Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Charles Lang (screenplay)
Jonas Ward (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

1 August 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

DOUBLE HANGING -- DOUBLE THRILLS! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

On his way home to West Texas, Tom Buchanan rides into the Californian border town of Agry, and into a feud between several members of the Agry family...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Mexican | Barroom Brawl | Jail | Ransom

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Tom Buchanan
Craig Stevens	...	Abe Carbo
Barry Kelley	...	Lew Agry
Tol Avery	...	Judge Simon Agry
Peter Whitney	...	Amos Agry
Manuel Rojas	...	Juan de la Vega
L.Q. Jones	...	Pecos Hill
Robert Anderson	...	Waldo Peck
Joe De Santis	...	Esteban Gomez
William Leslie	...	Roy Agry
Jennifer Holden	...	K.T.
Nacho Galindo	...	Nacho
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Duke Fishman	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Terry Frost	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Don C. Harvey	...	Lafe (uncredited)
Riley Hill	...	Juror (uncredited)
Barbara James	...	Nina (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	...	Hamp (uncredited)
James B. Leong	...	Gomez's Friend (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell	...	Saloon Gambler (uncredited)
Al Wyatt	...	Ivy (uncredited)

Directed by
Budd Boetticher

Writing credits
Charles Lang		(screenplay)
Jonas Ward		(novel "The Name's Buchanan")
Burt Kennedy		uncredited

Produced by
Harry Joe Brown	....	producer
Randolph Scott	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Al Clark

Art Direction by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)

Set Decoration by
Frank Tuttle		(as Frank A. Tuttle)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerrold Bernstein	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John P. Livadary	....	recording supervisor (as John Livadary)
Jean G. Valentino	....	sound (as Jean Valentino)

Stunts
Al Wyatt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Henri Jaffa	....	color consultant

Music Department
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Duning	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
David Breen	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1958) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Name's Buchanan (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Columbia Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #19031) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: After the climactic gunfight, with bodies all over the place, Craig Stevens is heard saying to Peter Whitney, "Don't just stand there, Amos, go get a shovel." But one can clearly see Stevens say, "...go get a spade".

Quotes:

Lew Agry: We were voted out of a double hanging, Buchanan. Unless you get on that horse and start riding, we'll make up for it with a double bury.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) (V)

There's Aggro In Agry.

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 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