Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

Texan Tom Buchanan is heading back home with enough money to start his own ranch, but when he stops in the crooked town of Agry, he's robbed and framed for murder.

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Charles Lang (screenplay), Jonas Ward (novel)

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Craig Stevens, Barry Kelley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Randolph Scott	...	Tom Buchanan
Craig Stevens	...	Abe Carbo
Barry Kelley	...	Lew Agry
Tol Avery	...	Judge Simon Agry
Peter Whitney	...	Amos Agry
Manuel Rojas	...	Juan de la Vega
L.Q. Jones	...	Pecos Hill
Robert Anderson	...	Waldo Peck
Joe De Santis	...	Esteban Gomez
William Leslie	...	Roy Agry
Jennifer Holden	...	K.T.
Nacho Galindo	...	Nacho

Storyline

On his way home to West Texas, Tom Buchanan rides into the Californian border town of Agry, and into a feud between several members of the Agry family. In helping out a Mexican seeking revenge on one of them, Buchanan finds himself against the whole family.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | rancher | town | murder | california | 

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Taglines:

DOUBLE HANGING -- DOUBLE THRILLS! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Name's Buchanan

Filming Locations:

Sabino Canyon, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Scott-Brown Productions, Producers-Actors Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Columbia Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Obviously oscillating shadows in 3 successive scenes (all looking south) indicate poor continuity. As Juan de la Vega rides into town toward the Agry Saloon the shadows are toward the right indicating a morning shot. Right after Roy Agry is shot by Juan, the Sheriff and his men are seen running across the street toward the saloon; this time shadows are to the left (an afternoon shot) and there are clouds visible. A moment later Juan is shown running out of the Saloon and the shadows have switched back to the right (morning shot) and the sky has cleared up.

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Quotes

Pecos Hill: There ain't no place like West Texas.
Tom Buchanan: Then how come you're in California?
Pecos Hill: Oh, I fiddle-footed. This country is so dang big, a man just itches to move around it. One day I got tired of watching the sun go west and I just followed it on out here. But I ain't itchin' no more. Before long, I'll follow that sun right on back to where I come from.

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Connections

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005)

User Reviews

Likeable, good-humoured B-movie

Perhaps the only really unjustified feature of this Western is the title. They should have kept the original, "The name's Buchanan" - a line which crops up sufficiently often in the first five minutes to verge on becoming a catchphrase for the title character. One thing Buchanan *doesn't* do is ride alone. For a cowboy hero - particularly one played by Randolph Scott! - he's an unusually cheerful and sociable type, who picks up friends and allies almost everywhere he goes. I don't believe I've ever seen Randolph Scott smile so much in all the rest of his films put together - and it has much the same shock value as a grin on the face of Leonard Nimoy.

But it's mainly the humour that sets this film apart from a hundred other unpretentious B-Westerns. The plot twists don't hurt, either. This slender piece bears as many stings in the tail as the final chapters of a Hercule Poirot mystery. Tables are turned by one side upon the other so often that it verges upon the ridiculous; a point milked to wry appreciation by the script. The other interesting point is that Buchanan himself has little influence over the course of events. He merely (albeit adroitly) rides the tide, as the bickering Agry brothers provide the main engine for the plot. This film is far less of a one-man star vehicle than many Westerns of its era. To a degree, it might even be suspected of spoofing the genre.

I spotted only one technical blooper: as the sheriff(?) leaves the jail after demanding the keys, the far side of the street, for one brief aberrant moment, appears to consist of red-brick houses with paned-glass windows! Young de la Vega's horse really is a beautiful animal, on the other hand - the beast fully bears out the script's claim that the de la Vega horses are some of the best-bred in the country. Judging by the stunts, it was also presumably a trained performer - I wonder what its 'day job' was? :-)

To summarise: a cheerful, swift-moving Western with a touch of dry humour that helps it to stand out among a host of other B-movies. If you've watched 'Unforgiven' too many times, until your guts feel like treacle - if you can't take one more coarse joke from 'Blazing Saddles' - then try 'Buchanan' for a breath of fresh air, and watch Randolph Scott for once in his life having fun!