The titular Lusty Men are rodeo riders in this modern-day western, assembled with a touch of the offbeat by director Nicholas Ray. Former rodeo star Robert Mitchum, disabled by a series of accidents, hobbles back to his Oklahoma hometown in hopes of replenishing his bank account. Aspiring bronco-buster Arthur Kennedy hires Mitchum to train him for an upcoming rodeo, promising that they'll split the winnings. It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that Mitchum will soon fall hard for Kennedy's
wife Susan Hayward; she can take Mitchum or leave him, but decides to take him so that he'll continue to train Kennedy. After a falling out, Mitchum quits his job and enters the rodeo himself, hoping to win the prize from the arrogant Kennedy. He proves he still has what it takes, but does so at the price of his life. The Lusty Men was co-adapted by one-time cowboy David Dotort from a Life magazine story by Claude Stannish. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Ray's last b/w film captures the life of rodeo players with vivid details, lyrical images, and melnacholy mood, centering on a romantic triangle, well played by Arthur Kennedy, Susan Hayward, and especially Robert Mitchum as the aging champ.
Functions as mini-ethnography, laying bare the alluring and dangerous world of bronc- and braman-riding, while spinning an artful melodrama about aging, fame, and failure
The story isn't much (the security of family life versus the rootlessness and danger of working as a rodeo rider), but the situation is rich in emotional resonances which Ray conjures into life convincingly.
[Ray] was happiest with personal stories where a confrontation between characters leads to a conclusion, however sombre. The confrontation here is complex.
The first few brief sequences in Nicholas Ray's rip-roaring rodeo flick tell us visually almost everything that we need to know about the director's interest in this story.
this is one of nicholas ray's best films with a terrific performance by robert mitchum. i can't quite make out why i have never heard about this before. it might be the ridiculous title. anyway, a great gritty and realistic rodeo story. don't pass it up
March 31, 2011
Stella Dallas
Super Reviewer
spare tough little drama of the rodeo circuit. Fine performances
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