Ramrod (1947) User Reviews

A Grim Western

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 20 November 2005]

Veronica Lake in her memoirs said that Joel McCrea was one of the kindest, most decent men she ever knew or worked with. When she was writing that she was talking about Sullivan's Travels which is certainly one of the high points in both of their careers.

Ramrod is light years from Preston Sturges. Based on a Luke Short novel it's a pretty grim and violent film. Preston Foster is the owner of the big spread in the neighborhood and a close ally of his is Charlie Ruggles who has an adjoining piece of territory. Foster's taken a shine to Ruggles daughter Veronica Lake, but she can't stand the sight of him. When Foster bullies her fiancé out of town, Lake wants vengeance.

She's got her own piece of land now and hires Joel McCrea to run it for her. The range war starts, but Lake thinks McCrea is too soft in his approach. She starts some backchannel schemes of her own.

The result of this is a whole lot of dead bodies piling up. A windfall for the coroner.

As always Joel McCrea is the moral centerpiece of the film, he's once again the gallant western hero. Preston Foster is the town bully you love to hate. Foster did a variation on this part again in Law and Order a few years later.

Cast against type are Don DeFore and Charlie Ruggles. DeFore who was usually the hero's best friend and a jovial kind of guy, is a violence prone sort of fellow, who Lake manipulates among others. And it is hard to believe that Charlie Ruggles ever played anyone as serious on film before or since. Our image of him is usually the henpecked husband opposite Mary Boland from the Thirties.

This film is significant for Lake because she married Director Andre DeToth. DeToth claims to have been married seven times, but only three are listed on his page at IMDb. It was not a happy union, but DeToth did get a good performance out of his bride.

Ramrod may be one of the earliest examples of an adult western. It is grim and violent, but fascinating.

Striking casting, complex script, brilliant cinematography add up to a special, fascinating Western

[JimB-4 · 8/10 · 25 May 2009]

I won't comment on what has been written by several others here, regarding the noir-ish qualities of the material. I do want to mention some things that caught me off guard, in a very good way, from the moment the film began. First off, the writers and director de Toth were confident enough in their material not to spoonfeed their audience. Indeed, the first few minutes are so opaque it seems as if we may have come in in the middle of the film. In reality, we've come in in the middle, not of the film, but of the characters' lives, and the filmmakers allow us to figure out what's going on much as a stranger arriving in town would have to figure out what this drama is that's occurring around him. Adding to the intelligent and innovative approach to the story is the cinematography of Russell Harlan. Harlan, who shot Red River, Lust for Life, The Big Sky, and To Kill a Mockingbird, certainly knew how to place a camera and light a scene. For de Toth, Harlan's camera moves almost constantly, innumerable dolly shots (far more than in a typical film of this day) both reveal and obfuscate the settings in such a way as to keep the viewer always a little off-balance as to where the action is moving next. It's a skillful means of unsettling the viewer. The casting as well performs similarly. Joel McCrea is a familiar figure in Western leading roles, but here he's both a reformed drunk and so soft-spoken and comparatively passive as to be almost the antithesis of what we expect. Veronica Lake gets one soft scene with her hair down and almost peekabooing, but for the rest of the film it's up tight on her head, and she's up tight in the role. She's an interesting case, a pitiable femme fatale, a nice girl at first pushed then willingly galloping down the wrong road. Charlie Ruggles, typically a comic father type, here is stern but not heartless, wrongheaded but goodhearted. And the best piece of off-beat casting in the film is light comedian Don DeFore as the rascally, promiscuous, and deadly Bill, a gunman with a seductive smile and the grim good humor that one both fears and wants to protect. DeFore's performance is the best I've ever seen him give, and it made me wish he'd done more like this. Thankfully (and oddly), the script gives him plenty of screen time, much more in fact (toward the end) than one would expect, given that he's not the lead in the picture. There have been bad good-guys like Bill in scores of Westerns before and since, but few with the charisma and style that Don DeFore brings to this one. All in all, I was amazed by the complexity and shades of gray in this film, which I completely expected to be just another good old shoot-em-up. Well worth watching.

