The Lusty Men (1952)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

David Dortort (writer)
Horace McCoy (writer)

Release Date:

24 October 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Western

Tagline:

A Fast Buck... A Fast Bronc... A Fast Thrill!

Plot:

When he sustains a rodeo injury, star rider Jeff McCloud returns to his hometown after many years of absence...

Plot Keywords:

Rodeo | Cult Director | Cult Favorite | Beautiful Woman | Based On Novel

Cast

Susan Hayward	...	Louise Merritt
Robert Mitchum	...	Jeff McCloud
Arthur Kennedy	...	Wes Merritt
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Booker Davis
Frank Faylen	...	Al Dawson
Walter Coy	...	Buster Burgess
Carol Nugent	...	Rusty Davis
Maria Hart	...	Rosemary Maddox
Lorna Thayer	...	Grace Burgess
Burt Mustin	...	Jeremiah Watrus
Karen King	...	Ginny Logan
Jimmie Dodd	...	Red Logan
Eleanor Todd	...	Babs

Also Known As:

Cowpoke (USA) (working title)
The Losers (USA) (working title)
This Man is Mine (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Livermore, California, USA

Company:

Wald/Krasna Productions

Trivia:

Robert Parrish directed for several days when Nicholas Ray fell ill.

Quotes:

Jeff McCloud: There never was a bronc that couldn't be rode, there never a cowboy that couldn't be throwed. Guys like me last forever.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lightning Over Water (1980)

Life On the Rodeo Circuit

One of Robert Mitchum's best films from his days at RKO is The Lusty Men about the rodeo circuit. Mitchum plays Jeff McCloud a burned out rodeo rider who spots some potential star talent in Wes Merritt. He also spots Merritt's wife and the Merritts are played by Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward.

Mitchum's been thrown by one too many bulls and horses and he's a burned out man. Still the allure of the circuit holds him in sway. He mentors Kennedy until they come to a parting of the ways and not just over Susan Hayward. The part is a perfect fit for Mitchum, his own footloose past made him understand the character of Jeff McCloud and bring it to life.

This was the first of two films Mitchum did with Susan Hayward. She's clearly in support of him and she knows it. Her big moment on screen is dispatching a rodeo groupie at a party who had designs on Arthur Kennedy. Her footage had to be shot first, according to Lee Server's biography of Mitchum, as Hayward had a commitment in Africa to shoot The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Among the supporting cast Arthur Hunnicutt, one of the biggest scene stealers around, is very good as another burned out rodeo rider. Mitchum looks at him and sees that is his future. In fact in the end, so does Kennedy.

The Lusty Men is a fine depiction of rodeo life, ranking up there with the later Junior Bonner and 8 Seconds. Good entertainment all around.