Ride Beyond Vengeance

Ride Beyond Vengeance casts Chuck Connors as a returning buffalo hunter returning to his wife after an eleven year absence. Sounds a whole lot like the plot premise for the Iliad and Connors does go through some trials just like Ulysses did.

Eleven years earlier Connors married Kathryn Hays who faked a pregnancy to get her aunt Ruth Warrick to consent to the wedding. Hays is a few steps up the social scale from Connors. Anyway he hauls out and says he'll make a fortune and return.

But like Ulysses he stays away and on his return is set upon and actually branded with a running iron. The three who do it are a pair of bottom feeding sadists Bill Bixby and Claude Akins and also Michael Rennie who's a rich man courting Hays because he and everyone else think her husband is dead.

Connors ain't dead and when he wakes up he's going to take care of business the way Ulysses took care of all of Penelope's prospective suitors.

This no frills B western has a fine supporting cast to Connors and Hays. In very telling bits are Joan Blondell as a bordello madam and Gloria Grahame as an unfaithful wife having an affair with younger Bill Bixby. It's a flashback to the Forties and Fifties when Grahame was the big screen's number one trollop.

As for Bixby and Akins the two of them are incredible studies in villainy. Akins who in his big screen career played some of the biggest low life villains ever really hits rock bottom here. He overacts outrageously, but all to good effect.

Bixby is the first one who Connors catches up with and his devolution as a human being may contain his finest big screen performance. Later on Frank Gorshin in a small bit himself gives a description of Bixby's final moments that will unnerve you for days.

Ride Beyond Vengeance is one brutal and savage western which no way would have made it in the days of those cowboy heroes for Republic. This is one western recommended highly for adults and forbidden for little kids.

At the opening and closing scenes , in which appear the notorious secondaries Arthur O'Connell and James McArthur , there are frames on an old worn wooden caption which reads : " Coldiron , Texas site of the reprisal population 754¨ . Then , there happens some flashbacks concerning Jonas Trapp (Chuck Connors, whose name has been changed from "Julius Rupp" to "Jonas Trapp") falling in love with the charming Jessie (Kathryn Hays) , a wealthy and gorgeous girl out of his humble class . Against the wishes of her stiff-upper-lip aunt (Ruth Warrick) , she marries him , later faking a pregnancy to win her snobbish aunt's consent . But Jonas abandons his home to seek fame and fortune . Many years later , with his self-made fortune , he sets out to go back home, to meet his strong-willed spouse , only to be set upon by three sadistic , villian assailants (Claude Akins , Bill Bixby , and veteran Michael Rennie) ; matters quickly get worse when these marauders rob his money , mark a sign on his chest and leave him for dead . Robbed and left to die he is saved by a farmer who nurses him back to health, as the rescued Jonas becomes consumed by the desire for vendetta , now the hunted becomes the hunter and he is determined to stop a ruthless drunk gunfighter and other attacker townsmen . As fate would have it, all three men live close to Jonas' former home . No one will forget that night of vengeance when the tiger came back to stalk his prey! Their desires...their hatred...their violence exploded one furious night !The West had yet to see its greatest showdown...this was it !.They stalked each other like animals in the night knowing only one would survive

