Riding Shotgun (1954)

When a stagecoach guard tries to warn a town of an imminent raid by a band of outlaws, the people mistake him for one of the gang

Director:

André De Toth (as Andre de Toth)

Writers:

Thomas W. Blackburn (screenplay) (as Tom Blackburn), Kenneth Perkins (story)

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris, Joan Weldon

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Randolph Scott	...	Larry Delong
Wayne Morris	...	Deputy Sheriff Tub Murphy
Joan Weldon	...	Orissa Flynn
Joe Sawyer	...	Tom Biggert
James Millican	...	Dan Marady
Charles Bronson	...	Pinto (as Charles Buchinsky)
James Bell	...	Doc Winkler
Fritz Feld	...	Fritz
Richard Garrick	...	Walters
Vic Perrin	...	Bar-M Rider with Lynching Rope (as Victor Perrin)
John Baer	...	Deputy Ross Hughes
William Johnstone	...	Col. Flynn

Storyline

After members of his family are killed by the Maraday Gang during a stagecoach robbery, Larry Delong takes a job as stage guard in hopes that he will meet up with the outlaws. After he is captured by the bandits, his shot-up stage is returned to the town by the gang in order to draw the authorities out of town. After being left for dead, Delong escapes to warn the townspeople of an imminent raid by the outlaws. They don't believe his story and, in fact, accuse him of complicity in the stage robbery, tasking the town's remaining deputy with arresting him. A besieged Delong hides out in a local saloon before making his next move.

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Taglines:

He held the town at bay ... to save it !

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Charles Bronson's fifth credited film role (as Charles Buchinsky).

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Goofs

When the shot-up stagecoach arrives in town with a supposedly dead driver slumped in his seat, he visibly sits up enough in order to control and stop the horses.

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Quotes

Larry Delong: [interior monologue] I could have taken that shotgun away from Lewellyn and wrapped it around his fat ears, but it might have meant shooting some misguided people who might have thought the right thing was to keep me in town. There was only one person left who might help me: Fritz, who ran a dirty little cantina which few self-respecting people ever entered. He'd do anything for a fast dollar.

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Connections

Referenced in The Dangerous (1995)

User Reviews

Randolph Scott VS. Charles Bronson

Stage-line security guard Scott is lured away from town by a member of his arch-enemy's gang and tied up to die from exposure. Escaping, he returns to find the stage robbed and everyone thinking he's in cahoots with the villains, with no one believing him when he tells them that the robbery was a ruse to get the law out on a goose-chase so that the real deal could go down. In fact, the whole town is ready to lynch Scott!

Though some of the portrayals of the ignorant townspeople are clearly over-the-top, Riding Shotgun is a very well-made and well-paced little western that really delivers the goods in terms of action and especially suspense.

There's a great role for a young Charles Bronson, who in his western debut (excluding an episode of The Roy Rodgers Show where he plays a boxer) as a sadistic member of the outlaw gang. The scenes where he joins the lynch mob and stokes them are pretty neat.

There's also a great role for Wayne Morris, who's probably best remembered for his role as a cowardly officer in Stanley Kubrick's Paths Of Glory, as the town's remaining deputy who desperately tries to prevent needless bloodshed.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1955 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Riding Shotgun

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1