Rancho Notorious (1952)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Blistering performances.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The strange factor is what is foremost in this odd and artificial Western. Most Movie Westerns try to avoid false images that betray their fictional accounts. Here Director Fritz Lang has no notions. He seems to revel in the obvious false presentation of it all.It is this wrapping of Studio Sets that announce their cardboard makeup rather than going at length to obfuscate that is troublesome. But, there are a few striking Scenes that linger in the imagination. The one with the Barroom Belles riding their Johns like broken Stallions stands out among a few others.It is not a highly enjoyable Mythological trip to the old West, but that was probably the intent. After all, it is an Adult Tale all the way. The Story of a Rape and Murder and the inevitable, tireless, revenge rampage is hardly the stuff usually seen with Cowpokes among wide open spaces.The antithesis of aesthetics doesn't always work here and there is some miscasting, most notably Arthur Kennedy who has a great snarl but falls way short in the wooing Scenes, and cannot overcome being blown off the Screen by Marlene Dietrich. But overall, this is viewable because of its quirkiness rather than despite of it. On a final note, be prepared for the most intrusive accompanied Ballad, that like so many Westerns of the Fifties, felt it necessary to sing the Plot as it moves along. This is definitely the Worst and almost single handedly removes this from riveting to ridiculous.

Fritz Lang, the director, was quite a guy -- the last of the red hot authoritarians. He strode around the set in riding breeches and boots, a monocle in his eye, shouting orders in a German accent through his megaphone. He carried a sinister quirt.He made a silent feature in Germany, "Metropolis", that stands out from all the others of its type. When asked by the Nazis to head their film propaganda program, he told them he was "tickled pink" and he and his wife were on the next airplane to Hollywood, where he turned out a couple of splendid films noir and a few interesting mystery dramas, even a war movie of some merit.I have no idea why he consented to direct this irredeemable piece of crap. Most of the budget must have gone to Marlene Dietrich and Lang himself. (Maybe that's the reason.) It's a sort of rip off of Lang's "The Big Heat," in which a man's beloved is traumatized and the man spends the rest of the movie grimly seeking revenge.Unlike "The Big Heat," which at least let us see some cloying moments between Glenn Ford and his happy wife, we don't really get to know Arthur Kennedy's fiancée in this movie. But the revenge motive is equally strong. Instead of being blown apart, Kennedy's amour is "outraged" before she is shot to death in a hold up.Kennedy, just an ordinary cow poke, hunts them down alone, from Wyoming to Dietrich's ranch near the Mexican border. I'm always puzzled when I see some footloose wanderer, just aroamin' around, looking for somebody or something. It's a long way from Wyoming to Mexico on horseback, stopping frequently to ask questions. Kennedy started on his unplanned journey with nothing but the clothes on his back. Where did he get the money? I mean, okay, he sleeps out under the stars with his saddle for a pillow. But how about in town? When the hotel desk clerk asks for payment, into what stash does Kennedy reach? And how did he come to be such an accomplished gunslinger after only a little practice? But why ask such questions? The movie is strictly routine. It's studio bound. The acting is sometimes execrable but even the better performers can't overcome the script. The infrequent attempts at humor fail. And you should hear the tawdry theme song.This is not Fritz Lang territory. He's stranded in the desert here, staggering about, desperate for relief from the heat, a sip of water, an aromatic whiff of smog, a Wiener Schnitzel.

An excellent Western, tense, powerful and moving. There is an air of tragedy and regret pervading the atmosphere, which makes it all the more highly charged. It also contains a number of fine set-pieces.Of the cast, Mel Ferrer is very good indeed as the stylish, charming gentleman-gunman, and Arthur Kennedy gives his usual fine performance (full of fevered intensity) as the hero.The film is often underrated (one of the leading film books in the UK, Halliwell's Film Guide, gives it no stars at all) which is why I have left this comment. It is a first rate, highly enjoyable Western, and thoroughly recommended.

Not since JOHNNY GUITAR became a cult classic, has there been an odder western than RANCHO NOTORIOUS with its studio-bound outdoor sets filmed in muted Technicolor and such oddities as: 1) MEL FERRER, who looks cast against type as a fast gunslinger; 2) FRITZ LANG of film noir fame as the director of a mechanical western; 3) MARLENE DIETRICH fatally attracted to ARTHUR KENNEDY, with whom she shares no chemistry whatsoever; 4) GEORGE ("Superman") REEVES looking a bit flabby in a thin bad guy supporting role; 5) A clichéd, banal theme song to establish the "love, hate, revenge" motif of the story; 6) The central role of a tough outlaw (MARLENE DIETRICH) giving rise to comparisons with another cult favorite oddity, JOHNNY GUITAR and Miss JOAN CRAWFORD.To Dietrich's credit, when out of her western garb and gowned in jewels and gown, she looks stunning. But most of the time the close-ups are less than flattering and only emphasize the modern make-up and hairstyle that doesn't exactly smack of the Old West. It's a bit jarring, to say the least.Most of the performances are standard for this genre, but ARTHUR KENNEDY stands out like a sore thumb as the biggest miscasting mistake in the film, aside from MEL FERRER. Kennedy's tough guy seems like a pose left over from so many other of his petulant performances and this time there's absolutely nothing visible in his chemistry with Dietrich. No sparks despite all of his tempestuous outbreaks.Summing up: A trifle that can easily be overlooked in the resume of Fritz Lang.