheriff in a small but fast growing Western Town - with its own large bank. The film plods along nicely giving enough to keep the viewer interested and when it does begin to delve into Murphy's character, it still manages to keep the question 'will he or wont he' wide open. Walter Mattau provides the comedy as the drunken judge who rules with an iron fist. Enjoyable..

i really enjoyed this western as i always liked audie murphy westerns. also a great performance by walter matthau as the crusty old judge. also gia scala is great as the bad girl with a big heart

i wish they would show this, other audie murphy movies and all the 50's westerns

from universal-international on tcm. also what do we have to do to get these great old western from universal on DVD? "ride a crooked trail" rates up there with me with "the cimmaron kid" "night passage" "the duel at silver creek" and the "unforgiven" as audie's great westerns. they put out old black & white westerns from the 30's and 40's from other studios but why don't they put universal's great color westerns from the 50's out on DVD

This was a good Westrn, pretty much of a formula Western of Hollywood from 1950 to 1990, in which the hero begins as a bad guy. One wonders if a Western hero could ever have started out good to be a Hollywood hero. The answer is "no". Murphy plays an outlaw who assumes the identity of a lawman whom he sees fall off a cliff. He becomes a celebrity in a town where the law in a roguish judge played by Walter Mattheau. The movie is more of a showcase for him than anything, and he does brilliantly. People who know who Audie Murphy really is show up with ulterior motives, and Murphy finds himself in the middle. No doubt, most people will find the main character's part a bit formula, but likewise, most people will enjoy Mattheau very much. A lot of likable aspects to this story. Not packed with gunplay, but there are several guns going off. Enough action to keep 98% of the audience interested. Lots to like.

.....when I look at Audie Murphy's filmography ;apart from Huston ,Siegel and Mankiewicz,it's mostly B movies .That does not mean they were not good;this actor sometimes got excellent screenplays:"no name on the bullet" is a good example.

Like "hell bent for leather","ride on a crooked trail" -which perfectly depicts the hero's life till...-is a case of mistaken identity.The story may seem trite ,but the characters are colorful and there's more humor than in the average western.

Walter Matthau as the grumpy kind-hearted judge accentuates the comedy side of the film.Henry Silva restores the balance .

In his movies ,boyish Murphy had always had a bizarre Relationship with women (in one of his roles,he's alone in a fort and he's got to teach them the soldier job):here he sleeps in the bathtub and cooks breakfast for his "wife " Gia Scala (the future traitor in "guns of Navarone" ).There's actually a good chemistry between the two stars who must pretend they are husband and wife ,which gives good lines when Murphy says that "this bank is almost his" and his companion,very interested in the place too,has to be involved in women's club ,which is not her cup of tea (in both senses of the term).

Even more interesting is the friendship between Murphy and the little brat ;both are waifs ,raised in bars ,and if the judge considers his marshal a little as his adoptive son,the cute Jimmy feels that he might find a family too .Anyway,both the judge and the kid ,who leaves the house he 'd like to call home,guess there's something wrong: two married persons share the same bedroom and the same bed ,every kid knows that.

Jimmy is a strong kid who knows what he wants : we see him study - which is very rare in westerns-,and finally he plays a prominent part in Maybe's redemption.

Ride a Crooked Trail is directed by Jesse Hibbs and adapted to screenplay by Borden Chase from a story written by George Bruce. It stars Audie Murphy, Walter Matthau, Gia Scala, Leo Gordon, Henry Silva and Eddie Little. A CinemaScope/Eastman Color production, music is by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by Harold Lipstein.

A blend of the breezy and the beefy here as Audie saddles up as Joe Maybe, a bank robber who after assuming the identity of the detective who was sent to capture him, winds up as the sheriff of a corrupt town. Ironically it's the town he and his dastardly cohorts had planned for their next big robbery. But as Joe insinuates himself into the company of the town's better citizens, he begins to doubt his dark side.

It's pretty routine as per the bad man trying to turn good axis of Western movie plotting, but there's a good sense of fun running throughout. Murphy himself seems to really be enjoying himself in the role of Joe Maybe. Leading the front of frivolity is Matthau as the town judge, his capacity for alcohol is as legendary as his ability to find a quip or sarcasm in the most trying of situations. Many of the scenes shared between the two men are most funny, be it hangovers, court room shenanigans or generally sounding each other out, they make for a great pair of characters.

Of course all this good fun has to ease off for the plot to take its darker turn. Which brings in the villains and the action scenes just as Joe's conscience starts to gnaw away at him. Costuming is appealing, especially when modelled by Scala, Gershenson provides another one of his lively Western musical scores and Lipstein's Scope photography makes good use of the gorgeous scenery. It's a bit creaky in parts and Hibbs sometimes lets the pace sag, but this is good entertainment for Audie and Matthau fans. 7/10