Nice-looking but far from run-of-the-mill Western , including some novelties , but also with usual elements , such as franctic action , thrills , crossfire , drama , romance and some spectacular action scenes . Along with a love triangle in which implicates trio starring , as Jonas/Connors reunites with his wife Jessie/Kathryn Hays, only to discover that she is now engaged to Brooks/ Michael Rennie. The plot is plain and simple , a man results to be chased , ambushed , stolen , mistreated and humiliated by a nasty band ; now as a revenger seeks vendeta against those stole him , they are : a drunken gunslinger : Claude Akins , an elegant womanizer : Bill Bixby with several loving affairs and a wealthy owner : Michael Rennie . A blending of functional main actors with great character players of whom Chuck Connors holds the best role as a brave gunman seeking revenge in Spaghetti Western style , in fact this film is really influenced by the Italian Western , using its main motives : a relentless vengeance and spontaneous burts of violence . The movie titled¨Ride beyond vengence¨ changed its title from that of its source , a 1956 novel called "The Night of the Tiger," written by Al Dewlen , and also based on the names of the characters in the movie, with some brief exception . A warm and thrilling storyline and thanks to a personable realization and overwhelming action scenes makes an enjoyable movie , a real pleasure to listen to as well as watch . The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with frenetic action , breathtaking shooting , thrills , treason , rivalry , twists and turns . And a thrilling and exciting ending , containing a breathtaking fistfight with punches , leaps , slaps , knocks ...that is deemed by many as one of the best ever to show up in a film , western or otherwise . Chuck Connors gives a tough and two-fisted performance often emphasized by his muscular 6'6" physique . He plays a strong man who tired of living off of his wife's family, then eventually deserts her to become a buffalo hunter . Connors had a decent acting career , though Baseball had always been Connors' first love, and for the next several years he knocked about the minor leagues . Shortly after , devoted full time to his playing career, which often emphasized his impressive physique and height . Then a MGM casting director spotted Connors and recommended him for a part in the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn comedy Pat and Mike (1952). Originally cast to play a prizefighter, but that role went instead to Aldo Ray and Connors was cast as a captain in the state police . He now abandoned his athletic hopes and employed full time to his performancing career . During the next several years Connors made 20 movies, culminating in a key role in William Wyler's 1958 western The Big Country (1958) and a successful Sci-Fi , Soylent Green , along with his friend Charlton¨Chuck¨Heston . Also appearing in many television series , he finally hit the big time in 1958 with The Rifleman (1958), and it was ranked #32 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" , it began its highly successful five-year run on ABC . Other television series followed , as did a number of movies which , though mostly minor, allowed Connors to display his range as both a stalwart "good guy" and a menacing "heavy". Chuck played various Westerns , such as : The hired gun , The deserter , Pancho Villa, Bordello, Texas Train and especially Geronimo ; he even performed a Spaghetti Western made in Italy : Kill Them All and Come Back Alone . Connors died at age 71 of lung cancer and pneumonia on November 10, 1992 in Los Angeles, California . Chuck is well accompanied by a very good support cast , such as : Michael Rennie as a mean , arrogant banker , Ruth Warrick as the strict aunt , Joan Blondell as a gossipy villager , Gloria Grahame as a cheating spouse having an affair , Gary Merrill as Jonas' foster dad , Bill Bixby as a violent seducer , Claude Akins as an alcoholic killer , James McArthur as a Census controller visiting the small town , Arthur O'Connell as a barman , Buddy Baer as a bouncer , Robert Q. Lewis , William Bryant , Jamie Farr , Harry Harvey , and Frank Gorshin , the famous Riddler of Batman series as a greedy ranch hand.

Well financed by Columbia Pictures (1966) and Andrew J. Fenady , producer who also wrote the screenplay along with author Al Lewden who created the novel "The Night of the Tiger" . And atmospheric soundtrack by Richard Markowitz , adding wonderful song at the beginning and ending . It is titled : ¨You Can't Ever Go Home Again¨ with Music by Richard Markowitz , Lyrics by Andrew J. Fenady and Sung by Glenn Yarbrough . It packs an evocative and adequate cinematography by Lester Shorr , but in television style . Being original and professionally directed by craftsman Bernard McEveety . He was a nice artisan who directed a lot of episodes of TV series and telefilms , such as : Jim West , Planet of Apes , The quest , How the West Was Won , Marcus Welby Gunsmoke , B.J. and the Bear , Banacek , Las Vegas , Centennial , S.W.A.T. , Hawaii 5.0 , Petrocelli , The mask of Alexander , Cimarron , Three for the Road , The Rockford cases, and The Big Valley . Bernard ocassionally directed for big screen , such as : Broken Sabre , Napoleón y Samantha , One Little Indian and Brotherhood of Satan . Rating : 6.5/10 . Acceptable , passable and decent Western . Well worth watching .

This may well be the best role Chuck Connors ever had outside of his regular TV series work. A griping tale of a man who leaves his wife to go off and make a fortune for her only to return 10 years later. A return that is met with rejection by the woman he left behind and a brutal beating and robbing that leaves the man branded as a thief. An action that sets him down a road of vengeance against the three men who robbed him and sets the entire town on edge. With excellent performances by Bill Bixby, Michael Rennie, Kathryn Hayes and Claude Adkins as a borderline psychotic who talks to his invisible friend "Whiskey Man." This one is definitely worth catching and of late has appeared many times on the Westerns Channel where it is shown uncut and without commercial interruption which helps to add even more to the movement of the story. A film filled with many great actors who are all sadly either gone or no longer practicing their craft today. All of whom give the viewer some of their best performances ever. As for during the 60s when this was made, it would have definitely had an audience in those drive-in theaters of yesterday. An excellent one all around.

