dbdumonteil
.....when I look at Audie Murphy's filmography ;apart from Huston ,Siegel and Mankiewicz,it's mostly B movies .That does not mean they were not good;this actor sometimes got excellent screenplays:"no name on the bullet" is a good example.Like "hell bent for leather","ride on a crooked trail" -which perfectly depicts the hero's life till...-is a case of mistaken identity.The story may seem trite ,but the characters are colorful and there's more humor than in the average western.Walter Matthau as the grumpy kind-hearted judge accentuates the comedy side of the film.Henry Silva restores the balance .In his movies ,boyish Murphy had always had a bizarre Relationship with women (in one of his roles,he's alone in a fort and he's got to teach them the soldier job):here he sleeps in the bathtub and cooks breakfast for his "wife " Gia Scala (the future traitor in "guns of Navarone" ).There's actually a good chemistry between the two stars who must pretend they are husband and wife ,which gives good lines when Murphy says that "this bank is almost his" and his companion,very interested in the place too,has to be involved in women's club ,which is not her cup of tea (in both senses of the term).Even more interesting is the friendship between Murphy and the little brat ;both are waifs ,raised in bars ,and if the judge considers his marshal a little as his adoptive son,the cute Jimmy feels that he might find a family too .Anyway,both the judge and the kid ,who leaves the house he 'd like to call home,guess there's something wrong: two married persons share the same bedroom and the same bed ,every kid knows that.Jimmy is a strong kid who knows what he wants : we see him study - which is very rare in westerns-,and finally he plays a prominent part in Maybe's redemption.
Armand
the cast makes difference in this case. the story, the end, the little tricks are old ingredients of genre. and performance, it can be only correct because it represents only part of machine. so,for not to be another western, this film search be a different game. the nice Audie Murphy gives all necessary nuances to his bad guy with good soul, Eddie Little represents ideal spice for a story of masks, using the Puck place and remembers from Lassie, but the key of film are Gia Scala in a splendid role and , sure, Walter Mathau.and this is the secret of this little film - the balance between humor and drama, the expected events in soft package. in same measure, good occasion to remember the "roots" of Henry Silva.
orlalobo1-1
i really enjoyed this western as i always liked audie murphy westerns. also a great performance by walter matthau as the crusty old judge. also gia scala is great as the bad girl with a big hearti wish they would show this, other audie murphy movies and all the 50's westernsfrom universal-international on tcm. also what do we have to do to get these great old western from universal on DVD? "ride a crooked trail" rates up there with me with "the cimmaron kid" "night passage" "the duel at silver creek" and the "unforgiven" as audie's great westerns. they put out old black & white westerns from the 30's and 40's from other studios but why don't they put universal's great color westerns from the 50's out on DVD
Ted Watson (tbrittreid)
For a modestly budgeted, unambitious horse opera, this is as good as it gets. Audie Murphy's Western vehicles of the 50s don't command the respect of Randolph Scott's or Joel McCrea's, but they are just as entertaining. A few of them ("No Name On The Bullet," "Posse From Hell") have an unusual edge that makes them noteworthy, but this one simply transcends its limitations to be a damned good entertainment. Walter Matthau steals every scene he's in as an alcoholic judge, while Murphy's subtly nervous performance as the would-be outlaw pretending he's a respected lawman may remind one of David Janssen as TV's "The Fugitive." Audie reportedly was uncomfortable with romantic scenes, but here he handles some innuendo-laden dialogue with Gia Scala quite nicely. Henry Silva and Mort Mills provide some surprisingly restrained (for this sort of thing) villainy. The premise (good-at-heart outlaw is reformed by wearing a badge) was old hat, but the execution is great! Set your expectations for a medium budgeted Western with no pretensions, and you won't be disappointed. You may even be pleasantly surprised.
AD
