Randolph Scott was once a big name in Hollywood, a leading man and a money draw for decades, especially in westerns, but he’s become almost forgotten in the ensuing time. Up today is a series of 7 films he made at the end of his career in the 50s, all directed by Budd Boetticher. Seven Men from Now isn’t your typical old western. The supposed “good guy,” Ben Stride, opens the movie by gunning down a couple people who seemed to be minding their own business, and we learn after awhile that he is hunting five more men next. After those murders, Stride comes across a married couple, John and Annie, who are struggling to get their wagon out of the mud on a journey to California. Strides helps and agrees to ride along for security for a little while since they are going the same way. Along the way, you can see that he and Annie start to grow close, under the eyes of Annie’s (unmanly) husband John. At a way station, the trio come upon some old “friends” of Stride, Bill and Clete. Looks like Bill and Stride have history, but they set that aside for the moment; Bill says he’ll go along with Stride in his quest, for now. Turns out Stride is hunting the men who killed his wife, and Bill wants to ride-with because those men stole a bunch of money too. This movie goes against the typical western themes of the 50’s: you have good guys doing bad stuff and bad guys doing good stuff. Even Ben openly tells Stride he’s only going along for the money, and when they get it, Stride will be the only person in his way. Great film with lots of true surprises and twists, and even the stuff you see coming plays out wonderfully. ★★★★
The Tall T is a classic, pre-revisionist western, when the good guys were good and the bad were bad. Brennan is a good natured cowboy with friends at every outpost, but he is the wrong place at the right time when a coach he is riding on is robbed. The others on the coach, a newly married couple, don’t have any money on them, but the woman is the daughter of a wealthy miner, so the would-be robbers turn towards ransom. Brennan is kept alive only as a backup plan, but he is ready to avenge some friends who were killed by these robbers earlier. He also will not let the lady come to harm, even if the same cannot be said for her new husband, who really only married her for the money. Some delightfully bad villains and a hero to root for — what more could you want? Not too deep, but beautiful vistas of the old west, plenty of gunfights, and a rescue of a damsel in distress, who is given the chance to fight for herself before the end. ★★★½
Decision at Sundown returns to the cloudy motives of the first film and ramps it up a notch, but you don’t know it in the beginning. Bart Allison rides into the tiny western town of Sundown with his buddy Sam, and he is on a mission: to find and kill a man named Tate Kimbrough. After 3 years, they’ve tracked Kimbrough here, and are coming in on Kimbrough’s wedding day. The town seems divided between those who like Kimbrough (mostly his lackeys) and those who don’t (the longtime residents of Sundown). Not a man to waste time, Allison opens the church doors, interrupts the wedding, and announces that he’s there to kill Kimbrough. Kimbrough sets his henchman on Allison, which gets him and Sam holed up in stable. They are stuck, but no one can come in without getting himself killed, so they are at a standoff. Outside, Kimbrough has to explain things to his would-be wife, as well as his longtime paramour (who he might actually love more), all while the residents of the town gather their courage to make a stand against Kimbrough too. And at the end, our supposed hero Allison may not have righteousness on his side after all. I liked the writer of this film turning the genre on its head, but not everything works. In a film where there is no one to root for, who can you root against? ★★
Buchanan Rides Alone finds Scott again playing the riding-through-town lonesome sort. This time he finds himself in a quick pickle when he stands up for someone. The town of Agry is right on the border between California and Mexico, and everyone of influence happens to sport the Agry surname, including the local judge Simon, the sheriff Lew, and the hotel owner Amos. Buchanan is just hoping to grab a bite, a drink, and a night’s stay, when another Agry, drunken Roy (Simon’s son) is called out by a Mexican man from just across the border. Juan is accusing Roy of sleeping with his sister, and shoots Roy dead. When the mob attempts to rough up Juan, Buchanan steps in and gets himself arrested too. Simon, never to look a gift horse in the mouth, puts a stop to the lynching/hanging, in order to use Juan as ransom for a big payday from Juan’s wealthy family across the border. You would think the Agry family would come together and get ready for riches, but instead, they all scheme against each other, with Buchanan in the middle, just trying to do the right thing. By the end, too many double crosses, too much back and forth, until my head was spinning. ★½
Ride Lonesome brings back the simplicity and gives a much neater tale. Ben Brigade is a bounty hunter who has recently wrestled down Billy John, a no-gooder with a reputation for shooting people in the back. Brigade is to bring Billy into Santa Cruz for his bounty, and stops at a way station on the way, where they encounter former outlaws Sam and Whit, and the way station setter’s wife Carrie, whose husband is missing and presumed dead by the local natives. Sam and Brigade have a past, but Sam has gone straight; he has enough money saved up to start a ranch, but needs to get the price off his head if he is going to do so. Taking Billy in would do that, as the bounty comes with amnesty as well, but Brigade isn’t about to let his charge go. So the trio at the station join up with Brigade and Billy on the road, with Sam hoping to change Brigade’s mind along the way. It isn’t long until Sam thinks Brigade has something else in mind than a simple bounty run. Brigade is taking a circuitous route to Santa Cruz, allowing Billy’s brother Frank, an infamous gunfighter in his own right, to catch up. Maybe Billy isn’t Brigade’s ultimate goal after all? No big twists and turns on this one, just a straight forward old fashioned western. It’s a fun one too, with a big gut punch in the end when you learn Brigade’s reasoning for wanting Frank. ★★★½
Westbound, however, is almost a little too simple. Along with no big surprises, there’s almost nothing that really moves you either. It does bring a different aspect than the above films though: the Civil War. Hayes is a Union officer tasked with supervising a new stagecoach line that will run from California to the east. Along with passengers, its most valuable cargo is gold, dug in California and to be used in the war effort. The south will be eager for that gold too, making the transports a hot target. Most of the residents around Colorado where Hayes sets up his headquarters are southern sympathizers, except for one man (Rod) who lost an arm fighting for the Union, and Rod’s wife Jeannie. Hayes’ main antagonist is Clay Putnam, a wealthy man who married Hayes’ former girl and is financing a team of thugs harassing the stagecoaches. We clearly know the good guys and the bad, so it’s just a matter of killing all the bad before the end of the film. Not terrible, but it falls into the trap that gives so many of these old westerns a bad name, namely that plots and tropes are recycled ad nauseam until you can predict the outcome of every scene as it starts. ★★
I think by the time this team made their last film, Comanche Station, they were out of fresh ideas. It borrows heavily from just about all of the above films. Jefferson Cody rescues a damsel-in-distress (Mrs Lowe) after she’s been kidnapped by comanches. Turns out there’s a hefty reward from her husband for her return. On the way back, Jefferson and Mrs Lowe come upon a couple outlaws who have a history with Jefferson, and they know about the reward too. They’d love to find a way to get Jefferson out of the picture, but need his gun as they traverse the dangerous Indian territory. And this time, the bad guys are even more diabolical: Lowe’s husband’s reward is for her return dead or alive. The outlaws are planning to kill Jefferson and the lady as soon as they get through the area safely, so there are no witnesses to their own crime. A deliciously tense film, and while the ideas aren’t new, it is presented well and is gripping to the end. ★★★
Jons Movie Takes 