alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Sometimes I think of a good western as a conventional plot, with slight variations, and having the merit of doing it in the best way possible. Applying those standards "The Shadow Riders" scores quite well. Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott are the ideal heroes, playing two brothers who fight on different sides during the civil war.Just listening to their dialog is half the fun of the film. Katharine Ross is beautiful and Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Junior ( remember the John Ford films?) are welcome additions to an already excellent cast. The story is from Louis L'Amour and follows the character of his books, predictable but entertaining. The musical score brings to mind the song "The Battle of New Orleans". An unusual scenery with vivid colors and a seashore that looks a lot like California even though it is in Texas, this western is not outstanding, but very enjoyable

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- 1982, Western movie. It's a story of handsome heroes, renegades, scoundrels, and a hellion in petticoats. It's 1865, the close of the American Civil War; two brothers, a Yankee Mac Traven and a Rebel, Dal Traven return home to Texas to discover that their sisters and Dal's sweetheart Kate has been kidnapped by marauding Rebel guerrillas who refuse to accept Confederate defeat. Mac and Dal break out their notorious Uncle out of jail to help them rescue the women before their sold as slaves to a Mexican brothel.*Special Stars- Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson, Geofrey Lewis, Katherine Ross. Dir: Andrew McLagen *Theme- Family should stand for right and fight together.*Based on- Best seller book of Louis L'amour *Trivia/location/goofs- A made for TV movie by Columbia Pictures. This film is from the director (son of the actor Victor McLagen, a member of the John Ford and John Wayne crew.) of "Shenandoah", "The Way West", "Chisum" and "Bandolero".*Emotion- An enjoyable and richly produced western with many old and new western stars in a rather simplistic plot. But, nice casting, locations, film pacing, good scenes, and theme make this a enjoyable film to see for any western viewer.

classicsoncall For it's dramatic premise, "The Shadow Riders" turns out to be rather uninspiring in it's execution, rising not far above it's 'B' Westerns roots. It's got some good cinematography going for it at least, though the bright blue expanse of Baffin Bay seemed somewhat out of place and jarring as part of the landscape in the middle of the film. In fact the whole movie seemed just a little too bright and colorful in tone for it's story of selling unfortunate men and women into Mexican slavery to revive a defeated Confederate war effort.Mac (Tom Selleck) and Dal (Sam Elliott) Traven wore opposite colors in the Civil War, while third brother Jesse's (Jeff Osterhage) allegiance remains unknown, cut off by Mac when he was about to tell because it was unimportant now that the war's over. It seemed just a little too convenient how Mac and Dal came charging over the ridge to rescue little brother after his escape from Major Cooper Ashbury's (Geoffrey Lewis) rogue Confederate band.Katharine Ross's character Kate Connery is one of the film's brighter spots, though the effort seems positioned as a reprise of her role as Etta Place in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid". However she has nowhere near the chemistry with Elliott's Dal Traven as she did with Sundance, or even Butch for that matter. Somehow you knew she wasn't going to get away with the nun gimmick; I have a feeling that when the Mexican bandido said 'pray for me', he meant his casting in the picture.Ben Johnson rounds out the main cast as Uncle 'Black Jack' Traven, but here again, his on screen presence plays against his reputation as a bad old boy. Do you really think the Travens had to blow up the Converse County jail shack to spring him? A couple of good horses probably could have pulled it down. Bad Springs sheriff Miles Gillette (R.G. Armstrong) reveals near the end of the story why he's been hunting Black Jack down for thirty years (???) - he had an affair with the sheriff's wife! But you know what, trading Jack for Holiday Hammond just might get him re-elected sheriff, so what the hey.Was I seeing things, or did it look like the burro gave a nod to Selleck's character when they rode into Hammond's (Gene Evans) camp? Check it out for yourself.One other question - How did Dal's hat stay on as he hung upside down looking into the train window?Sorry I can't be a little more positive about the movie, but it just doesn't give Western fans a whole lot to work with. All of the principals fared better in other ventures, and in true 'B' Western tradition, even the film's title doesn't really have much to do with the story.

poohbear109 Comment on Ted Castle's statements regarding Texas Geography: 1. There is a Baffin Bay in Texas. It is down by Kingsville 2. While there is no Converse County in Texas, there is a town named Converse -- it is east of San Antonio.I agree, the terrain shown in this movie is nothing like the coastal areas of Texas, it does more resemble California.Unfortunately, many movie makers substitute California shots for supposed Texas scenes. I think the one I got the biggest kick out of was in 'Footloose'. The movie is supposed to take place in (IIRC) Beaumont, TX, which is just west of the Louisiana state line. If you look closely, you can see mountains in the background -- there are definitely NOT any mountains in that part of Texas.