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Two very different yet compatible stars of the early 1950s, Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward sizzle on the screen together in a film focusing on the world of rodeo, which includes a significant amount of media frenzy, partying and drinking, as well as putting one's life on the line every time out.
Director Nicholas Ray has a beautiful set-up here: once-famous rodeo star Jeff McCloud (Mitchum) gets involved with an ambitious cowboy and his beautiful wife who desire to buy their own ranch and settle down. In order to pay for this dream, they set out on the road to tour various competitions. Along the way, the husband gets carried away with success while Mitchum finds himself ever more attracted to the steel-eyed wife (Hayward).
Ray maintains a competent degree of seriousness and professionalism within the personal scenes, not allowing them to become fodder for soapy action. This balances nicely with the rodeo footage, taken from live competitions but edited beautifully for a smooth addition to the story. It helps, of course, that the chemistry between Hayward and Mitchum is palpable, yet Mitchum still steals the entire show with his trademark disinterested, aloof personality. He remains ever so slightly out of our understanding yet remains the kind of mystery we feel needs to be solved. Just another reason why after all these years Robert Mitchum remains one of the most iconic and iconoclastic actors in Hollywood history.
score /10
bobsgrock 5 February 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2749099/ |
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24-2-2021 00:06:07