I enjoyed this western more than I expected to. I am neither a big western fan nor a big Robert Mitchum fan and he is the star of Blood on the Moon. Mitchum is slowly winning me over however and it is gems like this that are doing the trick.
Robert Mitchum plays Jim Gary who is a want-to-be Texas rancher but is having a bit of hard luck. In need of money he takes a job offered by his friend Tate Riling. Before knowing the whole situation and while still traveling to meet his friend, Jim encounters cattleman John Lufton and his crew.
(I do want to interrupt by saying this movie starts with a lonely cowboy riding his horse in the dark and rain...it is sad, lonely and dark. I felt like it really set the mood for the film because there is no lonelier picture that dreary cowboy.)
After John's cattle wipe out Jim's campsite, John gets him fed and set back up asking he deliver a note to his daughters. On the way one of the two daughters, Amy Lufton, shoots at him not giving him a moment to explain anything and he follows up be teaching her a lesson.
In town when he meets up with Tate...he learns the whole story. Tate and some local rancher have Lufton's cattle trapped on reservation land. Lufton is working under a deadline set by the U. S. reservation land management officer (who is crooked and working with Tate) to get his cattle off the land or they become the soldier's cattle. The idea being that if he can't meet the deadline which they are actively preventing that he will sell his cattle at a rock bottom rate...and they will make out like the bandits they are. To help Tate has hired some less than savory characters and is working with someone in Lufton's camp.
This was a great story and good for a western as it showcased greed, men's pride, revenge, and that western philosophy of doing the right thing.
The painted scenery (I am assuming it was painted) was spectacular and the real dessert terrain was great. It was neat to see the snow trip toward the end. Another big treat for me was seeing Barbara Bel Geddes...so young. She plays the younger daughter of John Lufton, Amy, and she is a bit of a spitfire with a mind of her own.
This was a wonderful western and I am not sure why it doesn't get more love. I highly recommend it!
Robert Mitchum plays Jim Gary who is a want-to-be Texas rancher but is having a bit of hard luck. In need of money he takes a job offered by his friend Tate Riling. Before knowing the whole situation and while still traveling to meet his friend, Jim encounters cattleman John Lufton and his crew.
(I do want to interrupt by saying this movie starts with a lonely cowboy riding his horse in the dark and rain...it is sad, lonely and dark. I felt like it really set the mood for the film because there is no lonelier picture that dreary cowboy.)
After John's cattle wipe out Jim's campsite, John gets him fed and set back up asking he deliver a note to his daughters. On the way one of the two daughters, Amy Lufton, shoots at him not giving him a moment to explain anything and he follows up be teaching her a lesson.
In town when he meets up with Tate...he learns the whole story. Tate and some local rancher have Lufton's cattle trapped on reservation land. Lufton is working under a deadline set by the U. S. reservation land management officer (who is crooked and working with Tate) to get his cattle off the land or they become the soldier's cattle. The idea being that if he can't meet the deadline which they are actively preventing that he will sell his cattle at a rock bottom rate...and they will make out like the bandits they are. To help Tate has hired some less than savory characters and is working with someone in Lufton's camp.
This was a great story and good for a western as it showcased greed, men's pride, revenge, and that western philosophy of doing the right thing.
The painted scenery (I am assuming it was painted) was spectacular and the real dessert terrain was great. It was neat to see the snow trip toward the end. Another big treat for me was seeing Barbara Bel Geddes...so young. She plays the younger daughter of John Lufton, Amy, and she is a bit of a spitfire with a mind of her own.
This was a wonderful western and I am not sure why it doesn't get more love. I highly recommend it!