"From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own"

[ackstasis · 6/10 · 25 February 2009]

I hadn't realised that Lake was so incredibly short. Having only seen her in three films opposite Alan Ladd, whose comparatively small stature made him an ideal screen partner, it was surprising to see the 6' 3" Joel McCrea positively tower above her. This must have caused headaches for the cinematographer who was valiantly trying to frame both stars into every shot. Nevertheless, Lake doesn't let her petite size get in the way of a solid performance, and, indeed, her character is surprisingly malevolent. Borrowing a leaf from the femme fatales of the film noir style, which was in full swing by the late 1940s, Lake's Connie Dickason is a feisty customer, a pugnacious ranch-woman whose determination to upset the balance of power in her small western town turns her as nasty as the male oppressors whom she so despises. She deliberately breaks the law to achieve her self-righteous ends, and attempts to rope men into her scheme through the promise of sex. Yet Connie remains a moderately sympathetic character.

If one considers 'Ramrod' as one of the first film noir/westerns, then Connie is the ill-fated hero who knowingly chooses a path of dishonesty, and is condemned by it. McCrea's Dave Nash, on the other hand, represents the Western side of the story, a washed-up cowboy who, against all odds, chooses the path of nobility, pursuing justice strictly through honourable (and legal) channels. This blending of genres yields the film an interesting thematic tone, I think, though the story itself is so familiar that there are few surprises to be had along the way. Upon hearing of her deception, Dave shuns Connie's affections, instead choosing to marry the passive but sincere Rose (Arleen Whelan), the epitome of a dependable house-wife {I'd seen Whelan before, in the William Powell comedy 'The Senator was Indiscreet (1947),' though I don't remember the specifics of her role}. Connie is left, alone and rejected, to ponder the men whose deaths she inadvertently orchestrated. True to the film noir spirit, she is offered no redemption.

Underrated

[dougdoepke · 30 April 2008]

She may have been tiny, but she could hard-eye stare as well as any man, and make you believe it. It's that quality that this complex Western turns on, and fortunately the blonde Veronica Lake delivers in spades. It's not like she's the only good actor in the cast. There's the reliable Joel McCrea as the good guy, the commanding Donald Crisp as the sheriff, and Don De Fore in a sly role as McCrea's buddy, showing both an easy grin and a tricky set of values.

Usually it's two patriarchal land barons who feud over territory. Here it's not. It's the tiny Lake and bad guy Preston Foster who are duking it out, both fair and foul. What makes this Western more interesting than most is that Lake and DeFore fit somewhere between the poles of good-guy bad-guy. You never quite know what they'll do next because their moral compass sometimes wobbles. Being a woman with a lot of ambition, Lake has to finagle men into doing her shooting for her, and guess how she does that. And being a man who likes women, DeFore has figure out how to balance his loyalties. That makes for some interesting situations.

Director Andre DeToth (check out his unpronounceable real name) is the perfect overseer for a plot that features quiet treachery, hidden motives and raw violence. Maybe that's because his middle-European background was steeped in just trying to survive. Nonetheless, his sardonic view of human nature reminds me of an early version Sam Peckinpah. In fact, the latter hired de Toth to direct several episodes of Peckinpah's brilliant TV series The Westerner (1960). In that same vein, note de Toth's unflinching camera when filming the night battle near movie's end and when filming the treacherous backshot on Foster's front porch. It's clear he's bumping against Production Code strictures on what can be shown and what can't.

Ramrod is an underrated Western with an adult story-line. You may, however, need a score card to keep up with the various twists and turns. Still and all, the scenery's great, the acting top-notch, and the action where it ought to be. In my little book, that's definitely a can't-miss package.

A Brutal Western

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 16 November 2005]

This was a surprisingly brutal western, more like a film noir from the late 1940s, with rough characters who shot first and thought later.

Among those with the rough attitudes was the female lead, Veronica Lake, who was nearing the end of her short career. Without the makeup and long blonde hair, she didn't look that pretty. The good guys were played by Joel McCrea and Donald Crisp.

Almost everyone in this film gets shot or killed. Many critics labeled this a B-movie but it sure had a lot of well-known actors for that label. Preston Foster, Don DeFore and Lloyd Bridges also star. The only actor who sounded B movie-ish was Arleen Whalen. Despite her good looks, I can see why she never made it to stardom.

I like black-and-white but this was film that would have looked better in some nice Technicolor with the great mountain scenery that was featured.

