Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Ride the High Country 1962


     Steve Judd is a former Union soldier and he was also a marshal.  He is hired by a bank to transport a gold shipment from the mines up country.  He hires his old partner Gil Westrum and his young friend Heck to ride along with him.  What Steve doesn’t know is Gil and Heck have made a plan to steal the gold and split it into two shares.  Along the route they meet up with Elsa Knudsen.  She wants to marry one of the men up at the mines.  She’s tired of her stern fundamentalist father slapping her around.  She feels like she’s never been anywhere or done anything.
     The scenery is beautiful but it is rugged, life is tough in cities, on farms and out in the mining camp.  Judd has his hands full before they even get to the mining camp.  The camp is full of dirty put together shelters and rough men.  There are some women in the camp but they have a hard life too.  Character and justice are two emphasized themes in this film.  3* (This movie is OK)

94 min, Western directed by Sam Peckinpah with Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 93% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 152 reviews.
Special Note:  Filmed in Calabasas, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Los Angeles, Merrimac, California.  This is the first film for Mariette Hartley and she is still acting.

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