Il cavaliere del deserto

Good yarn, nasty baddies and strong goodies with great scenery and a terrific punch up in the mountains - sorry for grandpas cabin. Randolph Scott in one of his better movies.

Some of the reviews here nearly dissuaded me from watching this film, which doesn't seem to have been screened much on British TV (certainly I was unaware of it), whereas the Boetticcher and other later Scott Westerns are shown regularly.

"MITS" compared very well indeed with these, and the plot was different to those of "stranger riding into town and trouble"). It's been remarked that Scott was a bit old for the two female leads, but that was the case in many of his later Westerns (and Gary Cooper's too). The colour photography also added to my enjoyment of the film. It was good to see Guinn Williams in a role that wasn't his "comic sidekick" one, and also John Russell as a jealous admirer. Joan Leslie's romantic vacillations were a bit unconvincing, as were the final scenes.

Unlike at least one previous reviewer, I didn't notice the differing appearances of Scott and his fight stand-in, and I doubt that cinema viewers in the early 1950s did either.

(I've just checked the date of release, and was a little surprised, as the film had the "look" of one made late in the decade or even the early 1960s.)

I'm glad that I watched it.

Average Scott western, at best. There're some darn fine Lone Pine vistas that aren't usually seen, plus mountain scenes from southern Sierras. That's one thing about well-produced westerns— the scenery can sustain even when all else falters. Scott, of course, is Scott, strong-jawed and humorless, carrying the film even when the congested script doesn't. The plot's pretty familiar, rich landowner taking over hero's land, along with a number of subplots. Then too, we've got not just one ingénue, but two. Leslie and Drew may be malt shop girls from the 40's but they do well enough here. I'm glad their hair color differs, otherwise they would be hard to tell apart.

I'm with those who think Rober and Knox too bland to compete with Scott. Also, I agree that Russell would have made a much more vivid villain; too bad he's wasted in what looks like a tacked-on role. And catch how easily Bedoya goes from clown to menace, even without "stinkin' badges". I really did expect sharper results from ace director DeToth. Given the right material, he can be quite affecting, as his western masterpiece Ramrod (1948) proves. As Andrew Sarris points out, few movie makers had a better feel for human treachery than the eye-patch Hungarian. My guess is he regarded the script as little more than a vehicle for Scott, though a few nice fringe touches do emerge, such as the straggler who gets in the way of the showdown.

All in all, the oater's too sprawling in both cast and story to achieve anything more than a scenic time passer.

Big rancher Alexander Knox has married Joan Leslie former girlfriend of smaller rancher Randolph Scott. Knox is a brooding jealous sort of man and wants Scott out the territory. He hires some gunslingers headed by Richard Rober to do the job.

Scott's a 'peaceable man' in the tradition of Wild Bill Elliott, but don't provoke him too much. But Knox is determined to start a range war out of jealousy.

It becomes an open war after Rober kills brothers Cameron Mitchell and Richard Crane who work for Scott. And the wild part is that Scott's now taken a fancy to Ellen Drew.

A previous reviewer said that Alexander Knox was miscast in a western. True he isn't a typical western actor, but a whole lot of people went west to make names for themselves of all kinds. Knox does a good job of the brooding and jealous rancher with a deep seated inferiority complex.

Now it's also true that Richard Rober is a little too nattily dressed for a villain, but that sure is a western stereotype. I think he made a very good villain in this western. Rober was tragically killed in an automobile accident soon after this picture was finished. A good career in villainy was cut short.

A lot of plot similarities to this and The Violent Men also done by Columbia Pictures a few years later. It's a good entry from the Randolph Scott western collection.

I really enjoyed this. Most of Scott's films are pretty similar, however in this one its nice to see him commit to the fight much earlier on than he normally does.

Plenty of good action and some well put together characters.

Its interesting to me that they made the head bad guy British, it set a different tone, "I don't belong here so I'll force my way'. This miss fitting gave the character strength and weakness.

The head henchman was a little lacking, good verbally but not given any great opportunities. The other independent lead henchman was also wasted a little and could have added more.

Great film :)