The Ride Back

Well written, well directed, well acted, well paced. This is a film made by people (Robert Aldrich, William Conrad) who care about the medium.

Powerful performances by the leads and good support makes a simple story - of a Marshall taking a prisoner back to stand trial - an excellent one.

If you like 1950s Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann and Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher westerns, you'll like this one.

The Ride Back is directed by Allen H. Miner and written by Antony Ellis. It stars Anthony Quinn, William Conrad and Lita Milan. Music is by Frank De Vol and cinematography by Joseph Biroc.

Sheriff Chris Hamish (Conrad) tries to extradite popular gunfighter Bob Kallen (Quinn) from Mexico to stand trial for murder in Scottsville, Texas.

A good and meaty psychological Western that is more interested in exploring the two main characters than merely portraying a good versus bad parable. The sheriff and the gunfighter must travel through dangerous Apache territory and quickly find themselves up against the odds. As the two men continue onwards they naturally bicker and Kallen obviously wants to escape, but surely they must work together to survive? As they learn about each other and come across a dreadful scene that finds them in the company of an orphan girl, the film plays its hand as the characterisations switch in tone.

It's a very understated picture, sombre in mood in spite of the beautiful outdoor locales. Dialogue is sparse so there's no pointless filler, while the Apache threat is not forced, we only get glimpses of them and they become more threatening by just being ghosts out in the terrain. Conrad and Quinn make for a good polar opposites pairing, the black and white photography of Biroc (Run of the Arrow/Forty Guns) is crisp and tight to the mood of the narrative and Miner (being overseen by Robert Aldrich) directs in an unfussy manner. Actor Eddie Albert warbles the title song.

As a formula it has been done better elsewhere, as with 3:10 to Yuma released the same year, but this is a better than average entry into the psychological Western pantheon and it deserves to be better known. 7/10

I may have missed someone, but by my count only six actors have lines in this ultra-spare Western. The production comes from respected director Robert Aldrich's independent company with William Conrad himself producing. That may account for Quinn's appearance in a cheapie so soon after his Oscar for Lust for Life (1956)—plus, the likelihood that the streamlined production could be shot in less than 2 weeks.

As a Western, it's an offbeat concept— Sheriff Conrad returning fugitive Quinn from Mexico to stand trial. The narrative is basically two nervous guys riding across the great outdoors with some drunken Apaches lurking in the background. No wonder the sheriff can't relax. However, the movie comes across as more interesting than suspenseful, mainly because crucial compromises are made with Quinn's character. He's simply made too likable and respected to generate the kind of tension needed, which may have been the price of putting a headliner like Quinn in the lead. It's really Conrad's resolute sheriff that holds interest as a number of surprising self-doubts begin to unfold. His nicely shaded performance shows how much more than a great radio voice Conrad was. Anyway, it's an entertaining little programmer with a rare distinction. It's the only film I've seen with more untranslated lines outside English than in English—an unusual effect. So, unless you speak Spanish, you may have to do a lot of inferring.

(In passing—it's probably a matter of taste, but to my ear the title tune may be the worst of the era, bellowed out by a decidedly untuneful Eddie Albert.)

Toward the middle and latter end of the 50s the B western shifted to television but many were still done for the big screen as well. Cowboy heroes were strictly relegated to the small screen and the ones done now were adult fare. The Ride Back was typical of these kinds used as second features for double bills.

What makes this unusual though is the presence of a name actor, one who had just won his second Oscar the year before. Anthony Quinn's salary must have been three quarters of the budget or he was paying off a debt by appearing in The Ride Back. Quinn plays a fugitive here returning to Mexico to escape a murder charge. Whom he's taking The Ride Back with is Sheriff William Conrad.

Conrad is no heroic sheriff, in fact he confesses to being a failure at most things he's tried is determined to succeed here. As for Quinn he swears it was self defense and doesn't think he'll get a fair trial as a Mexican. The whole film is about developing trust.

When the Indians attack the two have to trust each other, but it's slow developing. A mute little girl they rescue as a survivor of an Indian attack serves as the catalyst for this purpose.

Quinn and Conrad are an interesting pair of protagonists, no heroes or villains here, just people in a foul circumstance. No frills in this black and white film, but an interesting character study.

"The Ride Back" is a B&W Western from 1957 starring William Conrad (aka "Cannon") as a hard-luck Texas lawman sent to Mexico to bring back a charismatic man wanted for murder, played by Anthony Quinn.

Plot-wise, the film is reminiscent of another B&W 1957 Western, "3:10 to Yuma," but "The Ride Back" was released about 4 months prior to "3:10" and was adapted from a "Gunsmoke" radio program episode. Conrad played Matt Dillon on the radio show in the 50s and early 60s but was too short and portly for the TV version that premiered in 1955 with James Arness starring as Marshal Dillon. Conrad produced "The Ride Back" in response.

Viewing "The Ride Back" for the first time, it is interesting to see William Conrad some 15 years before starring in "Cannon" and Anthony Quinn is as larger-than-life as ever, not to mention the stunningly beautiful Lita Milan as Quinn's Mexican girlfriend. Yet the true appeal of "The Ride Back" transcends these surface attractions.

The first thing that happily struck me about the movie is that the filmmakers strove for realism in the manner of notable 50s Westerns by Stewart/Mann and Scott/Boetticher. Such realism is observed in the heavy use of Spanish in the early Mexican segments and the film's depiction of American Indians. The Native here are elusive wraiths more than anything else, but that's the best route to go at a time when more close-up portrayals of Indians typically came off artificial and even laughable, especially as seen through modern eyes.

After the first half-hour the film morphs into a moving character study. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Hamish (Conrad) slowly realizes that Kallen (Quinn) is everything he's not: Hamish is brooding and self-loathing while Kallen exudes life and confidence; Hamish's wife hates him while Kallen's girlfriend is so devoted she chases him across the desert; Hamish is a loner while Kallen inspires love and loyalty, so much so that the Mexican villagers are willing to kill Hamish at Kallen's word; an orphaned girl withdraws from Hamish while naturally bonding with Kallen, etc. We also learn the reason for Hamish's obsessive hunt is that he wanted to finally do something right and prove himself to his wife and the people of his west Texas community. As the story progresses Hamish is increasingly enlightened to the greatness of Kallen. It's a testimony to his character that this enlightenment doesn't result in hateful envy bur rather admiration and respect. ***END SPOILER***

The title song was sung by Eddie Albert of "Green Acres" fame; a lot of people hate it but I thought it was a good Western song. Hey, it's better than similar theme songs from the era, like the horrible "North to Alaska" (excellent film but dubious theme song).

FINAL WORD: I was braced for an artificial 50's Western but got a potent character study instead. The only negatives I can cite are that it's in black & white and has some slow, less-than-compelling parts. Regardless, I prefer it to the original "3:10 to Yuma."

The film runs 79 minutes and was shot in California and Mexico.

GRADE: B+ or A-