The Redhead and the Cowboy

Call me crazy, but shouldn't The Redhead and the Cowboy have been made in Technicolor? How are we supposed to know Rhonda Fleming has red hair? Alright, we've seen her in other movies, but I still maintain that this movie wasn't as effective in black and white. And speaking of other movies, I fully admit I suffer from "Humphrey-Bogart-It is" with her: the first movie I saw her in left an unchangeable impression. No matter how many movies where she plays a bad girl, I'll always think of her as Princess Sandy. Mark Twain made me loyal to her sweetness. She's so beautiful; it's a shame Hollywood made her a villain a lot of the time. In this movie, she plays a Confederate spy who plays men as easily as she looks at them and takes everything she can get. But, what about Princess Sandy! Can't she be a good girl deep down?

Glenn Ford plays her latest mark. He's a stranger in a small western town, and when he follows a flirtatious Rhonda into the back room of a saloon (hoping to get lucky, let's face it), he winds up alone with a corpse. Edmond O'Brien and other witnesses think Glenn is a murderer, and they chase him out of town - but Glenn is chasing Rhonda to clear his name. She's the only one who knows he's innocent. Unless Edmond believes him, or else why would he help him with his narrow escape? There are some twists and turns to this movie, but it's not the best Confederate western I've seen. I like The Texans far better. Or if you want Glenn Ford's comic timing, check him out in Advance to the Rear.