Customer Reviews

Man in the Saddle [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In MAN IN THE SADDLE we see Randolph Scott (1898-1987) in a archetypal role as Owen Merritt , a man of few words , inerring aim and unbreakable principes , who swallow his pride when the woman he loves marries for wealth . But when her wildly jealous husband vows to ruin Merritts Ranch , Merritt strikes back . A Satisfying combination of action , Romance and breathtaking high-desert scenery , MAN IN THE SADDLE also featured Tennesse Ernie Ford (1919-1991) in a rare movie appearance . Great plot and wonderful outdore scenery and Randolph Scott..what more do you need ! . High Qualty digital transfer . Recommended

There's a small lake that straddles the boundary separating Will Isham's Skull Ranch and Pay Lankershim's land. Isham (Alexander Knox), a powerful, determined and jealous megalomaniac, offers $50,000 cash if Pay sells his ranch to him this night, Isham's wedding night. It's worth maybe $9,000. There's enough water for both our herds, Pay says. "You don't get the idea," Isham says with a tumbler of brandy in his hand. "I'd only own half a lake. I don't own half of anything, Lankershim. I own it all, lock, stock and barrel. That goes for anything. Whatever I have is mine and mine alone. I'll share with no one."

Now Skull's boundary is up against Owen Merritt's land...and it will only be a matter of time before Isham goes after Owen (Randolph Scott). He's even brought in a hired gun to speed things along. And the woman Isham just married? Turns out Laurie Bidwell (Joan Leslie) is the woman Owen loves. She made her choice, however, because she wanted position and money, and that meant Isham, not Owen. After Owen nearly gets killed in a stampede engineered by Isham's men, Laurie is beginning to have doubts about her choice. She'd better remember what Isham told Pay: "Whatever I have is mine alone. I'll share with no one."

When Owen's men start getting killed, he decides to do some killing of his own. It's not long before it's just Owen Merritt against the power of Skull, and that means Will Isham and his hired guns. Thank goodness Owen has a few loyal ranch hands and one friend, spunky, feisty Nan Melotte, the blonde young owner of a small ranch next to Owen's. We know things are going to get much rougher in the next hour.

Man in the Saddle may be a B western, but it's a Randolph Scott B western. With me, that usually means a strong story even with clichés, most often a good villain or two, enough action to quickly pass the time and, of course, Scott. He was a big guy who could come across as grim, judgmental and dead serious. He also had perfected the persona of an honorable man of action. He had the screen presence to carry even B westerns. He had no trouble dominating his films, even when playing against an alpha male like Lee Marvin. I've always found a good deal of pleasure watching a Randolph Scott western.

Joan Leslie has a much more complicated character to play than most B movie westerns call for. Her Laurie Isham comes from a hardscrabble past. She loves, in her way, Owen. She marries Isham because she yearns for position and security. She winds up trying to be loyal to both. Leslie manages to carry it off so well we sort of admire Laurie and how she's trying to handle the fix she's put herself in. To see Joan Leslie at her freshest and friendliest, find a copy of The Sky's the Limit. At barely 18 she stars opposite Fred Astaire and shares a fast, funny song and dance routine with him, "A Lot in Common with You." Leslie just about keeps up with Astaire and he makes it seem easy for her. When she can manage just two air-borne turns (which she does with grace and precision), he hits three but places himself just a little in front of her to disguise the difference.

For those fond of pound-'em-into-the-ground fistfights, Man in the Saddle features a lulu. Scott and John Russell, an equally big guy who plays a man with a vicious temper who has a hankerin' for Nan, start walloping each other in a mountain shack, then slip-slide down a rocky, snow covered mountainside going after each other with fists, rocks and tree limbs. The stunt doubles earned their money with this one.

Man in the Saddle is no classic, but it turns out to be one of the better westerns Scott made during this period. The DVD transfer looks fine. There are no extras.

