Tonight's Movie: Ride the High Country (1962) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea star in the classic Western RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (1962), released on Blu-ray earlier this year by the Warner Archive.

This film, directed by Sam Peckinpah, was Scott's last movie, and it was McCrea's last screen appearance of any particular note. It's a more than fitting swansong for two of the screen's all-time great Western stars.

I first saw the film on a big screen as a teenager, at L.A.'s Vagabond Theater. At that point in my life, I'd seen Scott in a handful of '30s musicals and the comedy MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940), but I don't believe I'd seen him in a single Western.

McCrea, on the other hand, I'd knew from some Universal Westerns, including an early favorite of mine, SADDLE TRAMP (1950), as well as a few other films including THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942).

I was greatly moved by that first viewing of RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY but had not revisited it in the years since, as I'd found it quite an emotional experience.

In the years since my first viewing of RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY I've seen both actors in a great many additional films, including numerous Westerns...and so it was past time to finally circle back to it. I'm so glad I did. Watching them again in this, fully appreciating it in the context of their careers and their stature as Western stars, was deeply moving.

McCrea plays Steve Judd, a poor but honest former lawman who's getting on in years but still needs a paycheck. He lands a good job escorting gold to a bank from a mining camp in Coarsegold, California, and he recruits Gil Westrum (Scott), his one-time deputy, to help. Westrum brings young Heck (Ron Starr) on board as well.

While Judd focuses on getting the job done -- and from time to time proves he's lost none of his edge despite advancing years -- Westrum can only see dollar signs where the gold is concerned. He plots with Heck to steal the gold, with or without Judd's help.

Heck, meanwhile, is distracted by Elsa (Mariette Hartley), who has begged the trio to help her get away from her mean father (R.G. Springsteen) so she can marry Billy Hammond (James Drury) in Coarsegold. Unfortunately Elsa quickly finds it will be from the frying pan into the fire with Billy, especially as his brothers seem strangely...possessive...of her.

This short and sweet 94-minute film, shot on locations including Mammoth Lakes, builds to a conclusion which is both moving and a bit of a stunner. No one who's seen it could ever forget the last shot, a moment which reinforced to me exactly why I'd put off revisiting the film for so long. But despite having to choke back tears, it was very much worth it. The dialogue and the performances, most of all in that final scene and moment, combine for a work of art.

McCrea and Scott are each nothing less than superb, and perfectly cast in their respective roles. I don't believe McCrea could have played any part other than the supremely honorable Judd; while Scott always played heroes, he sometimes had an angry edge which works well here in his more ambiguous role as Westrum.

This was Hartley's screen debut; I've been fortunate to see her in person a couple of times, both performing in a play and at a parade. (Photos of the latter event are here.) She's an appealing and rather unique presence here, playing a young woman whose beauty has been hidden away by her disturbed father.

Starr does well as the impetuous young Heck; if the film had been made a decade earlier, I could easily see someone like Jeffrey Hunter in the part. The cast also included Warren Oates, Edgar Buchanan, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, Percy Helton, and Byron Foulger, who illogically was cast as Helton's son though they were close in age.

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY was photographed in CinemaScope and Metrocolor by Lucien Ballard.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray is pristine, a visual feast for the eyes right down to the sparkling creeks. Extras carried over from the original DVD release include a trailer, a commentary track by four film historians, and a 23-minute featurette titled A JUSTIFIED LIFE: SAM PECKINPAH AND RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY.

Highly recommended.

March 2020 Update: The Warner Archive Collection has now also released this film on DVD.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the WBShop or from any online retailers where DVDs and Blu-rays are sold.