Robbers' Roost
Jim "Tex" Wall, searching for the last of the three men who raped and killed his wife, joins a gang of cattle rustlers led by Hank Hays. Both Hays' outlaws and a rival gang headed by Heesman, have been hired as ranch hands by "Bull" Herrick, a cripple who owns a large cattle ranch and wants to get his large herd to market. He theorizes that the two gangs will be kept busy watching each other and neither will rustle his cattle. Helen has little faith in her brother's contrived plan, and hates and distrusts both groups. She begins to soften toward Jim, but abruptly changes when she sees a reward poster which says he has killed two men.
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- Cast：
- George Montgomery , Richard Boone , Bruce Bennett , Peter Graves , Warren Stevens , William Hopper , Stanley Clements
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Reviews
The Age of Commercialism
Powerful
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Robbers' Roost is directed by Sidney Salkow and Salkow co-adapts the screenplay from a Zane Grey story with John O'Dea and Maurice Geraghty. It stars George Montgomery, Richard Boone, Sylvia Findley, Peter Graves, Tony Romano, Warren Stevens and Leo Gordon. Music is by Paul Dunlap and cinematography by Jack Draper.As a huge Western fan it's disappointing to find such a damn fine cast operating in such a mundane Oater. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just so ordinary and sits with a host of other 1950s genre pieces that fail to ignite and add something interesting to a standard tale. Here we have two rival gangs of cowpokes working for one man, the reason for hiring both sets of rivals is tenuous at best. Anyhoo, the two mobs must try and get along enough to get the job done, only a couple of the main players have hidden agendas. While of course right in the middle is a tough gal, creating untold amounts of sexual tension.The story unfolds in steady sedate fashion, the odd moments of action perking the pace occasionally, with plenty of macho posturing on show, while the ever lingering cloud of intrigue keeps the interest ticking by. Once the agendas are revealed the pic kicks into a higher gear, which builds tidily to the expected finale of few surprises.The location photography is most pleasant (Durango, Mexico) and the colour lenses are also easy on the eye. But it's ultimately a waste of good casting and a potent premise, leaving us with an average Oater that's more a gap filler than a must see for genre fans. 5/10
George Montgomery has as his source for this western no less a western writer than Zane Grey in Robber's Roost. Two outlaw gangs, one headed by Richard Boone the other by Peter Graves are employed at the ranch owned by brother and sister Bruce Bennett and Sylvia Findlay.Bennett who is now a paraplegic for reasons not really explained in the story has hired two outlaw gangs as ranch hands, the theory being that one will watch the other especially since Boone and Graves hate each other's guts. It actually works for a while.Into the mix comes Montgomery who joins up with Boone's gang. He's got his own agenda for mixing in all of this business. And he too is a wanted man.The Zane Grey story translates well to the big screen. This is definitely one of George Montgomery's better B westerns.
This movie wasted a good cast and film stock.George Montgomery and Richard Boone should have switched roles. Boone would have brought out the subleties of a good man masquerading as a bad guy.Montgomery's career might have profited by playing a slick bad guy.Who the heck was Sylvia Findley? why was she given the female lead? You've got Montgomery, Boone, William Hopper and Peter Graves all lusting after her. I don't see what the big deal was.It also makes little use of Leo Gordon. When you have a big, intimidating guy like that, use him! He made a bigger impression opposite John Wayne in "Hondo" or as a convict in "Riot In Cell Block 11".They should have given the guy with the guitar some better songs to sing.At least the colors were good.
Robber's Roost is an unusual western, the color scenery does not look like anything I have seen before, it has a very young Richard Boone as a chief of one gang which is hired by rancher Bruce Bennett together with his enemy Peter Graves, the chief of another gang. Bennett, which is paralyzed, thinks that by doing this he will not be robbed, but his sister Sylvia Findley knows he is playing with dynamite. George Montgomery is the man that gets hired by Boone and who is looking for his wife's killer. The story is by Zane Grey, who used to write pages and pages describing the locations of his stories and you can see that the cinematography tries to live up to Grey. It is quite interesting seeing a different Richard Boone with no mustache, giving quite a performance as the type of character that he would keep on playing for so many films after,