...what more do you need? Scott does what he does best in this above average western made with high production values and a touch of angst. Good classic supporting cast and good locations as well as excellent direction make this oater stand alone and stand out in Scott's film's from the 50's.Good,clear DVD issue make this a must.

MAN IN THE SADDLE (1951) is a very fine little Western, directed by the underrated director Andre De Toth, with a fine screenplay written by Kenneth Gamet. Despite the formulaic story line, the film never drags or dawdles. Randy Scott illustrates, once again, all the fine acting characteristics that made him one of the top ranking "Western" actors of all time. Alexander Knox, an interesting choice for the villain, adds much to the story. Other members of the cast, including Alfonso Bedoya and John Russell, round out this solid oater, well worth investigating. Finally, the title song is sung by none other than "Tennessee Ernie Ford," and remains in the memory long after the movie's images are gone....

Co-produced by Randolph Scott, this western, like most of the films of de De Toth-Scott association in the 50's, allows the actor to give to his character a depth one doesn't often see in this kind of production. In Man in the Saddle, Owen Merritt is rather slippery, he doesn't want confrontation and prefers to avoid responsibilities. Also note the final showdown in a town shaken by a whirlwind. Highly recommended.

Man In The Saddle is a good Movie. It a different western from the standard good and evil to many shades of grays between good and evil. In the opening scence power and greed take hold against people who are trying to maintain a normal life. Peaceful solutions turn into violent solutions. No winners but broken emotions betwwen the characters at the ending of the movie. Power, greed and love are powerful forces in this movie.

The more I see of Randolph Scott, the more I like him. By 1950 or so (this was made in 1951) he stood next to only John Wayne as the star that the public most identified with quality westerns - and Scott actually made a lot more westerns in the postwar period than Wayne did, despite retiring in 1962. Many of them were quickie "B" pictures, and so unsurprisingly they haven't been as well-known as Wayne's stuff, or for that matter the westerns of James Stewart, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, etc. But the release last year of the phenomenal Budd Boetticher set seems to be helping to change the critical views on Scott and his work, particularly the material he had more control over (often as a producer, as in the case of this film) in his last active decade.

André De Toth, a director who like Anthony Mann was equally adept in noir and western environments, manages to set out Kenneth Garnet's screenplay (based on an Ernest Haycox novel) of a complex love-pentagle against the background of feuding ranchers slickly and with a surprising amount of subtlety and grace given the 87-minute running time. Scott is small-time rancher Owen Merritt, in love with tough girl Laurie Bidwell (Joan Leslie) who has decided to get ahead in the world by marrying the big cheese cowman in the area, Will Isham (Alexander Knox). As Merritt is rejected by Laurie and tries to come to terms with it he's attended in his sorrows by even smaller-time rancher Nan Melotte (Ellen Drew), who has no interest in bigwigs - or in the half-crazed Hugh Clagg (John Russell), a brooding cowboy who wants her no matter what.

Complicating the various personal feelings are Isham's intense greed; buying out the ranch between his property and Merritt's isn't enough for him, and he decides to push Owen off by force - and murder - if need be. Soon Merritt is an outlaw after a couple of exachanges of gunfire with Isham's men leave cowhands dead on both sides, and this serves to turn off Laurie - though by the time she seems about to go back to Will, things have started to percolate between him and Nan. Clagg the loner decides to go after the wounded Merritt when he finds out that Nan is taking care of him, and this leads to a truly spectacular and lengthy fistfight between Scott and Russell (or their stunt doubles) as they demolish a cabin and fight their way down a hundred yards or so of snowy, rocky mountainside.

Eventually things come to a head between the two main adversaries and the resolution is as you might expect - with the major point of interest being in the reactions of the women, who both show far more complexity and self-assurance than you'd typically expect. I particularly liked that Laurie's priorities and feelings remained divided and unsure all the way up until the ending, and that she makes what may be a wrong - but very understandable - choice.

