Roughshod

Moviecut—Roughshod

Incredibly dull!!! Dance hall girls have a secret, but we never finds out what it is! The bad guys and the star of the movie hate each other, but why??? Got a little "Lifetimey" in the middle too!! Avoid!!!

Utterly undistinguished western that if made ten years later would have been a mid level episode of a mid level TV series like "Rifleman" or "Wagon Train". The only interesting thing about it, aside from a typically good Gloria Grahame performance, is the bad guy having a Russian name. Guess one of the screenwriters or director Mark Robson, a notorious butthole, was trying to impress the HUAC crowd. Give it a C.

Some fun names in here....Gloria Grahame was in SO many noir films of the time. and she really steals the show here. Robert Sterling, John Ireland. Cowboy is travelling out in the old west, and comes to the rescue of four dancing girls, who left town suddenly when dancing is no longer allowed. and of course, some dangerous, escaped convicts are also still in the area. Lots of talking and arguing. Shooting, galloping. Show down at sun down. Written by Peter Viertel, who had come over from Germany under hitler. Directed by Mark Robson. It's okay. typical western. Family sometimes looking out for family. sometimes not. hunting for outlaws. shows on Turner Classics.

Keeping in mind this western classic was released in 1949 more than seventy (70) years earlier when film censorship was at its peak. I felt that the director Mark Robson, took liberties with the films storyline about four loose and attractive saloon girls that was borderline risky for the times, and kudos to him for doing so. The story is filled with personal stories of survival in the rough surrounding hilly countryside by the exiled saloon girls, three escaped convicts who come after the ladies and their rancher hero brothers the young Steve and older brother Clay played respectively by Claude Jarman Jr. And Robert Sterling. It is a very entertaining classic western if you consider it was released in 1949 so keep that in mind when listening to the dialogue of the saloon ladies and how tame the escaped convicts seem to behave. I give this early western a more than respectable 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Unfortunately, this was the only Western directed by the talented Mark Robson. Has an excellent, tight screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring (AKA Geoffrey Homes) and Hugo Butler, from a story by Peter Viertel. The film boasts unusual violence for the Genre and for its time, with uniformly outstanding performances by Gloria Grahame, Claude Jarman Jr., Myrna Dell, John Ireland and Jeff Donnell. Character actors James Bell, Jeff Corey and Sara Haden were exceptionally good in small roles. Surprisingly, the usually dull leading man Robert Sterling proved he could act. Other highlights: the impeccable Joe Biroc photography, an evocative score by the underrated Roy Webb and the women costumes by Renie. Shamefully, as with many RKO Titles, WarnerVideo never released it on VHS, and the first DVD (Made on order) came out in January 2016!. If you love Westerns do not miss ROUGHSHOD, is on a par with the all time great.

Gloria Grahame elevates this old western and makes it worth seeing, and John Ireland is also strong as the leader of the bad guys. The story-telling from director Mark Robson teeters at times a little too much on the overly wholesome side because of the presence of the boy, but overall it's well-balanced and doesn't overstay its welcome at 88 minutes. I also liked how he left the fate of one of the dancehall/working girls (Myrna Dell) to our imagination in a chilling moment, maybe the film's best. I'm not sure I can imagine liking the film without Grahame though, she's just stunning.

This is a film I seemed to have missed over the years and I was glued to the TV screen because Gloria Grahame had a starring role in this Western Classic. Gloria Grahame (Mary Wells),"Oklahoma",'55, played a sweet sexy looking hooker who found herself falling in love with Robert Sterling,(Clay Phillips),"Showboat",'51, who was on a manhunt and had trouble trying to forget Mary Wells affairs with men in the various dance halls throughout the West. Claude Jarman, Jr., (Steve Phillips),"The Yearling",'46, was Clay Phillips brother who was very wise at knowing people, but did not know his ABC's, which Gloria was glad to teach him in a buckboard! If you are a Gloria Grahame fan, you will want to view this film, because Gloria was very young and extremely attractive at the start of a very short career. She should have been given better roles in Hollywood, but she was TYPE CAST too SOON!