The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A 1955 Technicolor western from Universal, staring tall former Tarzan Lex Barker. It's a modified cattlemen vs. sheepmen flick. But it's also a modified evil grasping town or range boss vs. a collection of honest 'little men' film....... Sheriff Dunham (Trevor Bardette), of Tomahawk, is frustrated, He's pretty sure the 3 Jackman brothers are behind the recent string of stage holdups and associated killings, but he hasn't any proof. That's where Jeff Carr(Lex Barker) comes in.. He's a special agent for the stage line, sent to investigate who's behind these holdups. But, initially he's thought to be one of the bandits. That's because he is a stranger who claims to be from Bitter Ridge, and is apparently riding a horse identified as carrying one of the holdup men. Shep Bascam(Ray Teal) had come upon Carr, and, at gunpoint, had taken his gun and horse, leaving him a partially lame horse. The sheriff with posse soon come upon him, and jail him for suspicion of being one of the robbers. But he's soon out, as the stage depot manager recognizes his name as being that of the special agent. The sheriff tells Carr that he suspects the holdups were mainly for the purpose of adding to Ranse Jackson's slush fund for the imminent election of sheriff. He's been wineing and dining the electorate and blaming the sheepmen as the obvious suspects for the robbery. They have a small settlement up in the mountains. Dunham is chided for not being aggressive enough in pursuing the culprits. Tomahawk is a center for mostly cattlemen, who resent Dunham's apparent pro-sheepmen bias. Nearly all the men who support Jackman are cattlemen or townies.......A second plot component is the question of whether beautiful tomboy Holly Kenton(Mara Corday) is going to stick with sheepmen leader Alex Black(Steve McNally) as her apparent husband-to-be, or be tempted by the flirtatious Carr. whom she saved from being shot, with her dead eye shooting....... Carr is involved in several gun battles with the Jackmans or their henchmen. In the first, he kills Linc Jackman, sent to kill him. This induces Ranse Jackman to sent a sizable gang to burn up the sheepmen's settlement and kill Carr and Bascam, the latter perhaps having squealed to Carr. They partially complete this mission, throwing dynamite around, in addition to using their firearms. But Carr and Bascam miraculously survive a dynamite blast, hiding behind a barricade that takes most of the force. The second phase of the climax occurs the next day, which is election day. The sheepmen plus Carr and Bascam mosey into town and forcefully close the ballot box just as the first voters are lined up. They announce that Bascam will tell them what he knows about the holdups. But...... See the movie to see the conclusion. It's available at YouTube.

The Man from Bitter Ridge is directed by Jack Arnold and collectively written by Lawrence Roman, Teddi Sherman and William MacLeod Raine. Cinematography is by Russell Metty. It stars Lex Barker, Mara Corday, Stephen McNally and John Dehner.Jeff Carr (Barker) is a special investigator who arrives in Tomahawk to seek out who has been holding up the local stagecoach with murderous intent.It's your standard rank and file "B" Oater of the 1950s, but one of worth to the discerning duster fanatic. Beautifully photographed by Metty out of Conejo Valley and Skeleton Canyon - in Eastman Color (check out those blues) - the pic never lacks for action (dynamite play, shoot-ups, rounds of knuckles) and mysterious political intrigue.Characterisations are boosted by the presence of McNally and Dehner (as usual), and Corday is socko beautiful enough to off-set what is - and was - often a standard Western female role. There's some neat touches in the screenplay, such as a black sheep metaphor, the fact our hero quite often is easily disarmed! And some good old false imprisonment.It doesn't shake your boots off but it does ruffle them regardless. Good fun. 6.5/10

Express company agent Lex Barker and sheepman Stephen McNally are reluctant allies and rivals for the hand of Mara Corday. Allies they have to be against three brothers John Dehner, Myron Healey, and Warren Stevens who not only are responsible for a whole lot of crimes, but Dehner is an ambitious man. He's embarked on a political career that has him running against local sheriff Trevor Bardette. A lot of what they're robbing is for his campaign expenditures, not for this, but because Dehner wants to be governor. Can't say he's not ambitious. Dehner's the brains and Healey and Stevens are the muscle end of the organization.It's your average shoot 'em up western with an interesting political twist to the proceedings. The climax involves a shootout where the whole town seems to be involved. It's putting a real crimp into the scheduled election for sheriff.Western fans should like this.

A pretty good time waster. Effective, fast paced, with very good action sequences. The cast is also adequate: Stephen Mac Nally, Lex Barker, Mara Corday, and John Dehner as the bad guy: a banker involved with a gang of stagecoach robbers, outlaws.But unfortunately the topic is rather foreseeable. Barker is the guy who is accused for being one of the outlaws who robbed the stagecoach. And he finds an allied in Stephen Mac Nally, a sheep man.The gunfights sequences at the end of the movie are vibrating.A good western, but we are far away from NO NAME ON THE BULLET, also directed by Jack Arnold and, I admit, a rather psychological western.