Terrific music by George Duning that occasionally seems to be reaching towards a screechy atonality, solid Technicolor photography by Charles Lawton Jr, and excellent usage of the Alabama Hills that figure so predominantly in the later Boetticher/Scott westerns. This is probably my favorite Scott western between Fritz Lang's WESTERN UNION (1941) and Boetticher's SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (1956) at the moment - though I've still got an awful lot of films to see. Even the title song - sung onscreen by Tennessee Ernie Ford - ain't bad.

MAN IN THE SADDLE was the first of six westerns that Hungarian director Andre de Toth made with veteran western star Randolph Scott. No quite up to Scott's later collaboration with Bud Boetticher, which commenced in 1956 with the marvellous SEVEN MEN FROM NOW. Nevertheless, MAN IN THE SADDLE is a very worthy contribution to the genre. This film also marked the first teaming of producer Harry Joe Brown, with Randolph Scott as associate producer and was known as a SCOTT-BROWN PRODUCTION.

The story was from a novel of the same name by Ernest Haycox. Owen Merritt (Scott) had lost his sweetheart Laurie (Joan Leslie) to local cattle baron Will Isham (Alexander Knox) Isham tries to buy out all the local ranchers by fair means or foul. Merritt resists being drawn into a fight for Laurie or over Isham's land grabbing venture fearing that it will be taken for sour grapes. Plenty of action on the way to the final showdown with Scott assisted by his ranch hands and close-neighbour Nan Melotte (Ellen Drew). The film is memorable for its wonderful night-time photography and a marvellous extended fight in a mountain shack between Merritt and Hugh Clagg (John Russell), which really did "bring the house down". Tennessee Ernie Ford makes a brief appearance and sings the title song. High quality transfer to DVD

Scott, working with Andre de Toth, who worked with him in Stranger Wore A Gun, finds himself in a film that does not stack up against the Budd Boetticher Western he made around the same period.

Scott plays a rancher in a range war against a bigger, powerful rancher, who has married the woman Scott loves. Scott tries to refrain from violence, but when the other rancher hires gunmen to kill Scott, Scott has to defend himself.

Westerns often feature a plot that has been done many times before, but are distinguished by great writing, great action, and great performances, and this film features none of these things. It is great that this film has been released on DVD, but it will not be remembered as one of Scott's better films.

Columbia Pictures presents "MAN IN THE SADDLE" (1951) (87 mins/Color) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Randolph Scott, Joan Leslie, Ellen Drew, Alexander Knox & John Russell. --- Directed by André De Toth and released in December 2, 1951, our story line and film, A rancher is forced to stand by as his girl friend is lured away by a wealthy neighboring rancher. When the neighbor is killed, Scott is accused of the murder, and must clear himself. After a blood-spattered fistfight with a gunslinger and several gun battles, Scott consoles himself with schoolteacher Ellen Drew. Based on a novel by Ernest Haycox, Man in the Saddle was the first of the lucrative collaborations between star Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown --- some of the stand outs of the film: seeing "Tennessee" Ernie Ford without a mustache singing "Man in the Saddle"; Alfonso Bedoya's too brief scenes as a cook; the color photography of the high country, and the fight scene there with John Russell --- Randy Scott's a 'peaceable man' in the tradition of Wild Bill Elliott, but don't provoke him you'll soon see the other side of the coin --- It becomes an open war after Richard Rober kills brothers Camerone Mitchell and Richard Crane who work for Scott, then everything breaks loose.

Under André De Toth (Director), Harry Joe Brown (Producer), Kenneth Gamet (Screenwriter), Ernest Haycox (Book Author), Charles Lawton (Cinematographer), George Duning (Composer (Music Score), Charles Nelson (Editor), George Brooks (Art Director) - - - - the cast includes Randolph Scott (Owen Merritt), Joan Leslie (Laure Bidwell), Ellen Drew (Nan Melotte), Alexander Knox (Will Isham), Richard Rober (Fay Dutcher), John Russell (Hugh Clagg), Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (Bourke Prine), Alfonso Bedoya (Cultus Charley), Clem Bevans (Pay Lankershim), Cameron Mitchell (George Virk), Richard Crane (Juke Virk), Frank Sully (Lee Repp), George Lloyd (Tom Croker), Frank S. Hagney (Ned Bale), Don Beddoe (Love Bidwell), Grant Withers, Tennessee Ernie Ford, James Kirkwood (Sheriff Medary) - - - - Randy Scott had a quiet gentleman nature about him which is not seen in the films of today ... Randy took his job and his responsibility to his audience very seriously ,,, would not settle for anything less than his best ... same was true in his personal life.

