Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

Load of rubbish!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I have really enjoyed some of Boetticher's other movies - especially The Tall T. This one starts well and seems to prefigure some of Clint Eastwood's westerns. The town riven with corruption etc. There is a marvellous scene of dark comedy between Randolph Scott and L.Q.Jones as they 'bury' another guy (who has tried to kill Scott)in a tree!!!. The dialogue is very good here. However the film loses it's way with the overcomplicated action in the town - and the villains are rather pallid in presentations and somewhat poorly acted - they do not have the depth of the 'villains' in the other films. Indeed this series of westerns is notable for the richness of the portrayals of the morally compromised characters - they are presented as complex characters - with acute psychological realism. This makes this film all the more disappointing - it is very much the poor relation of the others.

High quality Boetticher western that succeeds on almost every front.Scott is first class, less taciturn than usual and displaying a gift for wry humour not always evident in his performances. The supporting cast is well above average and Barry Kelley, Tol Avery and Peter Whitney, in particular, are all excellent, playing their parts to near perfection.The scenery, both in and out of the town is wonderfully evocative - cacti to die for! - the guitar music is hauntingly beautiful and the colours are bright and pleasing.If I have a criticism at all, it is that the plot is a little too convoluted - too many twists and counter twists - but, in the face of so much that is good, this is but a minor quibble.Incidentally, the only women in the production have such tiny roles, they are not even named in the cast list. So no-one "gets the girl" this time round!

Randolph Scott and director Budd Boetticher team up again with this average cowboy flick about loyalty and betrayal. Loner Tom Buchanan, on his way home to west Texas, stops along the California/Mexican border and is jailed falsely accused of being the parter of a young Mexican trying to avenge the rape of his sister. Buchanan is released, but led out of town minus his money belt containing $5,000. He escapes being shot in the back and returns to town to collect his stolen money. In doing so, he must start some mistrust and anger between three corrupt brothers who run the town. Buchanan ends up in the manipulation of a double-cross to keep the Mexican youth from hanging. An obvious low-budget western, but still interesting. Also in the cast of players: Craig Stevens, Manuel Rojas, Barry Kelley, Peter Whitney, L.Q. Jones, Tol Avery and Jennifer Holden.Of note: Miss Holden only appeared in three movies; the first being her better role in the Elvis Presley classic JAILHOUSE ROCK(1957).

This is a western so far from reality as Moscow is from Phoenix, Arizona, although it is no comedy. Or is it? And that is why I write a comment of protest. Time and again the hero, which is certainly also an anti-hero, is sweeping through the landscape, never really knowing what to do, which is really funny to a certain degree. But it is as well totally unrealistic. Who wrote that screen-play and in what mental condition? All the figures in the story behave totally mad. I wonder whether the horses should have been more intelligent!I give an example. Randy, Pecos and the Mexican overwhelm the three little helpers of the sheriff who came to either kill or arrest them for a later hanging in a hut outside town. And what are these three guys doing? They take three lassos and bind them. Then Randy wants to go back to town to get his money which the sheriff had stolen,and the the other two ride to the Mexicans home. So far so good. Now starts the nonsense: no funny, just ridiculous: 1. the three villains get free from the three tons of binding material within approximately 10 seconds. Is this the way cowboys bind cows? They should know how to bind knots!2. next likability: You won't believe it, Randy and his two buddies let the horses of the villains parked right outside the hut! Why? Of course to make the persecution possible in case the villains get free! How foolish those poor fellows are! But it comes even better: 3.because being hunted without a shotgun aiming at one's a.. is no fun, nobody of our 3 (THREE!) cow-men thought of taking the guns of the villains along with them! 4. The Mexican and Pecos had just now a narrow escape! The Mexican waited for his hanging. He was set free but knows that the sheriff and the whole town is after him. So what will he do? He will ride home! Yes, but very, very slowly! I have never seen a western movie where two men rode so slowly across the wild wild west. It is clear what happened. The three villains got rid of the silky spiderweb, took thankfully their horses and their guns, caught within a minute the clever Mexican who had wasted so much time and shot clever Pecos who had wasted so much life. And of course Buchanan was caught too. I could give You more examples. The film is a total continuation of question marks and doubtful looks. I assume, this is not the way to make people in the American West believe that they stem from intelligent or capable forefathers (which they certainly do). Western movies are seldom very realistic, true, but too much exaggeration of (possible?) actions that make sense is too much I can bear. I found this movie in parts ridiculous. I wonder how anybody could decide to make it! I need hardly a day to write a better screenplay.