'Ride the High Country' is early Sam Peckinpah. Set 1905ish, two philosophical former lawmen and a cocky kid take a job transporting gold for a bank through dangerous territory. Along the way they pick up a woman torn between a religiously domineering father and a shady fiancé. Smart, ruminative, funny, even a little scary. Final film of Randolph Scott and screen debut of Mariette Hartly. Also staring Joel McCrea.
The film feel like it takes a long digression or two in the middle, but it's wonderful slice of life stuff. and ties in nicely to the overall plot. You can feel some of 'The Westerner', the TV series that Peckinpah had made a few years before this film, really imbedded in the pictures DNA, tone, tempo, and story wise. Contains what may be the best wedding speech in film history. ***
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