The peace and tranquility of a typical Western town is shattered by a sudden gunfight and a man on a horse galloping furiously away. The Ride Back then cuts to William Conrad, considerably thinner here than in his later TV appearances, who arrives at what appears to be the border between the United States and Mexico. A halting conversation between Conrad, whom the audience learns is a lawman, and the official in charge, occurs in English and Spanish, which is not subtitled for the audience. I appreciated the lack of translation into English as it created a more realistic feeling and connection to what Conrad’s character was going through.
Eventually, he encounters Robert Kallen, the man accused of murder whom Hamish intends to bring back to the U.S. to face trial—a fair trial, he keeps insisting as The Ride Back progresses. But there are obstacles in the way before he achieves his objective: Kallen is unwilling to go without a struggle, reminding me of Heyes’ and Curry’s repeated attempts in The Bounty Hunter to escape captivity. There’s even a scene where the outlaw grabs hold of a weapon and aims it at his captor and discovers… Well, watch the movie and find out!
The first problem is Kallen’s Mexican lover, played by Lita Milan, who refuses to stop trying to free him. She is definitely not a simpering, insipid female of the sort often seen in Westerns! Another obstacle that plays an important part in The Ride Back is the possibility of an attack by Apaches.
The way the Indians are portrayed in this movie reminded me of Six Strangers in Apache Springs: They are nameless, mostly faceless, silent, and basically stereotypes. In the second half of the film, a mute little girl is found and becomes attached to the two male leads. This allows Hamish and Kallen to discuss various issues on the pretext of helping the child, even though she slows down their journey.
At one point towards the end, Hamish makes a very moving speech explaining why he's so intent on bringing in the outlaw. Kallen’s behavior reminded me a lot of the way Glenn Ford behaved in 3:10 to Yuma, especially in the hotel room when the characters were waiting for the train to arrive. Both William Conrad and Anthony Quinn are excellent in their roles in The Ride Back and it is very interesting to listen to Quinn speaking Spanish. The audio at times is difficult to hear, however, even with the volume as high as it could go.
Unfortunately, the ending of The Ride Back is abrupt and completely predictable but aside from the last minute or so, this is a very enjoyable movie of two men on opposite sides of the law who face off against each other and slowly, grudgingly, come to respect each other.
Posts
