Ride the High Country 1952

     Steve Judd is an aging ex-marshal and he is hired by a bank to transport a gold shipment through dangerous territory.  Judd knows he can’t do this job alone because the journey will take several days and he would need to stay awake the entire time.  He meets up with his old partner Gil Westrum and his young sidekick Heck Longtree.  He hires them and believes he can trust them.  He doesn’t know that Gil and Heck what the money for themselves and they plan to steal the gold.  It doesn’t matter to them if Judd remains alive or if he’s dead, the gold is what they're after.  The party of three stops at a ranch to spend the night and see if they can get some food.  They meet Joshua Knudsen and his daughter Elsa.  Joshua turns out to be a very stern and religious man.  His daughter wants to ride to the remote mining town where Billy Hammond has a claim.  She has been asked by Billy to be his bride.  Heck also takes a shine to Elsa.  Joshua wants none of these plans for his daughter!!

     I thought this was good and the scenery is very beautiful.  I didn’t know how it was going to turn out between Judd, Westrum and Longtree?  I also didn’t know how Elsa was going to handle her father, Heck and the Hammond brothers?  There are five sons in the Hammond family and they are all working at the mining camp?  3 ½* (I liked this movie)  

94 min, Western directed by Sam Peckinpah with Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Mariette Harley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong, Jenie Jackson, James Drury, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, John David Chandler, Warren Oates.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 93% critic 84% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM average user rating 4.31* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 113 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Mammoth Lakes, Inyo National Forest, Bronson Canyon (Los Angeles), Merrimac, Calabasas, California.  This was the final film of Randolph Scott and he retired from acting once he saw the finished film.  He stated he wanted to quit while he was ahead.  McCrea also retired but later agreed to appear in a few more films.  Originally, Gary Cooper and John Wayne had agreed to do this film.  Copper died before filming began and it’s unlikely he would have worked with Wayne.  He had turned down working with Wayne on The Far Horizons of 1955.  A remake was considered in the late 1980’s with Charlton Heston and Clint Eastwood.  Heston acted the title role in Major Dundee of 1965 after seeing this film.  The canvas used to make the tents in the mining camp came from leftover sails from the film Mutiny on the Bounty of 1962.  Another set of sails were used for the tents in How the West Was Won of 1962.  Robert Culp turned down the role of Billy Hammond.  He regretted his choice but he wanted to create a career in features as a leading man.  As a consequence, Sam Peckinpah never offered Culp another role.