SYNOPSICS
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) is a English movie. Jesse Hibbs has directed this movie. Audie Murphy,Gia Scala,Walter Matthau,Henry Silva are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1958. Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) is considered one of the best Romance,Western movie in India and around the world.
After robbing a bank Murphy assumes the identity of his pursuer, a famous US Marshal, when he stumbles into a town and is confronted by the local judge, Matthau. Murphy is forced to remain as the new Marshal; an old flame, Scala, nearly unmasks him by accident, only to be forced to assume the ruse of being Murphy's wife. The "couple" given a house and respectability, which neither has had before. They maintain the charade to avoid hurting a young orphan boy, Matthau's ward. Scala is torn by her loyalty to boyfriend planning to rob the bank and growing feelings for Murphy.
Same Actors
Same Director
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) Reviews
Offbeat Audie Murphy western elevated by Matthau
RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL is an Audie Murphy western distinguished by good writing and a flamboyant early role for Walter Matthau as a silver-haired, hard-drinking, shotgun-toting judge in a growing river town. It has surprisingly little action for a Murphy western, but it's consistently engaging thanks to a group of interesting, well-etched characters, a strong cast, some welcome humor, and a script by western veteran Borden Chase (WINCHESTER '73, BEND OF THE RIVER, THE FAR COUNTRY, BACKLASH, etc.). Murphy was always at his best when surrounded by solid co-stars and here he's got Matthau as a persistent father figure; Gia Scala as a femme fatale ripe for reform; and Henry Silva as an outlaw gang leader. Murphy plays a wanted outlaw himself who is mistaken by Matthau for a missing marshal (who'd fallen off a cliff while pursuing Murphy) and soon has to assume the functions of the marshal's office in order to keep up the charade and escape detection. When Scala gets off the riverboat from New Orleans, she recognizes Murphy and calls him by his real name, "Maybe," forcing Murphy to cover up by telling Matthau Scala is his wife. But Scala is there to case the town's bank for Silva, so she has to act the respectable lady for a few days till Silva and company come to town. Both she and, later, Silva expect Murphy to help with the bank job. After a while, Matthau starts to get suspicious, even as Murphy begins to grow comfortable in the marshal's job. Added to the mix are a precocious orphan boy (Eddie Little) and a dog who, true to form, gradually tug at Audie's and Gia's heartstrings. Murphy seems more relaxed here than usual. Perhaps he was grateful for the opportunity to turn the more attention-getting dramatics over to Matthau. Murphy also has good chemistry with Scala, who is quite attractive and confident here in a way that looks forward to Isabella Rossellini (who played a similar role in Lawrence Kasdan's WYATT EARP, 1994, with Kevin Costner). Joanna Moore (mother of Tatum O'Neal) makes an attractive saloon girl. Mort Mills has a small, vivid part as one of Silva's gang and his appearance will be enjoyed by those who recall him as Charlton Heston's sympathetic colleague in TOUCH OF EVIL the same year and as the highway patrolman who stops Janet Leigh in PSYCHO. Most of the film was shot in a western town set on the Universal Pictures backlot, although a few chase-and-cattle scenes take place on location late in the film. It's a relatively light-hearted film for screenwriter Chase, who wrote or co-wrote so many harder-edged westerns, but it turns out to be among the best of the roughly two dozen westerns Murphy made at Universal.
For this kind of film, this is as good as it gets!
For a modestly budgeted, unambitious horse opera, this is as good as it gets. Audie Murphy's Western vehicles of the 50s don't command the respect of Randolph Scott's or Joel McCrea's, but they are just as entertaining. A few of them ("No Name On The Bullet," "Posse From Hell") have an unusual edge that makes them noteworthy, but this one simply transcends its limitations to be a damned good entertainment. Walter Matthau steals every scene he's in as an alcoholic judge, while Murphy's subtly nervous performance as the would-be outlaw pretending he's a respected lawman may remind one of David Janssen as TV's "The Fugitive." Audie reportedly was uncomfortable with romantic scenes, but here he handles some innuendo-laden dialogue with Gia Scala quite nicely. Henry Silva and Mort Mills provide some surprisingly restrained (for this sort of thing) villainy. The premise (good-at-heart outlaw is reformed by wearing a badge) was old hat, but the execution is great! Set your expectations for a medium budgeted Western with no pretensions, and you won't be disappointed. You may even be pleasantly surprised.
great audie murphy western
i really enjoyed this western as i always liked audie murphy westerns. also a great performance by walter matthau as the crusty old judge. also gia scala is great as the bad girl with a big heart i wish they would show this, other audie murphy movies and all the 50's westerns from universal-international on tcm. also what do we have to do to get these great old western from universal on DVD? "ride a crooked trail" rates up there with me with "the cimmaron kid" "night passage" "the duel at silver creek" and the "unforgiven" as audie's great westerns. they put out old black & white westerns from the 30's and 40's from other studios but why don't they put universal's great color westerns from the 50's out on DVD
showcase for Mattheau
This was a good Westrn, pretty much of a formula Western of Hollywood from 1950 to 1990, in which the hero begins as a bad guy. One wonders if a Western hero could ever have started out good to be a Hollywood hero. The answer is "no". Murphy plays an outlaw who assumes the identity of a lawman whom he sees fall off a cliff. He becomes a celebrity in a town where the law in a roguish judge played by Walter Mattheau. The movie is more of a showcase for him than anything, and he does brilliantly. People who know who Audie Murphy really is show up with ulterior motives, and Murphy finds himself in the middle. No doubt, most people will find the main character's part a bit formula, but likewise, most people will enjoy Mattheau very much. A lot of likable aspects to this story. Not packed with gunplay, but there are several guns going off. Enough action to keep 98% of the audience interested. Lots to like.
Maybe I'm amazed ....
.....when I look at Audie Murphy's filmography ;apart from Huston ,Siegel and Mankiewicz,it's mostly B movies .That does not mean they were not good;this actor sometimes got excellent screenplays:"no name on the bullet" is a good example. Like "hell bent for leather","ride on a crooked trail" -which perfectly depicts the hero's life till...-is a case of mistaken identity.The story may seem trite ,but the characters are colorful and there's more humor than in the average western. Walter Matthau as the grumpy kind-hearted judge accentuates the comedy side of the film.Henry Silva restores the balance . In his movies ,boyish Murphy had always had a bizarre Relationship with women (in one of his roles,he's alone in a fort and he's got to teach them the soldier job):here he sleeps in the bathtub and cooks breakfast for his "wife " Gia Scala (the future traitor in "guns of Navarone" ).There's actually a good chemistry between the two stars who must pretend they are husband and wife ,which gives good lines when Murphy says that "this bank is almost his" and his companion,very interested in the place too,has to be involved in women's club ,which is not her cup of tea (in both senses of the term). Even more interesting is the friendship between Murphy and the little brat ;both are waifs ,raised in bars ,and if the judge considers his marshal a little as his adoptive son,the cute Jimmy feels that he might find a family too .Anyway,both the judge and the kid ,who leaves the house he 'd like to call home,guess there's something wrong: two married persons share the same bedroom and the same bed ,every kid knows that. Jimmy is a strong kid who knows what he wants : we see him study - which is very rare in westerns-,and finally he plays a prominent part in Maybe's redemption.