Western

Ramrod

- Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.

Release Date : 1947-05-02

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Enterprise ProductionsUnited Artists

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Dave Nash

Original Name : Joel McCrea

Gender : Male

Character Name : Connie Dickason

Original Name : Veronica Lake

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bill Schell

Original Name : Don DeFore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jim Crew

Original Name : Donald Crisp

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frank Ivey

Original Name : Preston Foster

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rose Leland

Original Name : Arleen Whelan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ben Dickason

Original Name : Charles Ruggles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Red Cates

Original Name : Lloyd Bridges

Gender : Male

Character Name : Curley

Original Name : Nestor Paiva

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ed Burma

Original Name : Ray Teal

Gender : Male

Character Name : George Smedley

Original Name : Houseley Stevenson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Link Thoms

Original Name : Ward Wood

Gender : Male

Character Name : Walt Shipley

Original Name : Ian MacDonald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Virg Lea

Original Name : Wally Cassell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Parks

Original Name : Sarah Padden

Gender : Female

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own. And, being a woman, I won't have to use guns. Ramrod is directed by Andre DeToth and collectively written by Luke Short, Jack Moffitt, C. Graham Baker and Cecile Kramer. It stars Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Don DeFore, Donald Crisp, Preston Foster, Arlene Whelan and Charles Ruggles. Music is by Adloph Deutsch and cinematography by Russell Harlan. Sick of self proclaimed bully boss of the valley Frank Ivey (Foster) getting his way, hard driven Connie Dickason (Lake) sets up the Circle 66 Ranch. Hiring Dave Nash (McRea) as her ranch foreman (ramrod), Connie uses tricks and feminine wiles to win the personal battles to hand - which may well spell bad news for everyone... Ramrod was the first Western directed by De Toth, and it's quite an impressive genre start. Splendidly capturing the film noir zeitgeist that was occurring at this time, pic looks terrific, De Toth and Harlan bring perfect monochrome moodiness for narrative compliance. The story pulses with psychological beats, the characters ranging from damaged addicts, the lovelorn and the lost, the power crazy and the cowardly, and right there at the core of it all is a femme fatale who is very much all woman but manipulative, bitter and destructive to the bone! Story has a number of splinters lifting it out of the ordinary, the twists and turns not ridiculous, the sly machinations of principals are devilishly enjoyable for the like minded noir of heart. The plotting is clinically smart by not being ordinary, De Toth toying with the traditional tropes of the good versus bad Western staples. It's fair to say that Ramrod will reward more on further viewings, where it has the power to have the viewer dissecting the Freudian angles on show. Cast are well suited to their respective roles. Lake rightly deglamourizes for Connie, and yet she carries a steely sexiness that has you understanding how men fall under her spell. McRea underplays it perfectly, he got the dupe role down pat, whilst DeFore steals the men acting honours as Bill Schell, who is Dave's mate, a jumping bean loose cannon dealing death with a nod and a wink. Support cast all come out in credit to seal the deal, for Ramrod is a must see for those who like Western and film noir hybrids. 8/10