Ride Lonesome (1959)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writer:

Burt Kennedy (written by)

Release Date:

15 February 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A wanted murderer, Billy John, is captured by Ben Brigade, a bounty hunter, who intends to take him to Santa Cruz to be hanged...

Plot Keywords:

Outlaw | Bounty Hunter | Revenge | Psychological Western | Captive

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Ben Brigade
Karen Steele	...	Mrs. Carrie Lane
Pernell Roberts	...	Sam Boone
James Best	...	Billy John
Lee Van Cleef	...	Frank
James Coburn	...	Whit
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bennie E. Dobbins	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Dyke Johnson	...	Charlie (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Outlaw (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman	...	Indian chief (uncredited)

Directed by
Budd Boetticher

Writing credits
Burt Kennedy		(written by)

Produced by
Budd Boetticher	....	producer
Harry Joe Brown	....	executive producer
Randolph Scott	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Heinz Roemheld

Cinematography by
Charles Lawton Jr.

Film Editing by
Jerome Thoms

Art Direction by
Robert Peterson

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)
Harry D. Mills	....	sound (as Harry Mills)

Stunts
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Henri Jaffa	....	color consultant

Music Department
Heinz Roemheld	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
• Ranown Pictures Corp. (as A Ranown Production)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Pathé  Eastman Color by

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (as Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #19172)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Film debut of James Coburn.

Quotes:

Ben Brigade: [going to meet the Mescalero chief] He'll offer his trade. I'll turn him down.
Mrs. Carrie Lane: Then?
Ben Brigade: With any luck, they'll ride off. Stay out in the hills, try to figure some how else to get you away from us.
Mrs. Carrie Lane: I see.
Ben Brigade: No matter what happens, don't break down in front of 'em. If you do, they'll take it wrong. Shame 'em.
Mrs. Carrie Lane: I don't scare easy, Mr. Brigade.
Ben Brigade: I hope not.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Middleman: The Cursed Tuba Contingency (#1.7)" (2008)

A short ride, but a good one.

This spare, brief western is one in a series of similar collaborations between Budd Boetticher the director and Scott. Today's moviegoer sometimes seems to feel cheated if a film runs less than about two hours as if a film's quality should be judged by it's length rather than it's content. A little film like this demonstrates the entertainment value of a short, well-told and well-acted story with minimal production values. Scott is a bounty hunter who has captured shifty killer Best and is intent on dragging him back to the city of Santa Cruz to face his fate. Unfortunately, outlaws Roberts and Coburn want him themselves because whoever brings Best in is granted amnesty for their own past crimes. The men form an uneasy alliance necessitated by both bloodthirsty Indians and Best's brother Van Cleef who is en route to rescue him from his captors. Also along for the ride is Steele, a buxom blonde who's been abandoned by her stationmaster husband. These five people cross desert terrain, continuously at odds with each other and with the people tracking them. If it all sounds simple, it gets a boost from a twist in the storyline that adds much dimension to the plot and to one of the characters in particular. Filmed entirely out of doors, there is excellent use of California scenery (sure to be lost somewhat in a cropped version.) Scott gives his typical solid, dependable performance. Roberts is awarded some interesting and, at times, ripe dialogue. He shares an intriguing on screen relationship with future-star Coburn who has a nice early supporting role here. Best (who somehow doesn't even rate billing in the title credits!) gives a quirky, thoughtful, colorful performance as the marked man. Van Cleef (not particularly believable as his brother!) shows the demeanor and presence that would make him a bigger star later. In fact, the cast is almost uniformly made up of high quality actors. Steele (sporting an impossibly small waistline and B-52 bosoms) isn't exactly what one would expect to find at a wagon station, but she does a good job in the film. There's a nice balance of character work, action and story-telling to make for a pleasing 73 minutes of western entertainment. There's little or no fat to trim from it. It does what it does and does it well.