Ride the High Country is now a classic, for the beautiful scenery, the great chemistry between the two western stars, and the last film appearance of Randolph Scott. Perhaps he wanted to make one hundred movies and then retire, perhaps he felt he was getting old but didn't want his public to find out, perhaps he just didn't enjoy it as much as he used to during the shift of 1960s films. We'll never really know why he left, but we sure miss him. He could have been in The Carpetbaggers, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Rounders, Once Upon a Time in the West, or any number of other popular westerns later in the decade.
Joel McCrea, another extremely popular western star, plays Scottie's pal as they transport a shipment of gold through the high country. This isn't his last movie, but he did retire shortly afterwards. In a hilarious opening sequence, Joel finds Scottie working at a Wild West carnival sideshow, with a handlebar mustache and long wig. He then recruits his old friend to help him with his next job, even though Scottie has a shady past and might not have the most honorable intentions.
Even though Scottie and Joel are the headliners, if you look at the script, they're not actually the main focus of the movie. After all, sex sells in Hollywood, and neither one is given a love interest. "Old folks still got it" movies have grown increasingly popular through the decades, but in the silver screen they were nonexistent. Old actors either retired or took supporting roles as grandparents, judges, or landladies. Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell was the first movie to try and bring life back to the elderly, but it was incredibly sad and didn't really spark a subgenre. Ride the High Country was the movie that did. Two popular stars, with thirty years of mileage on them, stole every scene, told all the jokes, and managed to say "gee, my feet hurt" lines with twinkles in their eyes. Sure, they complain about getting old and roll their eyes at the young folks, but they are still more virile and magnetic than everyone else in the movie.
While Scottie and Joel mostly stay off to the side lines, smirking and trading one-liners with each other, the actual leads of the movie are pretty irritating. Mariette Hartley runs away from home to marry a man against her father's wishes. He claims the guy's no good, and when we finally see him, he's despicable. He's uncouth, filthy, disrespectful, and treats her like a piece of meat to be passed around his brothers after he's had his fill. In other words, her father was right. On the way, as she trails along with the men, she starts to fall for Ron Starr. But they're just not likable, and their "relationship" doesn't give us much to root for. They're both stupid with poor judgment. The movie would have been better if it just followed the two old timers around and ditched the young folks - like The Rounders did a few years later. The Rounders would have been perfect for Randolph Scott and John Wayne; one character is an old cowboy who feels he's getting too old to keep roping in wild horses, and the other's name is Marion. Oh well. Scottie, we'll miss you.
