Ramrod main backdrop
Ramrod main poster

6.5/10 • 50

1947-05-021h 35m

Western

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.

Directors
André de Toth
Editors
Sherman A. Rose

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Joel McCrea

    Joel McCrea

    Dave Nash

  2. Veronica Lake

    Veronica Lake

    Connie Dickason

  3. Don DeFore

    Don DeFore

    Bill Schell

  4. Donald Crisp

    Donald Crisp

    Jim Crew

  5. Preston Foster

    Preston Foster

    Frank Ivey

  6. Arleen Whelan

    Arleen Whelan

    Rose Leland

  7. Charles Ruggles

    Charles Ruggles

    Ben Dickason

  8. Lloyd Bridges

    Lloyd Bridges

    Red Cates

  9. Nestor Paiva

    Nestor Paiva

    Curley

Reviews1

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

May 11, 2019

8/10

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

Media

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  • Ramrod poster
  • Ramrod poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
ranchwestern noir