There's a pervasive feeling of hopelessness to Ride In The Whirlwind that points the way to later gloomy counterculture favorites like Bonnie And Clyde.

An astringent naturalism forever on the verge of the hallucinatory

Overrated moody western starring Nicholson

After enjoying "The Shooting," I was disappointed with "Ride in the Whirlwind." The films share a director, some cast members, a Western setting and an intentionally minimal plot of pursuit, but where "The Shooting" approaches the stark tension of a samurai movie, "Ride in the Whirlwind" is mostly just dull. Only 82 minutes long, it still has plenty of slow patches. Three innocent cowhands (Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell, Tom Filer) are trekking to a new job when they come upon a band of robbers secluded in a cabin. The outlaws peacefully offer their hospitality for the night, but when a posse of vigilantes surrounds the area, Nicholson's trio is perceived to be part of the gang. In a "shoot first, ask questions later" world, this situation is bound to turn deadly. A simple case of bad timing wrecks multiple lives. Nicholson also wrote the screenplay, but his performance is merely serviceable. No one would predict future superstardom for him, based on this film alone. Contemporary viewers also will enjoy checking out Harry Dean Stanton in his younger days -- interestingly, he is credited as just "Dean Stanton." Two script elements may cause unintended snickers. The repetitive use of "Obliged"/"Much obliged" as an expression of thanks could easily breed a drinking game, and it's hard to miss the absurdity of the family patriarch whose "daily grind" amounts to lamely hacking away at a tree stump in his front yard. Presumably, it was hurting his property value. Spoiler alert: Anyone who hasn't seen the film yet should skip Flixster's staff review above, because it recounts the entire story!