Ramrod: A Thinking Mans Cowboy Yarn

[krocheav · 7/10 · 17 March 2014]

I first saw this curious western many years ago, at the time I found it rather boring. After reading several other reviews on IMDb, knew it was time to re-evaluate. Pleased I did, this time seeing a totally different show (well at least by now, I was seeing things through different eyes)

It still seems odd that it opens in the mist of a story situation that has not been established. Only the ensuing dialog sets you up with what's happened before the opening scene. This gives the film the look and feel of a finished work that may have endured post production edits for over-length. While I can't confirm if this was the case, it could still have been the intention of the film makers to do something different. In fact, the whole approach to this film is different. Here is a work that credits the audience with the ability to think --to read between the lines--

The pace is slower than normal, another sign the producers may want the audience to study each situation. For the patient, mature viewer this should pay entertaining dividends. As the first feature to come from John Garfield's independent Enterprise production company it's a worthy effort. The cast seem as if they all want this to be a success, even bit players work enthusiastically.

Many of the main leads are playing out of their established roles. Charlie Ruggles and Don De Fore do well with their mainly dramatic characters and Veronica Lake (under direction from her husband) is surprisingly ruthless (don't think I was ready for any of this first time round) Interesting Director, Andre' De Toth and his remarkable Director of Photography: Russel Harlan (who's worked on such a vast range of varied topics) create several mesmerizing 'story without words' type situations throughout. Joel McCrea is marvellous to watch, as one of the most believable righteous men to grace the screen (no doubt about it, the world needs more).

Luke Short (real name Frederick Glidden) creates realistic characters and gives them situations to match. It's a tad brutal, and not a western for everyone, but it's well worth staying with ~ you may end up being entertained. The Olive DVD release is not bad, while not a full re-mastering, the sound and B/W imagery are crisp (although the night scenes have some fluctuations.) Like me, you may need a second time round.

Dithering Western that not even likable McCrea, pretty Lake can save

[adrianovasconcelos · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

Ramrod boasts a stellar cast with the eminently likable McCrea, the extremely pretty duo of Lake and Whelan, the inevitably crisp Crisp, the diddling De Fore, and the menacing Foster (perhaps the pick of the bunch).

André de Toth is a very limited director, formerly Charlie Chaplin's cameraman. Sadly, that is an area where the varnish begins to crack from the outset: photography is mediocre. De Toth lets a potentially good film slip through his fingers by allowing the meandering script and McCrea's inexplicably dithering character to annoy the viewer.

The aging sheriff, crisp ol' Crisp, wants it all done by the book in a place where everybody else - except likable ol' McCrea - is doing by all means other than the book. You can tell that that is not going to go down well. And it doesn't.

To be honest, neither does the film. Which is a pity - I'm a great fan of McCrea and Lake but they share no spark here. They seemed to share more interesting chemistry in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS

Definitely Noir

[dwadle1952 · 7/10 · 21 November 2023]

Hadn't seen this movie in years so I decided to watch it again. I have to say there was a lot that I had missed in previous viewings. Mainly this is definitely a noir western. The basic plot is a staple of westerns, cattlemen versus sheepmen and a range war, but the characters walked straight of the 1940s. You have Veronica Lake as the femme fatale using her charms to twist multiple men to do her bidding. There's Joel McCrea as a flawed hero and Don DeFore as his friend with a dark side. Donald Crisp plays the by the book sheriff, arguably the only major conventional western character in the movie.

Definitely worth watching if you've never seen it before. If you want another noir western to watch try Blood On The Moon with Robert Mitchum.

Perhaps the first noir-western

[mi6nick · 10/10 · 11 August 2003]

Contrary to previous reviews of Ramrod, de Toth's film is much more interesting than a "simple cattle vs. sheep" plot-driven western. Just look at Lake's Connie Dickinson. This is a typical femme fatale archetype taken straight from film noir (realistically, the character derives from hard-boiled pulp literature which Luke Short fused with his western story).

Sexually alluring Connie uses her potent sway over men to achieve her greedy ambitions of wealth and power, and is unafraid to send men to their deaths for her cause. Connie's strength of character is atypical of the western genre at this stage, and her strength seems to come from the relative weakness of the film's hero, played by Joel McCrea; who seems to lack the strong sense of moral certainty that the typical westerner was founded upon.

