Fritz Lang's final western is watchable because of it's strangeness.We start with the nominal hero(Arthur Kennedy)in happy mood with his future wife,who is promptly brutally murdered by two villains,one of whom shoots the other afterwards over an argument over money.
Kennedy's thirst for revenge eventually takes him to a ranch run by former showgirl Marlene Dietrich,which is a haven for various killers,bad guys,gunfighters,etc.The man who carried out the brutal killing(Lloyd Gough)is one of the said above,and it takes Kennedy until the film's last few minutes to find out.
There are many positive aspects of the film,but as many negative.Lang's moody,Teutonic direction is a major plus here,as are fine performances by Arthur Kennedy and Marlene Dietrich,but others,such as a badly miscast Mel Ferrer,a very dated linking ballad which tends to provoke unintentional derision nowadays,and some highly unconvincing outdoor studio sets made even more so by colour(the film probably would have been more effective in Black and White).
One interesting piece of trivia:Lloyd Gough,who plays the brutal killer Kinch,did not receive a credit despite his pivotal role in RANCHO NOTORIOUS.This was because his left-wing politics fell foul of the House Un-American activities Commitee,and RKO boss Howard Hughes.As a result,Gough was blacklisted from Hollywood after this film,and did not appear in another until 15 years later(TONY ROME,1967).
Kennedy's thirst for revenge eventually takes him to a ranch run by former showgirl Marlene Dietrich,which is a haven for various killers,bad guys,gunfighters,etc.The man who carried out the brutal killing(Lloyd Gough)is one of the said above,and it takes Kennedy until the film's last few minutes to find out.
There are many positive aspects of the film,but as many negative.Lang's moody,Teutonic direction is a major plus here,as are fine performances by Arthur Kennedy and Marlene Dietrich,but others,such as a badly miscast Mel Ferrer,a very dated linking ballad which tends to provoke unintentional derision nowadays,and some highly unconvincing outdoor studio sets made even more so by colour(the film probably would have been more effective in Black and White).
One interesting piece of trivia:Lloyd Gough,who plays the brutal killer Kinch,did not receive a credit despite his pivotal role in RANCHO NOTORIOUS.This was because his left-wing politics fell foul of the House Un-American activities Commitee,and RKO boss Howard Hughes.As a result,Gough was blacklisted from Hollywood after this film,and did not appear in another until 15 years later(TONY ROME,1967).