Raw Edge

A very Different Western with its concern Focused on Sex. Competing with TV, the Movies of the Decade occasionally ventured into this Territory. The Movie Stars Two Beautiful Women, Yvonne De Carlo, and Mara Corday and the Complete Running Time is spent with both being Chased, Near Raped, and generally Lusted after.

The Male Cast lead by Rory Calhoun also features Neville Brand, Rex Reason, and Emile Meyer. The Screen is On Fire from Frame One and the Chase is On to see who can Bed the Beauties First.

It's Widescreen and Technicolor and Runs 76 Minutes. The Subject Matter Alone makes this one Stand Apart from other Fifties Western Fodder. Definitely Worth a Watch for Western Movie Fans and even those not usually drawn to Genre might find it Entertaining as it leans more toward an Adult Audience.

Note...Director John Sherwood made a career as a Second Unit Director and only Directed three films. Other than this one...The Monolith Monsters (1957) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).

This is really a shame that director John Sherwood gave us only three films: this one, CREATURE WALKS AMONG US and MONOLITH MONSTERS. This western is very unusual concerning not the cast but the topic. It is very smart of have shown how West was in those times, where there were so few women for so many men. And no one can miss a western starring the flaming Yvonne De Carlo, co starring here Mara Corday and the likes of Neville Brand, Rory Calhoun. Excellent directing, excellent locations, settings, and for a short length, only seventy five minutes. Not a masterpiece but an Universal western to remember.

Kirby (Rory Calhoun) comes to town and finds that his brother was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. There is a lot of tension between the men everywhere because too many of them are after two beautiful women, Mrs Montgomery (Yvonne De Carlo) and Paca (Mara Corday). Everyone who dies will mean less competition in the chase for them...

'Raw Edge' was shown in my country under a title that means 'The Pack Is Lurking Everywhere', and indeed it feels as if men behave like a pack of hounds here, no character is entirely sympathetic. The makers did not bother much about historical accuracy, because several pieces of clothing and weaponry look way too modern for Oregon in 1842. But surely the aim of the movie was to tell a story about the dark side of human nature, and it fully succeeded at that. A sinister and unusual western ahead of its time.

From the deep, dark depths of Universal's back catalogue comes Raw Edge, a truly bizarre western. It's really awful.

The movie is set in the 'lawless' 1842 Oregon, where if a woman is widowed, they are up for grabs to whoever 'claims' her first. The land baron who set this rule has a beautiful wife (played by Yvonne DeCarlo) who all the men covet. When she gets assaulted, an innocent man is lynched and his wife is widowed. It's gonna take tough gunslinger Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) to avenge his brother and sort out the greatly misogynistic tyrant.

This movie's biggest failing is the story which is pretty ridiculous. The premise is unbelievable, even for the Oregon of the Wild West. The plot itself wasn't particularly engaging either, the revenge story had been done dozens of times before and much better than this. It's also not very exciting and there are barely any fights that were fun to watch.

Rory Calhoun is fine in the movie, he says his lines and does bring a sort of stoic personality to his character. Same goes for Yvonne DeCarlo, she's fine. Neville Brand plays an over the top villain who's out to get DeCarlo, he was entertaining enough.

Overall, this film is really bizarre and barely entertaining enough to warrant a watch. The acting is serviceable but the plot is all kinds of strange. But I think it could be fun for the sheer weirdness of it.

This edgy and off-beat western has plenty of seething resentment amongst its characters (and there are lots of them: vengeful gunslinger, baddie, baddie's dumb henchmen, local gambler, baddie's wife, baddies girlfriend...) but isn't too believable. Some good action scenes but only average over all. (5