Along with Raoul Walsh's Pursued (1947), and Robert Wise's Blood on the Moon (1948), Ramrod stands as one of the few hybrids between film noir and the western. Regardless of your standpoint on the status of film noir, all of these films contain typical elements from the pessimistic noirs of the 40's and 50's, particularly formal and stylistic devices, as well as recurring personnel, especially directors, stars (ie. Robert Mitchum), and cinematographers. Crucially though, the western genre before this stage was a particularly optimistic one; look at Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939), Dodge City (Michael Curtiz, 1939), or even My Darling Clementine (Ford again, 1946); the three films I mentioned beforehand, including Ramrod, all offer instances of pessimistic worldviews, and morally ambiguous characters and situations, even though they all end with the hero getting the girl and riding into a westward sunset.

Tough, twisty horse opera that shares more in common with the film noir genre

[tomgillespie2002 · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

Feuding landowners have always been a popular subject matter for the old-school B-movie westerns, and on face value Andre De Toth's Ramrod appears to be cut from very familiar material. The presence of co-stars Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake no doubt attracted punters charmed six years earlier by their performances in Preston Sturges' masterpiece Sullivan's Travels, and they would be forgiven if they thought they were in for some light-hearted white hat vs. black hat cowboy fun, with a little bit of romance sprinkled in for good measure. In fact, Ramrod couldn't be further away from Sturges' romp in terms of tone, with De Toth revelling in the cynicism of all but one of its central characters. Based on a story by legendary Western author Luke Short, this is a tough, twisty horse opera that pushes its characters into morally murky territory, sharing more in common with the film noir genre than the tropes of a western.

As the film opens, we are already at the boiling point of a conflict between powerful ranch owner Frank Ivey (Preston Foster) and sheepherder Walt Shipley (Ian MacDonald). Walt wants to bring sheep to the land, a big problem in cattle country. Caught in the middle of the feud is Connie Dickason (Lake), the beautiful and headstrong daughter of rancher Ben (Charles Ruggles). Her father wants Connie to marry Ivey, but she detests his bullying, violent manner and prefers to marry Walt instead. As it turns out, Walt doesn't have the stomach for a fight and flees town, leaving his Circle 66 ranch to Connie. Rather than caving to Ivey's demands for the land, Connie hires the stoic Dave Nash (McCrea) as her 'ramrod', or foreman, who feels indebted to Walt for taking him in when he was at his lowest. Dave accepts, but only on the promise that he is allowed to deal with Ivey peacefully, and without resorting to violence. He hires the free-spirited Bill Schell (Don DeFore) as back-up, but as Ivey and his gang employ increasingly brutal methods and Connie loses patience with Dave's restraint, alliances are forged and broken as the conflict spirals out of control.

Despite the magic they made together working with Sturges, I've never been particularly fond of either McCrea or Lake as actors. They have the screen presence, certainly, but they can both come across as empty shells. They are undoubtedly the weakest aspect of Ramrod, a film that is otherwise riveting from start to finish. The story is complicated enough to hold your interest for the duration, with supporting characters emerging to play a more important role that you were expecting, and revealing hidden layers that provide plenty of twists and turns. Indeed, Ramrod would be pretty pedestrian if Dave's methods proved to be the only way, and as his grip on the situation loosens when the back-stabbing and dirty dealings start to play out, the film heads into pure film noir territory. As the bodies start to pile up and the gun-fire becomes more frequent, De Toth forces his characters down some incredibly dark paths and doesn't wimp out of the difficult corners he backs them into. This is tough and exciting stuff, made all the more interesting by the way De Toth toys with the myth of black against white. The weakness of the leads is countered by some excellent supporting players, in particular Foster and DeFore.

Ramrod review

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 18 May 2020]

Nice guy Joel McCrea is torn between pint-sized femme fatale Veronica Lake and decent seamstress Arleen Whelan in this serviceable Western from the under-valued Andre De Toth. McCrea looks a little lightweight compared to Don Defore and Preston Foster, who stand out as a free-wheeling gun for hire with ambiguous intent and a rancher's heavy with a town under his thumb in a film that's brimming with bad guys. The plot twists and turns, but never quite takes off.

