La rançon de la peur

This topic has been made at least one billion times in Hollywood history, western or crime genre. One man against several evil ones, so nothing new here. But the directing, castig, acting, every second of this pure awesome movie contributes to keep you glued, stuck to this story, a masterpiece of psychological character study, as NO NAME ON THE BULLET is for instance; though the story was not exactly the same. Jeff Chandler was purely outstanding and makes his death a couple of years later even more painful to accept, to digest. I will never get tired of this movie. Never.

Better-than-usual western has interesting premise: Four young cowboy-hoodlums take over a sleepy town population 50. The whole thing looks and feels like a Twilight Zone episode (black and white) without the fantasy. Two gorgeous women, Delores Hart and Marsha Hunt; a fair performance from Jeff Chandler; and vivid portrayals by the relatively unknown youngsters including a promising one by John Saxon. Sleazy early 60's B-Movie fun of the Juvenile Delinquent genre.

The Plunderers are four youngsters who come to a peaceful little western town without any money. Actually they're no gunfighters at all but enjoy staying there getting all for free and watching how they can get the people more and more frightened. Onearmed Jeff Chandler wants to stay out of trouble but is increasingly convinced that something must be done to help the citizens against the troublemakers. Lovely Dolores Hart is the daughter of the local store owner and the Mexican youngster Rondo, played by John Saxon, pays a lot of attention to her. She tries to avoid him but with no success. The dramatic final scenes include an unusual fight with knives. This is a classic black-and-white western from 1960 highly recommended. You can easily find resemblances to Brando's 1954 motorcycle movie "The Wild One".

The Plunderers is directed by Joseph Pevney and written by Bob Barbash. It stars Jeff Chandler, John Saxon, Dolores Hart, Marsha Hunt and Jay C. Flippen. Music is by Leonard Rosenman and cinematography by Eugene Polito.

Trail City, and 4 delinquent cowboys ride into town with attitude and carefree abandon. The Trail City residents - spineless, all except one man. One man who considers himself only half a man on account of his disability. That man is Civil War veteran Captain Sam...

War didn't just destroy his arm.

The few critical appraisals and reviews that exist for The Plunderers are keen to associate the picture with other notable pictures released previously, which in this instance is something of a curse when they happen to be well revered classics. Yet this is no knock off, it has its own identity. The four young delinquents here are not dashing dandy types, the makers make every effort to put their failings as human beings up at the front of the portrayals. These are young men, out of their depth, even spineless, but of course the town doesn't know this as they are too busy cowering in the shadows.

The messages are obvious in the play, but Pevney doesn't use his sledgehammer to enforce those parts of the narrative. It's perhaps no surprise how things pan out with Chandler's embittered war veteran, as he wrestles with both his conscience and his disability, but Pevney has a good knack for slow burning the atmosphere to bring rewards for film's finale. Chandler, in his last Western, is suitably broody, Hunt and Hart are beauties to behold, while of the bad boys it's Saxon as a diabolical Mexican - with scary eyebrows - and the only one who is old enough to shave, who strikes the highest villain chords.

Elsewhere there's a great musical score provided by double Academy Award Winner Rosenman, very much akin to something that the moody Twilight Zone episodes would use. It also at times has the feel of the score Alan Silvestri would rustle up for Predator some 27 years later. Polito's photography is crisp, where in conjunction with Pevney's camera angles and lighting techniques keeps the claustrophobia factor high in this one location setting.

Crackerjack! A dandy of a black and white Oater waiting to be discovered by more Western fans. It's a keeper for sure. 8/10

Four young armed cowboys ride into town. Jeb, Rondo (John Saxon), Mule and Davy have been driven out of Dodge City. They don't pay for Whiskey and ask for the Sheriff. Sheriff McCauley decides not to wear his guns and all they want are warm beds in jail for the night. Once released, they start taking stuff and refusing to leave. Ellie Walters (Dolores Hart) is the beautiful store owner's daughter. One armed war veteran Sam Christy (Jeff Chandler) seem to avoid trouble.

This is obviously calling out the youth of its day. These four could be rock-n-rollers or greasers or bikers or general delinquents during its time. The town is full of old folks and helpless youngsters. Westerns are the films of older folks and younger kids. This is black-and-white moral delineation.