This is a darn fine movie, but it does not have the character development that many are claiming. The town, and the movie as a whole, has many odd characters, but we don't know much about why they are odd. We simply know that they are odd. Even Bixby is not developed. He starts as a psycho. He's a psycho in the middle. And he's a psycho at the end.

The character development is substantial on Connors (the good guy), Rennie (the bad guy), and Hays (the good guy's wife who is now with the bad guy). But is it good character development? Not really.

Connor's character could fall in love and marry, but he wouldn't have let the Aunt influence his marriage or his wife. He certainly would have left his home and wife as he did, but he never would have let himself get into that situation in the first place.

Rennie did play a guy who could turn bad, but he didn't play a stupid man. He wouldn't have let things get so far out of hand. At almost every turn, Rennie could have stopped Connors. Yet somehow, he lets things get worse and worse. Rennie's character was smart and knew how to manipulate people and situations. He could have killed Connors. He could have hired someone to do it. He could have returned the money anonymously. He could have framed anybody, living or dead, as the thief. He could have just stayed home. Even if he had just stayed home, it would have been enough. Stay home, Rennie, stay home. Let the town deal with Connors.

Hays played a woman who could fall in love with Connors under the right circumstances, but the character she played would not have fallen in love unless Connors was rich and/or if Connors had the approval of her aunt. Her character was weak and could never stand on her own. At least, that is who she was early on when a weak character was necessary. Later in the movie, she became strong and hard. I guess her aunt told her to do that. At the end, she became soft and warm towards Connors. I guess her aunt must have died by then. She was at least as psycho as Bixby from what I can tell. I'm sure she spent her remaining years taking care of her houseful of cats and screaming at anyone who used her sidewalk.

How come Connors was smart enough to save all that money, but he was too dumb to get a bank draft? How come Connors really hoped that he would be able to get a shave when he entered that campsite, but he was too dumb to stop anywhere along the way and buy a shave? How come Connors wanted so much to see his ex-wife, but he didn't even think about spending any of his money on a bath, a shave, and a set of clothes? Bixby and Akers went on and on about how bad Connors stunk. Are we supposed to believe that Connors thought his high-born wife wouldn't mind the smell? There are only two characters that are necessary to this movie: Connors and Akins. It would be the exact same movie if Bixby, Rennie, O'Connell, Hays, Blondell and the rest were replaced, rewritten or discarded. It is a simple story of vengeful good versus pure evil. Jimmy Stewart played that role several times. So did Eastwood, Wayne, and most of the other macho stars. First the star has something bad happen to him. Then he spends the rest of the picture trying to set things right. At the very end, good triumphs over evil. It works well because, when the whupping starts, the audience is really rooting for the good guy.

So why is it a great movie? Because it is a great western with great actors. There are many fine actors in this movie, and they all do a stand-up job. It is excellent. If you like westerns or dark film noir, you will like this. It is a much better movie than Johnny Guitar.

But, just like in Johnny Guitar, you can pick apart the plot and character development without even trying.

Returning home after toiling eleven years as a buffalo hunter in order to to provide for his rich, estranged wife, Chuck Conners (in a terrific performance) is beaten, branded, and robbed of his life savings by banker/gambler Michael Rennie, psychotic dandy Bill Bixby, and drunken cowboy Claude Akins. (and Akins imaginary friend!) Needless to say that Chuck's infuriated when he finds out that Rennie is courting his wife.

Ride Beyond Vengeance is uniquely bookended by modern scenes of a visiting census taker being told the story by a bartender, in the exact place where Conners' vengeance went down. It gives the unfolding events both a feel of historical significance and a sense of western mythology.

Co-produced by game-show impresario Mark Goodson, this is stark, mean film, truly top-notch in terms of characterization and story. Anyone who thinks the Italians had a monopoly on hard-boiled, violent westerns in the sixties really should see this!

Bixby is a lot of fun to watch, especially in the scene where he's confronted by Conners on a lonely road and made to squirm. Frank Gorshin's description of the aftermath is incredible!

An exciting climax features one helluva rowdy fight between Between Chuck and Claude Akins.

I highly recommend this!