From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own. And, being a woman, I won't have to use guns.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 11 May 2019]

Ramrod is directed by Andre DeToth and collectively written by Luke Short, Jack Moffitt, C. Graham Baker and Cecile Kramer. It stars Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Don DeFore, Donald Crisp, Preston Foster, Arlene Whelan and Charles Ruggles. Music is by Adloph Deutsch and cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Sick of self proclaimed bully boss of the valley Frank Ivey (Foster) getting his way, hard driven Connie Dickason (Lake) sets up the Circle 66 Ranch. Hiring Dave Nash (McRea) as her ranch foreman (ramrod), Connie uses tricks and feminine wiles to win the personal battles to hand - which may well spell bad news for everyone...

Ramrod was the first Western directed by De Toth, and it's quite an impressive genre start. Splendidly capturing the film noir zeitgeist that was occurring at this time, pic looks terrific, De Toth and Harlan bring perfect monochrome moodiness for narrative compliance. The story pulses with psychological beats, the characters ranging from damaged addicts, the lovelorn and the lost, the power crazy and the cowardly, and right there at the core of it all is a femme fatale who is very much all woman but manipulative, bitter and destructive to the bone!

Story has a number of splinters lifting it out of the ordinary, the twists and turns not ridiculous, the sly machinations of principals are devilishly enjoyable for the like minded noir of heart. The plotting is clinically smart by not being ordinary, De Toth toying with the traditional tropes of the good versus bad Western staples. It's fair to say that Ramrod will reward more on further viewings, where it has the power to have the viewer dissecting the Freudian angles on show.

Cast are well suited to their respective roles. Lake rightly deglamourizes for Connie, and yet she carries a steely sexiness that has you understanding how men fall under her spell. McRea underplays it perfectly, he got the dupe role down pat, whilst DeFore steals the men acting honours as Bill Schell, who is Dave's mate, a jumping bean loose cannon dealing death with a nod and a wink. Support cast all come out in credit to seal the deal, for Ramrod is a must see for those who like Western and film noir hybrids. 8/10

I'm not sure if the casting director was crazy or just very, very drunk....

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 10 September 2010]

I mentioned the casting director in the summary because the odd casting decisions severely impacted this movie. While it starred Joel McCrea (who made quite a few nice westerns), the rest of the cast was just bizarre--so bizarre you almost think that the studio deliberately picked the worst possible actors for the film! First, the petulant and very strong-willed woman of the west is played by Miss Peek-a-boo herself, Veronica Lake. Not only is she too small for such a role, but she still sports a variation on her fashion-setting 1940s hair--which looked totally out of place in the old West Second, her father was played by, of all people, Charlie Ruggles! The very British Donald Crisp is on hand to try to keep order as the town sheriff. And, finally, Don Defore (Mr. B from "Hazel") was cast as a bad-man--a guy who liked to shoot first and ask questions....well, never! This just seemed weird from a guy with lovely manners and such a nice-guy persona! What were they thinking?!?!

As for the plot, it is quite different--and considering they made a billion or more westerns, this is a very good thing! The film begins with Ruggles magnanimously having his daughter's fiancé beaten up and chased out of town. It seems that Ruggles already has a man picked out for her. Unexpectedly, this unleashes the she-devil in Veronica--who decides to start her own competing ranch AND use evil as her guide. Too bad that the virtuous Joel McCrea is working for her and is pulled right into the middle of this mess. Soon, bodies start piling up and it's particularly surreal to see Defore is responsible for many of them!! Weird...very, very weird!

I wasn't sure fond of this film, however, because of its odd-ball plot--the odd-ball casting that made the characters tough to believe. Probably the worst wasn't Defore (he was a close runner-up) but Lake, as whenever she got mean and angry, she made you want to say "....awww...ain't she cute...I love it when she makes that pouty expression!". It just didn't work for me despite McCrea's excellent (as usual) acting. An odd little curio.

