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IMDbPro

Ratsasta, vaquero!

Original title: Ride, Vaquero!
  • 19531953
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
971
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
60,054
22,556
Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
Two outlaws, Rio and Esqueda, raised together as stepbrothers, have a showdown over the issue of whether to evict new settlers from their territory.
Play trailer2:55
1 Video
23 Photos
RomanceWestern

Two outlaws, Rio and Esqueda, raised together as stepbrothers, have a showdown over the issue of whether to evict new settlers from their territory.Two outlaws, Rio and Esqueda, raised together as stepbrothers, have a showdown over the issue of whether to evict new settlers from their territory.Two outlaws, Rio and Esqueda, raised together as stepbrothers, have a showdown over the issue of whether to evict new settlers from their territory.

IMDb RATING
6.1/10
971
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
60,054
22,556
  • Director
    • John Farrow
  • Writers
    • Frank Fenton(screen play)
    • John Farrow(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Robert Taylor
    • Ava Gardner
    • Howard Keel
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Farrow
  • Writers
    • Frank Fenton(screen play)
    • John Farrow(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Robert Taylor
    • Ava Gardner
    • Howard Keel
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 16User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:55
    Official Trailer

    Photos23

    Anthony Quinn, Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn and Robert Taylor in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Ava Gardner, Kurt Kasznar, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Ted de Corsia in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn, Robert Taylor, and Charlita in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn, Jack Elam, and Norman Leavitt in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn, Jack Elam, Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, Ted de Corsia, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn and Robert Taylor in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Robert Taylor, Percy Helton, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Anthony Quinn and Robert Taylor in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
    Ava Gardner and Robert Taylor in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Taylor
    Robert Taylor
    • Rio
    Ava Gardner
    Ava Gardner
    • Cordelia Cameron
    Howard Keel
    Howard Keel
    • King Cameron
    Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    • José Esqueda
    Kurt Kasznar
    Kurt Kasznar
    • Father Antonio
    Ted de Corsia
    Ted de Corsia
    • Sheriff Parker
    Charlita
    • Singer
    Jack Elam
    Jack Elam
    • Barton
    Walter Baldwin
    Walter Baldwin
    • Adam Smith
    Joe Dominguez
    Joe Dominguez
    • Vincente
    Frank McGrath
    Frank McGrath
    • Pete
    Charles Stevens
    Charles Stevens
    • Vaquero
    Rex Lease
    Rex Lease
    • Deputy
    Tom Greenway
    • Deputy
    Stanley Andrews
    Stanley Andrews
    • Gen. Sheridan
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Berkeley
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Monte Blue
    Monte Blue
    • Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Farrow
    • Writers
      • Frank Fenton(screen play)
      • John Farrow(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Mia Farrow's book, "What Falls Away", her father John Farrow and Ava Gardner were having an affair during filming in 1953. Mia married Gardner's ex-husband Frank Sinatra in 1966.
    • Goofs
      When Jose throws a knife closely past Barton's head, the knife zips past Jose before his arm finishes the throwing motion. This is probably because the knife was either mechanically propelled or thrown by an off-screen expert to make the stunt safer than it would be if the actor had thrown the knife.
    • Quotes

      Jose Esqueda: Can you imagine a smile on Barton's face?

      Rio: It's the only place where a smile could be ugly.

    • Connections
      Featured in 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994)

    User reviews16

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    He loves me like a brother.
    Ride, Vaquero! is directed by John Farrow and written by Frank Fenton. It stars Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Anthony Quinn, Kurt Kasznar and Ted de Corsa. Music is by Bronislau Kaper and cinematography by Robert Surtees.

    Out of MGM and filmed in Ansco Color at Kanab in Utah (though story is set in Texas), Ride, Vaquero! is collectively unusual, bold and frustrating. Plot revolves around outlaws lead by bandido Esqueda (Quinn) refusing to let settlers and civilisation come to the Brownsville territory. So far so formulaic, then, but Esqueda's right hand man is Rio (Taylor), who was raised by Esqueda's mother and therefore they be adopted brothers. When King Cameron (Keel) and his wife Cordelia (Gardner) refuse to be shunted out of Brownsville, with King trying to rally the townsfolk against Esqueda, Rio starts to feel sympathy for the Cameron's.

    What unfolds is a sort of Freudian Greek Tragedy, a love quadrilateral as Esqueda and Rio love each other in that manly brotherly way, Cordelia begins to love Rio, love which he is keen to reciprocate, while King will always love Cordelia no mater what. Action is competently put together by Farrow as it all builds to a big finale, which doesn't disappoint on narrative terms, and the airy location photography (this is one of the better Ansco Color productions I have seen) is delightful. While naturally there will be sacrifices and psychologically tinged twists along the way to keep the faithful interested.

    Quinn is wonderfully ebullient, enjoying himself with a licence to chow down on the script with relish. Taylor is subdued, sleep walking through the film under direction to be a man of quiet menace and emotional confliction. Keel looks like he is desperate to sing a song, or just be some place else, while Gardner is required to just look pretty and pretty wistful from time to time. Kasznar as Father Antonio comes out in credit, but when the screenplay has him refusing stolen money to help the church - only to then have him 15 minutes later shooting away with rifle to kill his fellow man - the inconsistency in the production is further compounded.

    Keel hated the boredom of the shoot, stuck out in the wilderness with nothing to do for months he said, and Gardner hated Farrow, citing him as a sleazy bully to women and horses! These complaints do show, the film feels like it's treading water, where if you take out Quinn you are left with what comes across as a bunch of actors working for food. Characterisations are not well drawn enough to make the promise of the mind matters work, and supporting players like Jack Elam wander in and out of the picture without due care and attention.

    There's good intentions in the screenplay, where for 1953 this could have been ahead of its time and setting the bar for Freudian flavoured Westerns. While it's on it engages for sure, but once finished there's the distinct feeling that it was never all that it could have been. A shame really. 6/10
    helpful•12
    5
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Sep 29, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 12, 1954 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Ride, Vaquero!
    • Filming locations
      • Kanab, Utah, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,128,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, and Howard Keel in Ratsasta, vaquero! (1953)
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