Ride the High Country [Guns in the Afternoon] ***** (1962, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Edgar Buchanan, Mariette Hartley, James Drury, Ronald Starr) – Classic Movie Review 3069

Director Sam Peckinpah’s 1962 Western is his second film as director (after The Deadly Companions in 1961) and one of his very best.

Ageing stars Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott are magnificent as ex-marshal Steve Judd and his old partner Gil Westrum, a couple of creaky old gunslingers who rediscover their former glory when they are hired to protect a shipment of gold. But Gil and his young protégé Heck Longtree (Ronald Starr) plan to steal the gold.

N B Stone Jnr’s screenplay is superb and Lucien Ballard’s Metrocolor cinematography is outstanding. There is perfectly timed playing from the whole ensemble, with Edgar Buchanan matching the brilliance of the two stars in a special performance as a tipsy judge, Judge Tolliver.

Peckinpah’s tremendous feel for Western characters, lore, detail and colour, and his eye for exciting dramatic set pieces, such as the wedding scene and the chicken-littered finale, produce a thrilling and affectionate tribute to the old West and the men who built it.

It is a highpoint in the careers of everybody involved and proved a last great hurrah for McCrea and Scott. It was Scott’s final film as he retired from acting at the age of 64 after he saw the finished movie, saying he wanted to quit while he was ahead as he would never be able to better this work. Scott made shrewd investments, accumulating a fortune worth a reputed $100 million, with holdings in real estate, gas, oil wells and securities.

McCrea also retired after this, but was later tempted back and finally retired at 69 after making Mustang Country (1976).

Ride the High Country poster.

Also in the cast are Mariette Hartley, James Drury, Ronald Starr, R G Armstrong, Warren Oates, John Davis Chandler, Percy Helton, Jenie Jackson, L.Q. Jones and John Anderson.

McCrea and Scott swapped roles, after both were dissatisfied with their initial work.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3069

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com