Unexpectedly surprised by a class western

[Maverick1962 · 8/10 · 9 July 2014]

This 1947 western in black and white could have been just another mediocre Joel McCrea piece of sagebrush like the dozens of Randolph Scott movies I've watched. The thing with Scott was that you had to watch a lot to find the few masterpieces. For me this was Joel McCrea's best film that I've seen yet, or certainly as good as Guns in the Afternoon (aka Ride the High Country) in which he teamed with Randolph Scott which always gets outstanding reviews. McCrea is the man of dignity, pretty much in the vein of Henry Fonda, who strides tall throughout the picture, unflinching in his view of the 'right thing to do'. It's what we've come to expect of him, but he carries it well and you just know he has that strength. What was surprising was the performance of the diminutive Veronica Lake of the iconic hair style, although you only get a glimpse near the beginning of it. Here (married to director Andre De Toth during the making of the movie) she gives a steely performance of some skill, using her sexual allure to persuade men around her to do things according to her will, and very convincing she can be. Don DeFore an actor I've not seen before, impresses as a friend to help McCrea when he's in trouble and I'm surprised with all the movies I've seen that he somehow escaped me. The great Donald Crisp, Charlie Ruggles, Ray Teal and Lloyd Bridges all appear in convincing roles. A tough, adult western I can highly recommend.

The story is told in a straightforward, understated manner, trusting the audience to connect the dots

[alv790 · 10 November 2021]

Some reviewers complain of a slow pace, but that wasn't my impression. The story is told in a straightforward, understated manner, trusting the audience to connect the dots and not wasting thirty seconds on a scene if it can be done in ten. It moves at a good pace most of the time, even though, at the end, the payoff is a bit easy and conventional. Because of that, it turns out not to be as good as it promised during the first part, when there was plenty of tension and psychological work.

The unusual setup is a strong point, subverting the trope of the beautiful lady rancher harassed by the evil local despots who want to run her out of her ranch. In this case, the lady rancher is as evil and petty as them. She boasts "From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own. And, being a woman, I won't have to use guns." She may not use them personally, but plenty of men are going to die because of her war, which is more a vanity project than really necessary for her to live her life.

I'm not a big fan of McCrea or Lake, but they are helped by a capable supporting cast.

I also need to mention the stunning scenery, shot in black and white. The camera doesn't linger in it often, though. More than the traditional open spaces of a western, here the story is sometimes claustrophobic and dark. It's kind of a hardboiled noir film.

I find it underrated, although it could have stuck the landing better.

And Not a Single "Ramrod" In Sight!

[strong-122-478885 · 4/10 · 14 October 2013]

Being something of a cowboy-junkie and a die-hard fan of Westerns from the 1940s and 50s, I can usually tolerate and excuse a lot of repetitiveness, inconsistencies and flaws in the story lines of these movies, providing, of course, that the direction is strong and that the principle characters appeal to my sense of masculinity and what I believe to be the true "Code of the West".

But, with that said, I found Ramrod (which was an unfitting/dumb title) played too much like a "Harlequin Romance" Chick Flick and, due to that, it nearly put me off to sleep with its dull-edged drama and drag-along action.

Not only was there some very serious miscasting in this picture (especially that of Veronica Lake, who was more suited for glamor roles in fluffy comedies), but, it also appeared to me that most of the actors were sleepwalking their way through their parts, clearly showing no sign of life or conviction in what they were doing.

Mind you, Ramrod certainly did contain some very impressive camera-work in a number of scenes, especially when the action (or lack of it) was taking place out in the beautiful, wide-open country of Utah.

Ramrod's far too predictable story was basically the umpteenth re-telling of the same, old tale regarding an intense conflict that's escalating out of control between the powerful cattlemen and the struggling sheep ranchers. In order to generate some much-needed excitement into Ramrod's snail-paced story, a token barn-burning was even thrown into the mundane mix, for good measure.

All-in-all - You can be sure that if actress Veronica Lake hadn't been married to Ramrod's director Andre De Toth at the time, then, she, most likely, would've never, ever been considered for the part of Connie Dickason in a million years.

Also - When it came to the likes of Veronica Lake and her co-star Joel McCrae, not only was the chemistry going absolutely nowhere between these 2, but, her tiny, petite stature of only 4' 11" was greatly contrasted by his hefty, towering height of 6' 3".

When these two incompatible actors were photographed standing together, Lake looked like a literal midget next to McCrae - And, this, in turn, rendered Lake's already unsubstantial character as being even more insignificant than it already was to begin with.

