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Cast

Randolph Scott
as Gil Westrum

Joel McCrea
as Steve Judd

Ron Starr
as Heck

Mariette Hartley
as Elsa

R.G. Armstrong
as Knudsen

Edgar Buchanan
as Judge

James Drury
as Billy

Warren Oates
as Henry

John Anderson
as Elder Hammond

L.Q. Jones
as Sylvus Hammond

John Davis Chandler
as Jimmy Hammond

Jenie Jackson
as Kate

Byron Foulger
as Abner Sampson

Carmen Phillips
as Saloon Girl

Ronald Starr
as Heck Longtree

Percy Helton
as Luther Sampson (uncredited)

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Critic Reviews for Ride the High Country

Audience Reviews for Ride the High Country

• Jan 17, 2013

  This early effort by "Bloody Sam" is one of many elegiac westerns the lauded director helmed. Hmm, now that I think about it, pretty much every western he did was an elegy...interesting. The setting is the early 1900s: the twilight for the Old West. Joel McCrea is an ex-lawman living on the fringes of society. When he gets hired to escort a shipment of gold, he decides to enlist the help of his old pal played by Randolph Scott. Unlike McCrea's character, Scott's doesn't have much remaining integrity, and thus is easily tempted, along with his young saddle mate to convince McCrea's Steve Judd to steal the gold for themselves instead of delivering it as expected. This film come out during a transition period for the western genre. It was after the heyday of the classic era, but a few years before the revisionist epics that started in the late 60s, perhaps best exemplified by Peckinpah's own bloody masterpiece The Wild Bunch. As a result, this film is a bit of a mix between the old period, what with being a send off of sorts, as well as a forerunner for what would soon come, though the violence here, while fairly strong for the time, isn't quite to the level that it would be in the aforementioned The Wild Bunch. The leads are pretty good, and they have a nice rapport with one another. Their costars likewise do pretty decently with the material. The film is rough around the edges, and you can tell it's before Peckinpah hit his stride, but it's still got some great location shooting and decent cinematography. Give this one a watch. It's pretty solid.
  Chris W Super Reviewer
• Oct 17, 2011

  Pretty entertaining and surprisingly funny. Doesn't stand out as one of the great Westerns that I've seen, but pretty solid. No major complaints here.
  Jared H Super Reviewer
• Sep 12, 2010

  most despairing wedding scene ever? the nihilist/alcoholic come super director hasnt quite reached his full potential at his 2nd outing but he's still stamped his mighty godlike fingerprint all over it! "The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit. Him that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein."
  Sanity Assassin ! Super Reviewer
• Jul 07, 2010

  I think this is actually a pretty cool movie and I enjoyed it as much as I possibly could. However, I'm not a big fan of Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott. Therefore, the nostalgia factor really didn't hit home to me. Even with that handicap, Sam Peckinpah's debut is pretty incredible. It's wonderfully shot, moody and fun. I think my favorite shot of the entire movie is the scene where one of the bad guys is shot in the gut and the camera just stays on him while he slowly dies.
  Conner R Super Reviewer

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