I have really enjoyed Randolph Scott's presence in films at both both bookends of his career, having previously seen him in the pre-Code 'Hot Saturday' (1932) and his last film, Sam Peckinpah's first great film, 'Ride the High Country' (1962), as well as a few in between ('Pittsburgh', 'Virginia City' and 'My Favorite Wife' most readily come to mind), so I thought it was high time to visit some of his most influential films, the Western collaborations with Budd Boetticher.

Scott has a really unique presence in these films. So far, I have seen three of the seven they made together, and he doesn't romance, he seems a tortured, troubled soul, even in the almost comedic, 'Buchanan Rides Alone'. This was another excellent script by Burt Kennedy, finely scored and photographed. It was clear that this was a well-run filmic organization, that really knew what in tarnations they were doing. Rare is the film that is short but sweet. I consider this a 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' kind of movie, in that it's not too long, not too short, but just right. Though not quite as good as its predecessor, 'Ride Lonesome', I still didn't have the heart to give it a lower rating.

I know the Western genre as a whole tends to get short shrift these days, but when you see the great ones, it makes you really glad somebody made them--and that Boetticher and Scott made a lot more than simply seven together.