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:

1. Randolph Scott (aka: George Randolph Scott)

Date of birth: 23 January 1898 - Orange County, Virginia

Date of death: 2 March 1987 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

Special footnote, George Randolph Scott better known as Randolph Scott, was an American film actor whose career spanned the sound era from the late 1920s to the early 1960s ... his popularity grew in the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in such films as "Gung Ho"! (1943) and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1938); but he was especially famous for his numerous Westerns including "Virginia City" (1940) with Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart, "Western Union" (1941) with Robert Young and "Ride the High Country" (1962) with Joel McCrea (a coin was flipped to see whether Scott or McCrea would receive top billing, and Scott won despite having a slightly smaller role) ... his long fistfight with John Wayne in "The Spoilers" (1942) was frequently cited by critics and the press as the most thrilling ever filmed; they were fighting over Marlene Dietrich ... another smash hit film together that same year called "Pittsburgh" (1942) once again with Dietrich, Scott and Wayne --- Daniel Webster defines "Legend", as being a notable person, or the stories told about that person exploits --- well by the time Randolph Scott made his best films he had long established himself as a legend in the film industry --- they say practice makes perfect, if that is true by 1958 at 60 years of age he was the master with these oaters from the 50s ... "The Cariboo Trail" (1950), "The Nevadan" (1950), "Colt .45" (1950), "Santa Fe" (1951), "Sugarfoot" (1951), "Fort Worth" (1951), "Man in the Saddle" (1951), "Carson City" (1952), "The Man Behind the Gun" (1952), "Hangman's Knot" (1952), "Thunder over the Plains" (1953), "The Stranger Wore a Gun" (1953), "Ten Wanted Men" (1954), "Riding Shotgun" (1954), "The Bounty Hunter" (1954), "Rage at Dawn" (1955), "Tall Man Riding" (1955), "A Lawless Street" (1955), "Seven Men from Now" (1956), "Seventh Cavalry" (1956), "Decision at Sundown: (1957), "Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend" (1957), "The Tall T" (1957), "Buchanan Rides Alone" (1958), "Ride Lonesome" (1959), "Westbound" (1959), "Comanche Station" (1960) --- Scott's age seemed to matter little, they only came to see another Randolph Scott film and always got their money's worth --- Scott's films were good and getting better becoming classics --- so if you wonder "What Ever Happened To Randolph Scott", just rent or purchase one of his films and you'll see he's never left us.

2. Joan Leslie

Date of Birth: 26 January 1925 - Detroit, Michigan

Date of death: Still Living

3. Ellen Drew (aka: Esther Loretta Ray)

Date of Birth: 23 November 1915 - Kansas City, Missouri

Date of Death: 3 December 2003 - Palm Desert, California

4. John Russell

Date of Birth: 3 January 1921 - Los Angeles, California

Date of Death: 19 January 1991 - Los Angeles, California

5. Alfonso Bedoya

Date of Birth: 16 April 1904 - Vicam, Sonora, Mexico

Date of Death: 15 December 1957 - Mexico City, Mexico.

6 André De Toth (aka: Sāsvari Farkasfawi Tóthfalusi Toth Endre Antai Mihály) (Director)

Date of Birth: 15 May 1912 - Makó, Csongrád, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]

Date of Death: 27 October 2002 - Burbank, California

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 87 min on DVD ~ Sony Home Video ~ (8/06/1996)