Ride the High Country
Encyclopedia
Ride the High Country is a noted 1962 American Western film. It stars Joel McCrea
, Randolph Scott
, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan
and Mariette Hartley
. It was written by N.B. Stone Jr., Robert Creighton Williams (uncredited) and Sam Peckinpah
(uncredited) and directed by Peckinpah, with a score written by George Bassman
and filmed in the Inyo National Forest
, CA.
In 1992, this film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
by the United States
Library of Congress
as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A Region 1 DVD edition was released on January 10, 2006.
The film features Scott in his final role as he had decided to retire. Initially, McCrea also had announced his intentions to retire, but he later changed his mind.
. McCrea's role is actually slightly larger than Scott's, but Scott was billed over McCrea.
Much of the filming took place at Mammoth Lakes, California
, with some studio and lot work, and shooting at Bronson Canyon
in Griffith Park and at the 20th Century-Fox Ranch.
) and Steve Judd (Joel McCrea
). The two men, mainly because of their age, have been reduced by circumstance to guarding a shipment of gold from a high country mining camp. However, Westrum and his young sidekick Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) are, in fact, planning to steal the gold for themselves. Westrum attempts to subtly recruit Judd to their plan over the course of the ride.
Acquiring a young girl named Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley
) escaping from her domineering father as a traveling companion, the three men reach the mining camp only to discover that the girl's fiancé (James Drury
) is a drunken lout who intends to prostitute her to his brothers (played by, among others, Peckinpah regulars Warren Oates
and L.Q. Jones). They rescue the girl from the marriage and start off towards town with the girl and the gold. At this point, Judd realizes Westrum's plan and confronts him. Planning to put him on trial when he returns to town, Judd is forced to relent when the jilted groom and his brothers appear in hot pursuit.
The aging men shoot it out with the brothers, killing them all in a heroic, face-to-face confrontation. Judd, mortally wounded, asks to die alone. Westrum promises him that he will get the gold back to town as Judd would have wanted. Westrum also promises to do what he can for Heck and Elsa, who during the course of the film become attracted to one other. The celebrated final image is of a dying Judd looking toward the high country as he falls slowly out of frame.
for first prize at the Belgium Film Festival and winning the Paris film critics award for best film. Critics were particularly enthusiastic about the film's mix of the conventional and the revisionist in its treatment of the Western. They hailed Peckinpah as a worthy successor to classic Western directors such as John Ford
.
The film's reputation has only grown in following years, with Peckinpah's admirers citing it as his first great film. They also note that all of the themes of Peckinpah's later films, such as honor and ideals compromised by circumstance, the difficulty of doing right in an unjust world, the destruction of the West and its heroes by industrial modernity, and the importance of loyalty between men are all present in Ride the High Country for the first time.
Critics occasionally point out that McCrea's role seems to have been written for Gary Cooper
and that John Wayne
would have been perfect for Scott's part, but Cooper and Wayne never worked together.
In his autobiography In the Arena (1995), Charlton Heston
wrote that he was considering remaking the film in the late 1980s, presumably with Clint Eastwood
as a co-star. After viewing Ride the High Country Heston proposed Harry Julian Fink
's script of Major Dundee
(1965) to Peckinpah.
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
and Mariette Hartley
Mariette Hartley
Mary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
. It was written by N.B. Stone Jr., Robert Creighton Williams (uncredited) and Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
(uncredited) and directed by Peckinpah, with a score written by George Bassman
George Bassman
George Bassman was an American composer and arranger.-Biography:Born in New York to a Russian Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy....
and filmed in the Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a federally administered forest in the United States. The forest covers parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. It contains two wilderness areas: the John Muir Wilderness and the Ansel Adams Wilderness...
, CA.
In 1992, this film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A Region 1 DVD edition was released on January 10, 2006.
The film features Scott in his final role as he had decided to retire. Initially, McCrea also had announced his intentions to retire, but he later changed his mind.
Production
Peckinpah flipped a coin to decide whether Randolph Scott or Joel McCrea would receive top billing while the three of them and producer Richard Lyons where having lunch at the Brown DerbyBrown Derby
The Brown Derby was the name of a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and most famous of these was shaped like a men's derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood....
. McCrea's role is actually slightly larger than Scott's, but Scott was billed over McCrea.
