Four Rode Out (1969)

I love this movie so much

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Now, I've just finished watching this film, and the first point I'd like to make is that I've never seen Leslie Neilsen in anything better. As the film requires, he's sinister, leery, violent, childish, anxious and insane as Perkington agent Brown (or is he?)...I was glued to the screen from start to finish, which is unusual for a Western that has no real gunfights.Marshall Ross heads out to bring a Mexican bandit to trial. Problem is, the bandit's girlfriend wants to tag along, as does Brown, a Pinkerton agent who merely likes to kill his clients and bring them home. The girlfriend gets concerned that Brown will kill her boyfriend, but he makes her a deal: her body for her boyfriend's life...and so begins a game of intrigue.Four Rode Out basically has four characters in it. Leslie hates everyone, wants to kill everyone, and wants everything from himself. On the other hand, Marshall Ross just wants his last assignment over and wants to go home. Fernando just wants to live a little longer and Sue Lyon's character is a sadly misguided teen who believes everything she is told...The whole drama of the affair plays out in the desert as the characters have less water and less patience.If you are looking for something different, you will enjoy this one. It's low on action, but story wise I had to sit it out until the end.

"Four Rode Out" could have been titled, "Four Walked Out,"since the quartet of characters spent most of their time on foot. The horses were done with one by one in scenes that looked almost too real.It is, to say the least, a very stark movie - slow-moving, yes, but constantly engrossing. The clown critics who gave it one star were probably affected by the hot desert sun coming through their screens, affecting their minds. Whoops - almost said brains.As to the acting. Young Mateos as the b.f. was convincing. Sue Lyon, accused by one critic as over-acting, was quite good handling a rather complex character, one almost as naive as Lolita. (Had to get that in).Leslie Neilsen sandwiched between his early near-fame days, to steering the Poseidon into near oblivion, to good-sized stardom, seemed to have a blast as a baddie - a real baddie.Pernell Roberts, Bonanza's maverick, was excellent portraying a very questionable character.The silent ending wrapped the story beautifully. The minus was Janis Ian's contribution - totally unnecessary, totally dull.The rest of the music was justifiably sparse. For a change, it did not blast out at you.All in all, "Four Rode Out" is worthwhile. Fie on the naysayers. Give it a chance. It is sometimes frighteningly captivating.

FOUR RODE OUT (1 outta 5 stars) Kind of a pathetic excuse for a western starring Pernell Roberts who gave up his role in TV's "Bonanza" to star in this... a movie which isn't even as good as an average episode of that classic series. Sue Lyon (mostly known for starring in Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita") plays the loyal girlfriend of a Mexican bandit (Julian Mateos) being hunted for the murder of her father. It wasn't really murder... the father killed himself after discovering that his daughter was sleeping around with a Mexican. Regardless, Pernell is determined to bring the bandit in for a fair trial. Leslie Nielsen also appears as a nasty Pinkerton agent with dollar signs in his eyes. Somehow they all wind up in the middle of the desert with little water and not much hope of making it back to the nearest town. Still, they find time for plenty of bickering, an impromptu wedding and even a strip show by the curvy Ms. Lyon. Looks like the kind of movie that could have been shot over a long weekend.

Pernell Roberts plays a soon-to-retire lawman who rides into the desert on one last assignment - to capture a young Mexican bank robber. During the trek, Roberts is joined by a Pinkerton agent (Leslie Nielsen) and the bandit's girlfriend, both of whom have ulterior motives for ensuring the mission is a failure. Four Rode Out is a dull, boring western that just drags on and on... with sporadic action and long scenes of riding through the desert.BONANZA was better than this...and Nielsen's SWAMP FOX or his later comedy features are more enjoyable!