Le colline blu

I found this film to be both traditional and non-traditional at the same time. I originally watched this film because I am interested in anything starring Jack Nicholson, but I was drawn in by the story of horse thieves and mistaken identities.

With essentially the same cast as The Shooting, which was filmed in succession with Ride in the Whirlwind with many of the same locations, this has the feel of what we now in the 90's call an "independent" movie. For all practical purposes, it is. As a result you get a good story, good acting without all the Hollywood bottom line money making stunts. A must see for Nicholson fans along with the Shooting.

A couple of cowboys end up with a lynch-happy posse on their tails after being mistaken for members of a murderous band of stagecoach robbers. Monte Hellman's short, spare 'vigilante justice' tale is pretty good for a low-budget oater (shot back-to-back with 'The Shooting' to save money) but is likely best known for an early starring role for Jack Nicholson (who also wrote the story). Nicholson and western regular Cameron Mitchell (Uncle Buck in the great TV ranch-saga 'The High Chaparral' (1967)) are quite good as the two drifters trying to stay alive and the rest of the cast (including the always watchable Harry Dean Stanton) are serviceable. The story is lean, simple but interesting, the desert cinematography is nice, and 'action sequences' are well done. Typical of a Roger Corman project, the film is very good considering the resources available.

Former Roger Corman collaborator Monte Hellman directed two of the most underrated American movies of the 1960s/70s 'The Shooting', a puzzling western starring Warren Oates and Jack Nicholson, and the existential road movie 'Two-Lane Blacktop'. 'Ride In The Whirlwind' was shot simultaneously with 'The Shooting', and while it isn't as impressive as that film it's still very good, and one of the most underrated Westerns of the 1960s. Jack Nicholson once again stars, and also scripted. He and Hellman made a great team, and it's just a pity that they didn't continue to collaborate. A few other actors from 'The Shooting' also appear, most notably the sultry Millie Perkins, though she has a much smaller role in this one. Nicholson is ably supported by legendary character actors Cameron Mitchell ('Hombre', 'The Klansman', 'The Toolbox Murders') and Harry Dean Stanton ('Cool Hand Luke', 'Repo Man', 'The Last Temptation Of Christ'). Watching these three guys work off each other is reason enough to see this. (Also hunt down the Bruce Dern biker obscurity 'The Rebel Rousers' which they all appear in, thought it's nowhere near as good) Hellman's westerns are minimalistic and a bit of an acquired taste, but I really like them a lot. 'Ride In The Whirlwind' is easier to get into than 'The Shooting'. It's more straightforward, but still a very subtle and interesting movie, and Nicholson and Mitchell's contrasting acting styles bounce off each other really well. Recommended.

Monte Hellman makes art movies--as in Mr. Wim Wenders, or Mr. Robert Bresson, for that matter. How he disguised them as hot-rod movies, or trendy hippie bashes, or simple old Westerns, is beyond me, so rarefied, quiet, composed, and art-conscious are they. RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND, scripted by its star, Jack Nicholson, reduces "the Western" to abstract essentials. Guys in a shack getting smoked out by the lawmen outside. Guys on the lam from a lynch mob. Stoical lynch-mob hanging. Tense, purse-lipped conversation between outlaw and kidnapped good-girl type. Presented against a stark landscape with no extras (I'm sure Hellman'll tell you it's sheer economics), the scenes take on the quality of gallery installations based on Western plot devices. If you ever wondered where the laconic sensibility of such latter-day types as Jim Jarmusch and Michael Almereyda came from, here's a hint.

"Ride in the Whirlwind" is an interesting western for several reasons. It was written by Jack Nicholson. You just don't expect to see him in westerns but especially writing them! Additionally, the story is told in a most unusual fashion--with none of the usual cliches nor structure of a western...and it's just a very economically written film with minimal dialog and a rather simple premise.

When the story begins, Wes, Vern and Otis come upon a man who has been hung. Soon after, they come upon a small cabin where three men are inside. The men inside invite the trio to come inside and eat. And, soon after eating, a posse comes upon the cabin and begin shooting. Little did Wes, Vern and Otis know that these new 'friends' were wanted killers. Soon, Vern is shot...as are the three crooks. Wes (Jack Nicholson) and Otis (Cameron Mitchell) manage to escape...but without horses nor provisions, they know it's only a matter of time until they, too, are caught and hung...as this posse doesn't seem the type to stop and talk! What's next? See the film.

As I said above, the film is done economically. I don't mean that it has a low budget...but it was made simply, without a lot of dialog and none of the usual cliches. Because of this, it's better than the average western...and a bit like the classic "The Ox-Bow Incident". Well worth your time and the Utah/Arizona setting is quite striking.