Much of the filming took place at Mammoth Lakes, California
Mammoth Lakes, California
-History:The European history of Mammoth Lakes started in 1877, when four prospectors staked a claim on Mineral Hill, south of the current town, along Old Mammoth Road. In 1878, the Mammoth Mining Company was organized to mine Mineral Hill, which caused a gold rush. By the end of 1878, 1500 people...
, with some studio and lot work, and shooting at Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present...
in Griffith Park and at the 20th Century-Fox Ranch.
Plot
The film reunites old friends and aging ex-lawmen Gil Westrum (Randolph ScottRandolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
) and Steve Judd (Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
). The two men, mainly because of their age, have been reduced by circumstance to guarding a shipment of gold from a high country mining camp. However, Westrum and his young sidekick Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) are, in fact, planning to steal the gold for themselves. Westrum attempts to subtly recruit Judd to their plan over the course of the ride.
Acquiring a young girl named Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley
Mariette Hartley
Mary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
) escaping from her domineering father as a traveling companion, the three men reach the mining camp only to discover that the girl's fiancé (James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
) is a drunken lout who intends to prostitute her to his brothers (played by, among others, Peckinpah regulars Warren Oates
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
and L.Q. Jones). They rescue the girl from the marriage and start off towards town with the girl and the gold. At this point, Judd realizes Westrum's plan and confronts him. Planning to put him on trial when he returns to town, Judd is forced to relent when the jilted groom and his brothers appear in hot pursuit.
The aging men shoot it out with the brothers, killing them all in a heroic, face-to-face confrontation. Judd, mortally wounded, asks to die alone. Westrum promises him that he will get the gold back to town as Judd would have wanted. Westrum also promises to do what he can for Heck and Elsa, who during the course of the film become attracted to one other. The celebrated final image is of a dying Judd looking toward the high country as he falls slowly out of frame.
Cast
- Randolph ScottRandolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
as Gil Westrum - Joel McCreaJoel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
as Steve Judd - Mariette HartleyMariette HartleyMary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
as Elsa Knudsen - Ron Starr as Heck Longtree
- Edgar BuchananEdgar BuchananEdgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
as Judge Tolliver - R.G. Armstrong as Joshua Knudsen
- Jenie Jackson as Kate
- James DruryJames DruryJames Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
as Billy Hammond - L.Q. Jones as Sylvus Hammond
- John AndersonJohn Anderson (actor)-Biography:Born in Clayton, John Anderson grew up in Quincy and Adams County, Illinois.Prior to a prolific acting career, Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II where he met artist Orazio Fumagalli who became one of his best lifelong friends.He was known for several...
as Elder Hammond - John Davis ChandlerJohn Davis ChandlerJohn Davis Chandler was an American actor. He portrayed the gangster Vincent Coll in the sensationalized and factually inaccurate 1962 movie Mad Dog Coll. Chandler also appeared in several of Sam Peckinpah's Western films...
as Jimmy Hammond - Warren OatesWarren OatesWarren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
as Henry Hammond
Reception
Ride the High Country was not an immediate success in the United States, but it was hailed as a success upon its release in Europe, beating Fellini's classic 8½8½
8½ is a 1963 Italian fantasy film directed by Federico Fellini. Co-scripted by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director...
for first prize at the Belgium Film Festival and winning the Paris film critics award for best film. Critics were particularly enthusiastic about the film's mix of the conventional and the revisionist in its treatment of the Western. They hailed Peckinpah as a worthy successor to classic Western directors such as John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
.
The film's reputation has only grown in following years, with Peckinpah's admirers citing it as his first great film. They also note that all of the themes of Peckinpah's later films, such as honor and ideals compromised by circumstance, the difficulty of doing right in an unjust world, the destruction of the West and its heroes by industrial modernity, and the importance of loyalty between men are all present in Ride the High Country for the first time.
Critics occasionally point out that McCrea's role seems to have been written for Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and that John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
would have been perfect for Scott's part, but Cooper and Wayne never worked together.
In his autobiography In the Arena (1995), Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
wrote that he was considering remaking the film in the late 1980s, presumably with Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as a co-star. After viewing Ride the High Country Heston proposed Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink
Harry Julian Fink, television and film writer, wrote for Have Gun – Will Travel and was one of the writers who created Dirty Harry.He wrote for various TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also created several, including NBC's T.H.E. Cat, starring Robert Loggia, and Tate starring David McLean.His...
's script of Major Dundee
Major Dundee
Major Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
(1965) to Peckinpah.
External links
- Article at Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
website