Ride the High Country (2006, DVD)

Ride the High Country (1962)

"All I want is to enter my house justified." Steve Judd

Director Sam Peckinpah had an abiding interest (perhaps obsession) in several themes - friendship, trust, honor, betrayal, aging, and rise of modern times/end of the old West. He explored those themes at least twice I'm aware of, in his better known The Wild Bunch, a 1969 film unfairly remembered more for its blood-spattered violence than its immaculate production values, and this lesser known gem: Ride the High Country.

Both Peckinpah's films featured a pair of aging protagonists who had made their marks in the Old West only to find the unwelcome encroachment of civilization just as they were starting to slow down and look for a place to spend their waning years in peace. Despite the unfairness and unpredictability of change, both sets of protagonists set out to do their best in the unfamiliar now they find themselves in. Ride the High Country explored the honor of "honorable men," while The Wild Bunch explored the concept of "honor among thieves." In both films, cowboys were dinosaurs - fast on their way to extinction.

Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott star as the two aging cowpokes Steve Judd and Gil Westrum. The film opens as Steve (Joel McCrea) rides into town, apparently recognized by dozens of wildly cheering spectators lining the street. Happy to be recognized, he tips his hat to his adoring fans. The next thing you know, a uniformed policeman tells him to get out of the street - he's blocking the race. Suddenly, a camel trailed by a horse in hot pursuit streaks by. Judd realizes the crowd was waving him away, not waving at him. An early automobile careens by, narrowly missing him. Carnival booths are collected in the spaces where corrals once stood. He recognizes one of the barkers as an old compadre, dressed like Buffalo Bill with a bad wig - Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott).

Because of his integrity, Steve has a job offer from the bank, bringing gold down from the high country to be safely deposited. Six prior attempts have resulted in six dead men. Steve agrees, but on the condition that he hire two good men to accompany him. The bank assents. Steve grabs Westrum, who has been reduced to running a rigged game at the carnival to survive. The third man turns out to be a young feller who proves he can hold up his end of a fistfight .

The three hombres set forth on the three-day journey to the high country. On the way, they stop over for the night at the farm of a puritanical man with a beautiful daughter, Elsa (Mariette Hartley). The girl proves a complicating factor when she runs away from her repressive father to join a miner (James Drury) up above. The three guards are thus compelled by honor to escort her to the mining camp. Unfortunately, the miner has four brothers and Elsa's situation goes from bad to worse. Good guy Judd finds himself forced to step in to set things right

The miners swear revenge and the four set off with the gold to return to the bank. All this time Westrum has been plotting to steal the gold. He makes his play at the worst possible moment. Pinned down by rifle fire, Judd must call on his last reserves of strength and courage to salvage the situation. To his credit, he proves equal to the task but at a terrible cost.

Ride the High Country is a sensitive portrayal of the end of an era. The ride up into the mountains represents a moral ascent as the riders leave the squalid plain of civilization for the clean air and scenic beauty of the untamed Sierras. The cinematography reflects the beauty of the West as only Peckinpah can reveal it. Each shot is impeccably framed by photographer Lucien Ballard and represents painstaking attention to detail, a Peckinpah trademark. The score, by George Bassman, is in the finest tradition and complements the storyline perfectly.

Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, two actors of repute yet passed by by fickle Hollywood, portrayed the characters with infinite shades of meaning in their readings. Newcomer Mariette Hartley also did a fine job as did supporting cast members Warren Oates, L. Q. Jones, James Drury, and R. G. Armstrong.

2006 Update: Warner Bros has finally released this cinematic masterpiece on DVD, either separately or as part of the Sam Peckinpah Legendary Westerns Collection. The movie is presented in color, in 2.35:1 Panavision theatrical format. There is a full length commentary with Peckinpah biographers/historians Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle that add some nice insights adding value to a great film experience. A featurette, entitled A Justified Life: Sam Peckinpah and the High Country, subtitles, and theatrical trailer complete the package.

Ride the High Country deserves to be better recognized among movie buffs. It is fully equal in quality and enjoyment to Peckinpah's other masterpiece The Wild Bunch. I recommend you see it, and better yet, own it as a valued part of your own collection.

Also recommended for western fans: The Wild Bunch

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid