Terra do Inferno

Man in the Saddle is directed by Andre De Toth and adapted to screenplay by Kenneth Gamet from the novel written by Ernest Haycox. It stars Randolph Scott, Joan Leslie, John Russell, Ellen Drew, Alexander Knox, Richard Rober and Guinn Williams. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr.

More known and rightly lauded for the series of Western films he made with Budd Boetticher, it often gets forgotten that Randolph Scott also had a long working relationship with Andre De Toth. Man in the Saddle was the first of six Western films the two men would make together, and it's a pretty impressive start.

Sometimes you see words such as routine and standard attributed to a lot of Westerns from the 1950s, and Man in the Saddle is one such film that's unfairly tarred with that brush. Not that the narrative drive is out of the ordinary, the plot essentially sees Randy as a peaceful farmer forced to get nasty when evil land baron flexes his muscles, but the zest of the action, the stunt work, the colour photography (Lone Pine as always a Mecca for Western fans) and Scott, mark this out as a thoroughly entertaining production.

Characterisations carry a bit more psychological smarts than your average "B" Western of the era. There's a four way tug-of-love-war operating that is clearly going to spell misery, pain and death for somebody, a capitalist slant that bites hard with its egotistical bully boy overtones, while the obsessive behaviour of the principal players adds another dark cloud over this part of the West. Then there is the action scenes, of which De Toth once again shows himself to be a darn fine purveyor of such directional skills.

And so, we get an ace runaway blazing wagon sequence, a stampede, a quite brilliant gunfight in a darkened saloon, a mano-mano fist fight that literally brings the house down – and then continues down a steep ravine, and the closing shoot-out played out during a dust storm doesn't lack for adrenaline rushes. Scott is once again a bastion of Western coolness, more so when he throws off the bright attire he wears for the first half of film, to then switch to black clothes that signifies he's going all bad ass on those who have caused him grief.

Undervalued for sure, both as a Scott picture and as a Western movie in general. Don't believe the routine and standard scare mongers, there's good craft here and it's a whole bunch of Oater fun. 7.5/10

Though "Man in the Saddle" has some effective moments and a few good action scenes, it is below average for Randy Scott who usually did better. The high point of the action comes near the beginning of the movie when the cattle are stampeded with Randy trying to outrun the herd in a covered wagon that is ablaze. The shoot out at the end is much too abbreviated only lasting a few minutes. Randy doesn't even get to duke it out with the hired gunslinger Fay Dutcher (Richard Rober). What kind of name is Fay for a gunfighter? Owen Merritt (Scott) shoots Dutcher as he rolls for his gun in the street. The talented actor John Russell has a fairly nondescript role. He would have been much better cast as gunman Dutcher.

The story of a love triangle with two women Joan Leslie and Ellen Drew after one man (Scott)is at times overplayed. Exactly what Owen's relationship was with Laurie Bidwell (Leslie) before she married Will Isham (Alexander Knox) for money and power is never revealed. Apparently the two had one hell of a relationship the way it still tugs at their heartstrings and is the continued buzz of the town. The hired gun is not just after more ranch land for his boss but after Owen as well.

Alexander Knox who played President Woodrow Wilson magnificently in "Wilson" several years earlier was thus typecast and unable to find himself in other parts. When he played the boss rancher in "Man in the Saddle" he was still trying to find his way after Wilson. Alfonso Bedoya and veteran cowboy actor Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams do well in the comedy department. Bedoya is a good foil for Big Boy. He continually looks for a new hat. Big Boy tells him he doesn't need a new hat for his head, he needs a new head for a hat. Even Randy Scott gets in on the humor this time and comes across with some funny lines. When Bedoya tells Scott that the trees are talking to him. Scott replies, "You'd better lay off that vanilla extract." When he is hold up with Nan Melotte (Ellen Drew)recuperating from a gunshot wound he feels the stubble on his face and comments, "It's like a coyote running through brush." The usually serious Scott plays a lighter role this go around and it is a plus for this otherwise dark and moody film. Look for Cameron Mitchell of television's "The High Chaparral" in a small part as one of the two brothers murdered by Will Isham's gang.

In the days before Tex Ritter gave immortality to the theme from "High Noon," showing Hollywood how cowboy music should be presented to the public, multi-talented Tennessee Ernie Ford sang the theme to "Man in the Saddle" with much the same feeling of authenticity. He also gets to sing another ballad on camera as one of the wranglers. He's hard to recognize at first because of his youth and no mustache. Tennessee Ernie was singing hillbilly boogie that sounded very much like Rockabilly when Elvis was still driving a truck in Memphis. He ended up concentrating mainly on television, retiring early from show business, except to cut a gospel album every now and then. "Man in the Saddle" is one of his few screen appearances.

Though not up to par for a Randolph Scott western, still worth seeing for fans of 50's westerns.

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.

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 :)

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.