The Storm Rider

Edward Bernds THE STORM RIDER is a pleasant, unpretentious little western that revolves around the tried and true formula of the conflict between free-range ranchers and those who posted barbed wire. There's a surprising amount of action, romance, tragedy, heroism and even a little philosophy bandied about in this compact story which benefits from good actors, a literate script and a certain atmosphere of foreboding claustrophobia. The interesting story is well presented and composer Les Baxter creates a striking score of orchestral variations on the old English ballad "Greensleeves" which is uniquely different from most of the other Western scores of the '50s, with its heavy overtones of loneliness and an elegiac bittersweet quality.

This is a quiet but effective little western.