Not really a feminist flick, more of a film noir western

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 5 July 2017]

An unusual western screenplay. Veronica Lake, as Connie, is the head-strong daughter of rancher Ben Dickason(Charles Ruggles), who refuses to do her father's bidding, in marrying their prosperous neighboring rancher, Frank Ivey((Preston Foster), as Ivey would like. The main reason seems to be that she's afraid he would be too dominating over her. Despite her lack of a butch physique, she wants to take an active role in the management of the ranch; not just be a traditional trophy wife. Toward this goal, she takes up with sheep man Walt Shipley(Ian MacDonald)who apparently recently acquired some land in the region, and plans to raise sheep in what is considered cattle county. Hence, he is very unpopular with the local ranchers. Presumably, she chose him because she thought she could manipulate him toward her goals. The cattlemen run him out of town. But, before he leaves, he signs his property claim over to Connie.

Did Connie achieve her main goals by the end of the film? She obtained a decent -sized spread thanks to the generosity of her suitor, and to that of her ramrod, Dave(Joel McCrea), who seized an outlying cabin belonging to Ives, because Ives failed to file for that land. She chose to raise cattle rather than sheep, so as not to antagonized the cattlemen.(How did she build up a herd so quickly?). But she committed a bad self-destructive act in ordering the stampeding of her cattle. As I understand it, they were stampeded over a cliff. Thus, she lost virtually all her cattle. The point was to blame the stampede on Ivey, so as to send him to jail. But, this depended on no one recognizing her own wranglers as the perpetrators, which turned out not to be the case. Connie conceived this treachery in retaliation for Ivey burning her wooden ranch house(Her new headquarters was made of stone). Thus, her short-term solvency looks bleak at film's end. Also, her current choice of husband appeared doomed, as Dave(McCrea) was put off by her highhandedness, firming up his recent relationship with the conventional town woman, Rose.

In this vendetta-riddled story, Ivey was a bad guy in that he ordered the burning of Connie's ranch house, to spite her rejection of him, thus beginning the vendetta. The sheriff came calling to Ives's place to arrest him for stampeding the cattle. He threatened the sheriff, who drew his gun, but Ivey shot him first, blaming the deed on one of his ranch hands. Also, later, he shot dead McCrea's friend, Bill, who supervised the stampede. In turn, McCrea shot Ives in a street standoff, because he had killed Bill, and the sheriff, and because McCrea had shot the man falsely accused of shooting the sheriff.

Looked at from a feminist perspective, we can compare Veronica's role with that of Betty Hutton and Doris Day, in the early '50s musical comedies "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Calamity Jane", respectively, as well as Doris in "The Ballad of Josie", from the late '60s. In all of these other films, the female lead is doing something that was almost unheard of for women to do. But, in each case, at the end, she realized that she wanted a male partner who felt superior to her in her special skill, even if he wasn't. Each of these ladies succeeded in finding such a mate. In the present film, Veronica wanted to show that she could wrangle a ranch out of someone other than Ives, and make it work, although she relied on males to do the dirty work. Unlike these other characters, she doesn't come across as a natural 'butch', but primarily as a manipulator of men to accomplish her goals. Hence, she is a different type of feminist example compared to the other ladies.

Of course, McCrea and Veronica had worked together previously in the acclaimed "Sullivan's Travels".

See it in B&W at YouTube.

Very disappointing

[christopher-underwood · 5/10 · 26 August 2018]

Very disappointing. Having recently been blown away by director de Toth's 1959 film 'Day of the Outlaw', encouraged even to try and read his (vaguely) autobiographical, 'Fragments', I was stunned at how uninteresting or involving this is. Terrible start, where there would appear to be a missing scene or that we have come in halfway through and find ourselves playing catch-up just to discover what is going on. The story, as eventually revealed, is really not much at all and to make matters worse, Joel McCrea seems even less interested that us and gives a particularly stiff and flat performance. As for the much anticipated Veronica Lake - oh dear, was husband de Both intentionally trying to make her look drab and unattractive? She is barely allowed to let down her fabulous tresses and appeared even to have no hair at all in some or the duller scenes. All in all not much going for this - except some rather interesting extras on the Arrow Blu-ray!

