IMDb > Rancho Notorious (1952)
Rancho Notorious
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Rancho Notorious (1952) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   1,067 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Daniel Taradash (screenplay)
Silvia Richards (original story)
Contact:
View company contact information for Rancho Notorious on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 March 1952 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Where anything goes...for a price!
Plot:
A western based on the story "Gunsight Whitman" by Silvia Richards. Vern Haskell, a nice rancher, seeks... more | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
Character Actor Jack Elam Dies
 (From WENN. 22 October 2003)

User Comments:
Atmospheric Western Noir more (25 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Marlene Dietrich ... Altar Keane
Arthur Kennedy ... Vern Haskell
Mel Ferrer ... Frenchy Fairmont
Gloria Henry ... Beth Forbes
William Frawley ... Baldy Gunder
Lisa Ferraday ... Maxine
John Raven ... Chuck-a-Luck dealer

Jack Elam ... Mort Geary

George Reeves ... Wilson
Frank Ferguson ... Preacher
Francis McDonald ... Harbin
Dan Seymour ... Comanche Paul
John Kellogg ... Jeff Factor
Rodd Redwing ... Rio (as Rodric Redwing)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Chuck-a-Luck (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
89 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #15331) | West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:PG (tv rating) | Netherlands:6 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Fritz Lang had originally planned to call this film "Chuck-a-Luck". However, the studio insisted that its name be changed to "Rancho Notorious" and when Lang asked why, he was told that it was because Americans wouldn't understand what "Chuck-a-Luck" (a gambling game commonly played in saloons in the Southwest) meant. Lang replied, "Well, it's a good thing that they all know what 'Rancho Notorious'[which has nothing to do with anything in the film] means!" more
Quotes:
Altar Keane: Go away and come back ten years ago. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Marlene (1984) more
Soundtrack:
Get Away Young Man more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful.
Atmospheric Western Noir, 13 December 1998
Author: Dr Zaius from Seattle, WA

"Rancho Notorious" is a beautifully atmospheric and suspenseful film. Best known for his expressionist black & white suspense thrillers, director Fritz Lang brings the same qualities to this Technicolor western.

Although she must have been in her fifties when the film was made, Dietrich looks absolutely gorgeous. She also seems to be having lots of fun with the part, in a sense reprising her character from "Destry Rides Again." It's never explained how this woman with the strange German accent ended up in the Wild West, and we don't really care. By the way, Dietrich's performance in these two films was the basis for Madeline Kahn's great parody in "Blazing Saddles."

The one thing that really stands out in my mind about this film is how effectively the suspense builds. The tension leading up to Vern's discovery of the killer's identity is almost unbearable, and Lang makes us wait until the film's last five minutes for the inevitable score-settling gunfight.

In a period of film history when westerns were a dime a dozen, this one really stands out as a true classic.

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