Ride in the Whirlwind

"Ride in the Whirlwind" is an interesting western for several reasons. It was written by Jack Nicholson. You just don't expect to see him in westerns but especially writing them! Additionally, the story is told in a most unusual fashion--with none of the usual cliches nor structure of a western...and it's just a very economically written film with minimal dialog and a rather simple premise.

When the story begins, Wes, Vern and Otis come upon a man who has been hung. Soon after, they come upon a small cabin where three men are inside. The men inside invite the trio to come inside and eat. And, soon after eating, a posse comes upon the cabin and begin shooting. Little did Wes, Vern and Otis know that these new 'friends' were wanted killers. Soon, Vern is shot...as are the three crooks. Wes (Jack Nicholson) and Otis (Cameron Mitchell) manage to escape...but without horses nor provisions, they know it's only a matter of time until they, too, are caught and hung...as this posse doesn't seem the type to stop and talk! What's next? See the film.

As I said above, the film is done economically. I don't mean that it has a low budget...but it was made simply, without a lot of dialog and none of the usual cliches. Because of this, it's better than the average western...and a bit like the classic "The Ox-Bow Incident". Well worth your time and the Utah/Arizona setting is quite striking.

Monte Hellman makes art movies--as in Mr. Wim Wenders, or Mr. Robert Bresson, for that matter. How he disguised them as hot-rod movies, or trendy hippie bashes, or simple old Westerns, is beyond me, so rarefied, quiet, composed, and art-conscious are they. RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND, scripted by its star, Jack Nicholson, reduces "the Western" to abstract essentials. Guys in a shack getting smoked out by the lawmen outside. Guys on the lam from a lynch mob. Stoical lynch-mob hanging. Tense, purse-lipped conversation between outlaw and kidnapped good-girl type. Presented against a stark landscape with no extras (I'm sure Hellman'll tell you it's sheer economics), the scenes take on the quality of gallery installations based on Western plot devices. If you ever wondered where the laconic sensibility of such latter-day types as Jim Jarmusch and Michael Almereyda came from, here's a hint.

This independent and offbeat film deals with three cowboys who are mistaken for members a band , then they're wrongly pursued by a relentless posse . This outlandish Western is finely set against barren backdrop and well photographed outdoors . Slow-moving , a little boring , however being packed with exciting pursuits , strong performances and noisy gunplay . Written , starred and produced by Jack Nicholson along with an uncredited Roger Corman . Made concurrently , back to back , with ¨The shooting¨ with the same cast (Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson) , cameraman (Gregory Sandor) and maverick director (Hellman) . Slammed by the intelligentsia when it was released , today become a minor cult movie , as well as ¨The shooting¨ .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Monte Hellman (Two-lane blacktop , Cockfighter) in his usual visual style . His stars are similarly independent-minded actors such as Jack Nicholson , Harry Dean Stanton and Cameron Mitchell . From his two known strange , outlandish Westerns in which Hellman directed in rare as well as special qualities , he has remained fiercely independent with lukewarm reception by public, but praised by critics . In his first films he teamed up Roger Corman who produced his earlier movies with a relative success , however nowadays he only makes fateful B movies and failure television movies .

After their proposed film about abortion was turned down by the studio in 1965, Jack Nicholson combined with Monte Hellman as writer/director to produce two Westerns for producer Roger Corman, each shot in the space of eighteen days on a minimal budget. The two films, The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind, were never released in American theaters but built an audience from television and European showings. Gradually developing a cult following, they have now been restored and released on DVD in North America. Though filmed in the Western genre, Ride in the Whirlwind might justifiably be called an anti-Western since there are no heroes or villains, no one to love or hate. There are just people going about their life trying to survive as best they can, operating on a rigid code of behavior that does not allow them much flexibility.

After a stagecoach is held up by Blind Dick (Harry Dean Stanton) and his gang, the gunmen retreat to an isolated cabin to spend the night. Passing through are three cowboys Vern (Cameron Mitchell), Wes (Jack Nicholson), and Otis (Tom Filer) headed to Waco Texas after the rodeo they were to perform in is canceled. They pass a lynching victim strung up on a pole, and stop at the same cabin where the gang is holed up looking for some rest. Surprisingly, they are welcomed by Blind Dick, ostensibly the one responsible for the lynching but find that they soon have unwelcome visitors. The sheriff and his posse have surrounded the house and begin shooting at the occupants, wrongly assuming that the three travelers are also part of the gang.

Inarticulate, the cowhands are unable or unwilling to try and explain to the lawmen the fact that they are innocent. After a protracted shootout, Otis is killed and the gang members are burned out of their cabin and hanged. Vern and Wes escape on foot but are followed and tracked by the lawmen, bound by their code of unthinking frontier justice. The two innocent men stumble upon a farmhouse that had already been visited by the posse and are looked after by a farmer Evan (George Mitchell) and his daughter Abigail (Millie Perkins).

Eating and passing the time playing checkers, they know that sooner or later the posse will come back, if only to court Abigail. When they do return, Evan's inability to see that Vern and Wes have no choice but to steal two horses is very costly. In debunking the Western myth of good guys and bad guys, Hellman has directed a film in which the ordinariness of the life overshadows the mythos of the exciting frontier. Yet while Ride in the Whirlwind may be one of the most authentic and haunting Westerns ever made, it is also one of the saddest, a film in which the operative word is not justice or camaraderie but loneliness and lost opportunity.

If you are looking for a romantic Western with traditional good guys battling against the forces of evil, then you have come to the wrong place. There are no heroes and no villains, just ordinary men and women struggling against the elements for survival. No one has an easy life, neither homesteader nor outlaw. The drudgery of the former is shown by the farmer hacking away endlessly at the stubborn stump that refuses to give up its hold. The folly of the latter comes into focus when the vigilante posse catches up with its quarry. Knowing that a life of punching cows will get them nowhere, three cowboys, played excellently by Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell and Tom Filer, briefly consider joining up with the outlaw gang they've been forced to spend the night with. Not having the outlaw nature, the cowboys reject that option and determine that they best separate themselves at first light. However, by then it is too late. The vigilantes have both the outlaws and them surrounded and open fire. If they surrender, they will be hanged, no questions asked. If they try to ride out, they will be shot down. They can only climb out of the valley up the mountains, leaving their horses behind. However, as stated by one of the cowboys, it is no country to be set afoot. Thus, their enemy becomes not only the men tracking them down but also the harsh environment into which they are thrust and must overcome. That struggle is the essence of what this marvelous film is all about.