L'aventurier du Texas

While the western genre is not my favourite one of all film genres (not sure which one is my favourite due to trying to appreciate them all the same), there is a lot of appreciation for it by me. There are a lot of very good to great films, with the best work of John Ford being notable examples.

One of seven films director Budd Boetticher made with lead actor Randolph Scott in the late 50s (a great pairing), 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is a fun worthwhile film, very interesting too for being tonally different, that doesn't disgrace either of them, both in fact are fairly well served. It is far from one of their best collaborations, for me it is one of their weaker ones but only because 'Seven Men from Now' and 'The Tall T' particularly set a high standard. It is of good interest though and doesn't deserve to be overlooked.

'Buchanan Rides Alone' has flaws. It does at times get over-complicated and the ending is rushed and underplayed, perhaps ridiculous too.

The film does lack the depth of characterisation that Boetticher/Scott's best outings had, with the villains being rather one-dimensional.

However, Scott has fun and is very likeable here, of his films with Boetticher it's with 'Buchanan Rides Alone' that contains the most likeable main character. The supporting cast are not quite on the same level but do give above average performances if never quite standing out properly, with only Craig Stevens not quite fitting.

What is immediately noticeable and intriguing about 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is its tone. Instead of the tense and elegiac tones from their other films, this adopts a more cheerful and humorous edge, with a snappy, lean (with no ramble or fat to distract) and often very funny script and lively pacing where the film never gets dull. The story is compelling and entertains and intrigues, although for my tastes as said there is a little too much going on and clarity suffers.

Boetticher directs efficiently and the music fits very nicely, having presence but never getting over-bearing. 'Buchanan Rides Alone' is a great looking film, the photography in particular being beautiful to watch.

Summarising, a fun ride and worth a look. Boetticher and Scott did better though. 7/10 Bethany Cox

It is a Plot Heavy Movie with a Goodly Amount of Heavies, Literally. All the lead Bad Guys are Seriously Overweight except Craig Stevens as a well Groomed Gun for Hire.

Randolph Scott is in on the Light Touch of the Film from the Get-Go as He Smiles Broadly, almost Retardedly, but that could be a Ploy. He seems perfectly Able to Figure Things Out and is Ready with a Funny Quip.

After finding a Room is $10, a Steak is $10 and a Bottle of Whisky is $10...Looking straight at an Attractive Floozy in the Saloon says, "Is there anything in this town that doesn't cost $10?" There's more but You need to Watch this Amusing, Above Average Movie to experience the Fun.

L.Q. Jones is a Standout as Scott's West Texas Buddy. There is a Burial Scene that's a Hoot. Newbies seeking out the Boetticher/Scott Cannon might want to Save this one for Last, so They can Wrap it Up with a Wink and a Nod to One of the Best Collaborations Found in Fifties Westerns.

Note...Along with the Anthony Mann/James Stewart Films these were as Good as the Genre had to Offer in the Overdose of Oaters from the Decade.

The fourth collaboration between Boetticher and Scott does not quite measure up to its predecessors but is enjoyable enough. Scott plays an easy-going stranger passing through a town run by a dastardly family. Of course, he has a run-in with the family and ends up in jail. Stevens, who played Peter Gunn on a popular TV series that started the same year as this film came out, plays a somewhat shady character here. L.Q. Jones, who made a career out of playing nasty villains, gets to play a clean-cut good guy here. Unlike the previous films in this series, this one has no female characters; it would have perhaps benefited from having a love interest for Scott.

Making his way home to Texas, Tom Buchanan stops off at the little town of Agry for rest and refreshments. Quickly finding that the town is run by the family Agry itself, Buchanan falls foul of one of them straight away. His problems are further compounded when he steps in to stop a young Mexican from taking a beating. Something that finds him on the end of a rope with things looking rather grim.

How you fare with Buchanan Rides Alone may depend on how many (if any) Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott collaborations you have seen prior. For this adaptation of Jonas Ward's novel "The Name's Buchanan" is lighter in tone than their other well regarded pieces. Not to decry this as a standalone picture of course, but although it's part of the "Ranown" cycle, it's a long way from the more "Adult Western" richness of The Tall T, Ride Lonesome and Comanche Station for example. Conversely the other way is also true, if this is the first one you sample from the duo, and you enjoy it, well you may not take to the deeper themed, harsher other films in their cannon.

Buchanan Rides Alone gets in a does a job without any fuss or boring filler play. Randolph Scott as Buchanan clearly is enjoying adding a bit of comic zip to proceedings, with Boetticher evidently happy to keep things smooth for the one hour and twenty minutes running time. Fine support comes from Barry Kelley, Tol Avery and the irrepressible L.Q. Jones, whilst Lucien Ballard was the obvious and right choice to photograph the Old Tuscon location. Not one to take too seriously, but enough drama to keep one interested, and certainly one that gives notice to what a fine and undervalued performer Randy Scott was. 6.5/10

Perhaps the only really unjustified feature of this Western is the title. They should have kept the original, "The name's Buchanan" - a line which crops up sufficiently often in the first five minutes to verge on becoming a catchphrase for the title character. One thing Buchanan *doesn't* do is ride alone. For a cowboy hero - particularly one played by Randolph Scott! - he's an unusually cheerful and sociable type, who picks up friends and allies almost everywhere he goes. I don't believe I've ever seen Randolph Scott smile so much in all the rest of his films put together - and it has much the same shock value as a grin on the face of Leonard Nimoy.

But it's mainly the humour that sets this film apart from a hundred other unpretentious B-Westerns. The plot twists don't hurt, either. This slender piece bears as many stings in the tail as the final chapters of a Hercule Poirot mystery. Tables are turned by one side upon the other so often that it verges upon the ridiculous; a point milked to wry appreciation by the script. The other interesting point is that Buchanan himself has little influence over the course of events. He merely (albeit adroitly) rides the tide, as the bickering Agry brothers provide the main engine for the plot. This film is far less of a one-man star vehicle than many Westerns of its era. To a degree, it might even be suspected of spoofing the genre.

I spotted only one technical blooper: as the sheriff(?) leaves the jail after demanding the keys, the far side of the street, for one brief aberrant moment, appears to consist of red-brick houses with paned-glass windows! Young de la Vega's horse really is a beautiful animal, on the other hand - the beast fully bears out the script's claim that the de la Vega horses are some of the best-bred in the country. Judging by the stunts, it was also presumably a trained performer - I wonder what its 'day job' was? :-)

To summarise: a cheerful, swift-moving Western with a touch of dry humour that helps it to stand out among a host of other B-movies. If you've watched 'Unforgiven' too many times, until your guts feel like treacle - if you can't take one more coarse joke from 'Blazing Saddles' - then try 'Buchanan' for a breath of fresh air, and watch Randolph Scott for once in his life having fun!