Pale Rider (1985)

A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Preacher
Michael Moriarty	...	Hull Barret
Carrie Snodgress	...	Sarah Wheeler
Chris Penn	...	Josh LaHood (as Christopher Penn)
Richard Dysart	...	Coy LaHood
Sydney Penny	...	Megan Wheeler
Richard Kiel	...	Club
Doug McGrath	...	Spider Conway
John Russell	...	Stockburn
Charles Hallahan	...	McGill
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Jagou
Fran Ryan	...	Ma Blankenship
Richard Hamilton	...	Jed Blankenship
Graham Paul	...	Ev Gossage
Chuck Lafont	...	Eddie Conway (as Chuck LaFont)

Storyline

A gold mining camp in the California foothills is besieged by a neighboring landowner intent on stealing their claims. A preacher rides into camp and uses all of his powers of persuasion to convince the landowner to give up his attacks on the miners.

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Plot Keywords:

preacher | gold | miner | sheriff | grave | 

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Taglines:

... and hell followed with him.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

El jinete pálido

Filming Locations:

Columbia State Historic Park - 22708 Broadway, Columbia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,900,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$41,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike his earlier films, Clint Eastwood first selected the film's theme and then commissioned a screenplay to be written.

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Goofs

Amount of snow in town, and seasons in general.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Megan Wheeler: Lindsey.

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Crazy Credits

The credit for catering just says "The Caterers" (including the quotation marks in the credit).

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Connections

Referenced in Men Behaving Badly: The Sting (1997)

User Reviews

One good reason to watch it: Clint Eastwood

I'll give you one good reason why shouldn't miss this movie: Clint Eastwood. If you are a fan of Westerns or even when you only like to watch one occasionally, than you should know more than enough. In my opinion Clint Eastwood is the one and only true Hollywood cowboy.

When a mysterious preacher - no-one knows where he comes from, what his past is, they don't even know his real name - comes to a gold mining camp near a small town in the mountains, the local miners are in great danger. A ruthless landowner has decided to take their land, he doesn't mind using violence and he has the support of the sheriff. No one seems to be able to stop them. But than the preacher proves to be more than a man of God. He's a good shooter, the sheriff is afraid of him and he's the only one brave enough to rise against the landowner...

If you are looking for an original movie, than you'll have to look somewhere else. This movie uses all the possible clichés that can be found in this kind of Westerns. But on the other hand I must also say that all is done in a very proper way. Eastwood is a fine director and he did what he was best in at the time: he made a Western. The story, the direction, the acting, the scenes,... it all looks professional and more than OK and especially thanks to Eastwood's acting performance in it, this movie is still a 'must-see'. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, but every time that I'm able to see one with Eastwood in it, I'll not let it pass. My advice: if you can see past the fact that it isn't very original, you will almost certainly enjoy it. I certainly did and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.