False advertising

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 8 May 2007]

I looked this up on Comcast and the title suggested it might be interesting with a title that smacks of sexual symbolism. The description talked about cattle barons and a hard time, so I thought it might be another Brokeback Mountain.

Well, it wasn't that at all It was about evil and out of control cowpokes. Joel McCrea (the ramrod) 1s the honest cowpoke who comes out of his drunken stupor after losing his family to find his own way. But his costar, Veronica Lake as Connie Dickason, steals the film as a strong-willed butch-type, who goes against the wishes of her rancher father Ben Dickason (Charles Ruggles) and refuses to marry his choice--the evil Frank Ivey (Preston Foster) and goes for a sheep man. GASP! Evidently, she wants someone she can whip.

Well, somehow sheep boy skedaddles out of town and leaves his sheep ranch to his fiancée, who proceeds to fight daddy and Ivey.

This is NOT a misogynist Bond movie! It is a western done by a Hungarian director, which had an interesting script with a lot more than you usually see in a cowboy movie.

Ram your rod elsewhere

[AAdaSC · 4/10 · 26 November 2017]

Joel McRea (Dave) is asked by Veronica Lake (Connie) to protect her sheep-grazing land from town bully Preston Foster (Ivey) who wants it for his cattle. McRea recruits a gang that includes Don Defore (Bill) and they are heavily leaned on by Foster and his crew. Can McRea make a difference?

The Ramrod referred to is McRea as Lake Veronica's central tough guy. Veronica herself is no shrinking flower in this. In fact, she's the opposite and ditches her glamorous looks. I only spotted one brief scene in which she was wearing make-up and she looked a completely different woman. The glamour role goes to Arlene Whelan (Rose) as McRea's girlfriend. Uh-oh, complications….looks like Lake is moving in on McRea as well.

The cast are all good but unfortunately the film is chronically dull. Yawn, yawn….fall asleep….wake up….yawn…..nothing going on….fall asleep again…horses riding and a bit of shooting. There is nothing new about the story and it unfolds at a slow pace. Uninteresting. Shame.

ABOVE AVERAGE SUSPENSEFUL REVENGEFUL WESTERN...VERONICA LAKE FEMME FATALE

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 9 September 2021]

Some See "Ramrod" as a "Signpost".

A Detour for the Western to New and Unfamiliar Directions and Focused Not on the Familiar Landscapes and Wide Open Spaces, but that of a more Personal or Psychological Nature.

Astute Film Fans may See where this is and that was Headed.

Did Someone Say "Film-Noir"?

Yes, this Movie along with some Others have been Mentioned with Noir.

There aren't Many but some Westerns did Not Escape the Whirlwind of the Post-War Noir Cycle that was the most Magnetic from 1946-49.

The "Peek-A-Boo" Girl, Veronica Lake was No Stranger to Film-Noir and Joel McCrea was No Stranger to Westerns.

Here They Headline some Strong Support.

It's a Tale of a Bitter Femme Fatale who Seeks Revenge on those that Surrounded and Tried to Corral this Beauty.

"I am going to get it done and being a Woman I won't have to use a gun to do it"

She Makes Good on Her Promise as She Uses Her Substantial Femininity to "Seduce" Anyone Anytime She Needs something Done.

There's Plenty of Tension, Brutal Violence, and Action to Go with the Psychological Maneuvering.

Definitely a Must-See for Western and Film-Noir Fans to Witness the Genres Cross-Breed.

It was a Rare Occurrence and is Something to Behold.

Typical cattlemen vs. sheepman outing.

[bux · 1/10 · 22 October 1998]

As in most stories by Luke Short, this one is more on plot than action. McCrea is good as the 'old cowhand' that eventually does the right thing. Good supporting cast, featuring Lloyd Bridges.

Early Andre De Toth gem

[searchanddestroy-1 · 11 December 2022]

For his first try in the western, we can say that Andre De Toth made it. Definitely. With the help of an already convincing Joel McCrea and a terrific Preston Foster as the villain. So a great cast for a western where we also have Veronica Lake - De Toth's wife at this time, or just to be - in her only western. The story brings nothing new, nothing unusual, the scheme is predictable in every way, but the bulk of the western production all over the decades is the same. For me this western is a very promising for its director for whom this kind of material will be the speciality. He won't cease to improve....