Sorry, this movie sucks

Pretty Good

Admirable film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I first saw this curious western many years ago, at the time I found it rather boring. After reading several other reviews on IMDb, knew it was time to re-evaluate. Pleased I did, this time seeing a totally different show (well at least by now, I was seeing things through different eyes)It still seems odd that it opens in the mist of a story situation that has not been established. Only the ensuing dialog sets you up with what's happened before the opening scene. This gives the film the look and feel of a finished work that may have endured post production edits for over-length. While I can't confirm if this was the case, it could still have been the intention of the film makers to do something different. In fact, the whole approach to this film is different. Here is a work that credits the audience with the ability to think --to read between the lines-- The pace is slower than normal, another sign the producers may want the audience to study each situation. For the patient, mature viewer this should pay entertaining dividends. As the first feature to come from John Garfield's independent Enterprise production company it's a worthy effort. The cast seem as if they all want this to be a success, even bit players work enthusiastically. Many of the main leads are playing out of their established roles. Charlie Ruggles and Don De Fore do well with their mainly dramatic characters and Veronica Lake (under direction from her husband) is surprisingly ruthless (don't think I was ready for any of this first time round) Interesting Director, Andre' De Toth and his remarkable Director of Photography: Russel Harlan (who's worked on such a vast range of varied topics) create several mesmerizing 'story without words' type situations throughout. Joel McCrea is marvellous to watch, as one of the most believable righteous men to grace the screen (no doubt about it, the world needs more).Luke Short (real name Frederick Glidden) creates realistic characters and gives them situations to match. It's a tad brutal, and not a western for everyone, but it's well worth staying with ~ you may end up being entertained. The Olive DVD release is not bad, while not a full re-mastering, the sound and B/W imagery are crisp (although the night scenes have some fluctuations.) Like me, you may need a second time round.

Contrary to previous reviews of Ramrod, de Toth's film is much more interesting than a "simple cattle vs. sheep" plot-driven western. Just look at Lake's Connie Dickinson. This is a typical femme fatale archetype taken straight from film noir (realistically, the character derives from hard-boiled pulp literature which Luke Short fused with his western story). Sexually alluring Connie uses her potent sway over men to achieve her greedy ambitions of wealth and power, and is unafraid to send men to their deaths for her cause. Connie's strength of character is atypical of the western genre at this stage, and her strength seems to come from the relative weakness of the film's hero, played by Joel McCrea; who seems to lack the strong sense of moral certainty that the typical westerner was founded upon. Along with Raoul Walsh's Pursued (1947), and Robert Wise's Blood on the Moon (1948), Ramrod stands as one of the few hybrids between film noir and the western. Regardless of your standpoint on the status of film noir, all of these films contain typical elements from the pessimistic noirs of the 40's and 50's, particularly formal and stylistic devices, as well as recurring personnel, especially directors, stars (ie. Robert Mitchum), and cinematographers. Crucially though, the western genre before this stage was a particularly optimistic one; look at Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939), Dodge City (Michael Curtiz, 1939), or even My Darling Clementine (Ford again, 1946); the three films I mentioned beforehand, including Ramrod, all offer instances of pessimistic worldviews, and morally ambiguous characters and situations, even though they all end with the hero getting the girl and riding into a westward sunset.

Veronica Lake is Connie, a woman who has seen all her life her weak father being dominated by Frank Ivey (Preston Foster). When the man she loves, Walt Shipley cannot stand up to Ivey , she goes on a war against both Ivey and her father. She gets Joel McCrea to be the ramrod and McCrea in turn gets Don De Fore and his friends to help. The problem with Connie is that she is so hurt and scarred by the domineering Ivey that she becomes obsessed in winning this war no matter what. It is a shame that the character of Connie could be not more elaborated, but that would have meant a much longer film. Lake is great as Connie, she is the star of the film. A very good western, a bit hard to follow at the beginning.

As in most stories by Luke Short, this one is more on plot than action. McCrea is good as the 'old cowhand' that eventually does the right thing. Good supporting cast, featuring Lloyd Bridges.