L'inconnu du ranch

MacDonald Carey made several entertaining low budget western films in the 1950's, before gaining lasting fame as the lead on the soap opera "Days of our Lives". In this western with a message, Carey finds himself in a saga of good vs. evil, faith vs. worldliness. An escaping convict and a peaceful minister do battle for the salvation of the felons soul! Both men seem equally sure of their eventual victory.

I enjoyed this film and feel it was well suited to Mr. Carey's abilities. It was also fun to see the casting of Slim Pickens (What would westerns have done without him ?). Even though this storyline was recycled, this one is still very much worth viewing.

Skip Homeier is fleeing.a posse after he robbed the local bank. His horse goes lame and he pulls up at the farm of MacDonald Carey. Carey is also a preacher, building a church. Patricia Medina is his second wife, and Stephen Wooten is his son. Carey knows who he is, but agrees to have Homeier stay, looking at it as a chance to redeem a sinner.

There are subplots that come together, like Homeier trying to seduce Miss Medina, and a horse that is impossible to break. Despite the usual good handling by director William Witney, this Republic 'Shaky A' western is too neat and obvious for my taste. The scenes of Carey and Homeier trying to break the horse are well done. With Louis Jean Heydt (looking his age for a change) and Slim Pickens.

This film is full of all kinds of surprises. I found it very sophisticated for a western. It's action packed but spiritual, too. And boy what a horse scene. It's a redemption story but in a most unique way. I recommend for the whole family.

Never realized how bad an actor Skip Homeier was. Patricia Medina seems lost and miscast.

This rather sanctimonious Western is worth seeing, despite the delivery of awful dialogue delivered by Macdonald Carey about ' salvation '. The opening scenes are good traditional Western scenes, and then Skip Homeier on the run accidentally lames his horse and is taken in by a preacher and his wife, who the moment she sees him looks visibly sexually interested. Then the tension mounts to almost operatic splendour with a monster stallion literally attacking the lot of them ( sexual symbolism anyone ? ) and Skip Homeier gets them all hot and bothered ( that I understand as he exudes erotic charm). Then religion returns as it would in such a sexually charged film, denying what it desires, and the delirious over the top music adds to the manic feel of the film ( imagine Korngold doing a Wagner pastiche ). And not only does Skip Homeier give a fine performance and even puts Patricia Medina in the shade in every sense of the word. It is an excellent example of camp that John Wayne would have hated. There is even a ' miracle in it '. Well worth tracking down. The final lines reveal a sanctimonious return to probably save it from the Hays Code.