I love this movie so much

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The Outriders is directed by Roy Rowland and written by Irving Ravetch. It stars Joel McCrea, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan, James Whitmore, Ramon Novarro, Jeff Corey and Claude Jarman. Music is by Andre Previn and cinematography by Charles Schoenbaum.Plot sees McCrea as Will Owen, the alpha male of three Confederate prisoners who escape from Camp Benton Stockade and promptly get recruited by one of William Quantrill's Bushwhacker units. Assigned to infiltrate a Don Chaves (Novarro) run wagon train that's carrying a fortune in gold, the men must deal with Indians, each other, and the hazards that the journey throws up. Out of MGM with some production value of note, The Outsiders rises above simplicity of story to unfurl a darn fine Oater. Narratively it has strengths, where Owen's moral conscience forms a spiky backdrop to plotting. Be it his views on the unsavoury tactics employed by Keeley's (Corey) Bushwhackers, and his place as the undercover leader leading the wagon train to doom, or the positioning of his feelings - and others around him - towards the female of the group (Dahl) and that of her teenage brother-in-law. Owen is definitely in emotional turmoil.From an action stand point the pic doesn't short change, with Indian attacks, internal fisticuffs and a rousing chase followed by the big siege finale, all of which are delivered admirably and scored robustly by Previn. The stand-out, though, is a high energy section of film that sees the group trying to get over a river at high tide flood level and is running a current of death! These scenes are expertly constructed and are of the breath holding standard. Yet the greatest part of the piece finds the group indulging in a square dance evening, where the men are blowing away the cob-webs with hooch, while the delectable Dahl holds court right in the middle. The sexual tension is palpable, the atmosphere electric, and as it happens, it forms a key part of proceedings.Tech credits are high as well, led by the the excellent capturing of the Utah locations by Schoenbaum, this is most pleasing on the eyes. Technicolor is perfect for such an airy Oater, the primary colours positively booming on the screen (check out the water and fire shots), while Dahl was made for such colour lenses. The aforementioned square dance sequences showcase her sexual beauty, with flaming red hair and glorious emerald green shoes acting as glorious crowns to a most appetising filling.Yes the story is soft, and anyone jaded by the formula of many 1950s Westerns should probably avoid this one - with most almost certainly knowing how it's going to pan out anyway. But there's so much to like here for me to suggest it's an undervalued pic and worth seeking out. Especially for McCrea and Dahl fans. 7/10

This film begins in a Union prison camp filled with Confederate prisoners. Three of them (Joel McCrea, Barry Sullivan and James Whitmore) escape and eventually meet up with Confederate raiders. During the war, raiders were Southern soldiers who are a bit more like bandits and specialized in making fast strikes on mostly civilian targets in the North. In this case, the leader picks these three men to head west on an undercover mission. It seems that a wagon train is headed east...and there's gold hidden in some of the wagons. The plan is to use this gold to help finance the war. However, there are a few complications, Will Owen (McCrea) is a decent guy and his conscience bothers him about leading the folks into an ambush. Second, Jesse Wallace (Sullivan) is a bit of a scum-bag and Will needs to keep an eye out for him as well...especially since Jesse is much more concerned about making himself rich instead of helping his cause. Finally, Will likes these folks and has fallen for one of the women (Arlene Dahl). So what's to become of this secret plan?This is a pretty standard film done about a topic that's been covered quite a few times in other films. This isn't so much a complaint as an observation that it's not the most original movie ever made! Still, despite this, McCrea was such a wonderful actor in westerns that I was able to cut the film some slack. It's also very competently made, enjoyable and in full color and worth seeing if you like the genre. My only gripe is late in the film when Will tells everyone he HAD intended to lead them into an ambush...and never really explains why he was planning on doing this. His doing it for his Confederacy is far different than his possibly being a bandit since he'd just learned that the war was over!!!By the way, one of the interesting bits of casting here is Ramon Novarro as Don Antonio. In the 1920s and 30, Novarro was a huge star...handsome and on top of the MGM food chain. But with time and changing tastes, in the 1940s, Novarro made very, very few films and this is one of your rare opportunities to see the middle-aged actor.

Joel McCrea did another western with a similar premise to The Outriders for Warner Brothers in South of St. Louis. That was three partners in a cattle ranch who all went their separate ways as a result of the Civil War. Here to the premise is three men who also go their separate ways as a result of the Civil War. Here the shared experience is prison camp. Joel McCrea, Barry Sullivan, and James Whitmore are Confederate prisoners who escape in early 1865. In effecting their escape they fall into the hands of a rebel guerrilla leader played by Jeff Corey.Being guerrillas these guys don't play by the rules. The trio either goes west to Santa Fe to act as Judas goats and lead a gold train into ambush or die right there. Even the always honorable Joel McCrea sees he has no options here.The rest of the story is how the conflicts internal and external are resolved and how the three escaped prisoners decide what course they have to take. Oh, and Joel McCrea meets up with Arlene Dahl and she kind of helps him along in the decision process.The movies never had a more honorable or stalwart hero than Joel McCrea. And if you've seen any of his films, fans will know that whatever he does it will be the honorable thing. It's a tribute to McCrea that if he insisted on always being the stalwart hero, he had the talent and personality to carry it off.It's familiar ground for Joel McCrea, but western fans will like the story and the gorgeous technicolor photography that captures it.

We all project ourselves into the books we read and films we see, so the more closer to our lives the entertainment vehicle is, the greater the experience and enjoyment. So I suppose this film would have just been another oater for me but for that one small detail.The Outriders was a typical late '40s western movie, so the only reason I decided to watch it was that I like Joel McRea. Otherwise I might have passed on this 55 year old sage brush saga. But once it started, the female lead, Arlene Dahl, caught my eye.Ms. Dahl could have been just another late 1940s blonde, blue eyed movie star in another late 1940s oater except for two things. first, she looked uncannily like my high school sweetheart (I know, everyone has an old high school sweetheart-go watch American Graffiti) but she really did look like her. And secondly, she spoke softly and moved, glided across the stage, just like *** did.Then the story line somewhat mirrored the relationship we had. A tough and dangerous outlaw meets a sweet, honest and stunning beauty. I let myself slip into the fantasy of this movie figuring it would be a nice bit of nostalgic escapism. but then came the dance scene during the wagon train's stop on its overland journey. Head honcho Will Owens (McRea) tells Jen Gort (Ms. Dahl) to stay in the wagon to avoid getting the trail hands stirred up, but when the men break out fiddles and guitars and start singing around the camp fire, she comes out, dressed to the nines with her dancing shoes. Jen glides effortlessly across the camera's view and dances with all the men, politely and dignified, yet strikingly alluring and all woman. But what touched me was when she told Will Owens "you wanted me the most". No modern day tawdriness; nor erotic film scene with naked, sweating bodies could convey the message any clearer than her voice, her eyes and those words. It took me back.This film may just be another fast paced western to most, but to me it is **** and me. I miss her.