Ride the Pink Horse
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| Ride the Pink Horse | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Montgomery |
| Produced by | Joan Harrison |
| Written by | Story: Dorothy B. Hughes Screenplay: Ben Hecht Charles Lederer |
| Starring | Robert Montgomery Wanda Hendrix |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Editing by | Ralph Dawson |
| Distributed by | Universal International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 8, 1947 (U.S.A.) |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Ride the Pink Horse (1947) is an American crime film noir produced by Universal Studios. It was directed by the actor Robert Montgomery from a screenplay by Ben Hecht, which was based on a novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes. The drama features Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, Andrea King, Thomas Gomez, among others. Gomez was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.[1]
An ex-GI known only as Gagin travels to San Pablo, a rural New Mexican town, to revenge the death of his old war time buddy. As a man devoid of identity, some of the villagers refer to Gagin as "the man with no place."
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[edit] Plot
Gagin (Robert Montgomery) arrives on a bus in San Pablo, a small rural town in New Mexico during its annual fiesta. He plans to confront and blackmail money from a mobster named Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) as retribution for the death of his best friend Shorty.
While Gagin waits for Hugo's arrival in his hotel room, an FBI agent Bill Retz (Art Smith) approaches and asks him to turn over any incriminating information he may have on Hugo so the federal government can prosecute him. Gagin denies having any information and says he's in town only as a tourist.
Gagin has other plans than the prosecution of the mobster and when he's not able to shake the FBI agent, he takes refuge at an old carousel owned by the Pancho (Thomas Gomez). At the carousel he meets Pila (Wanda Hendrix) an Indian teenage peasant who refuses to leave his side despite his efforts to discourage her.
When Pila witnesses an attempt to kill Gagin, she and Pancho nurse Gagin's wounds, but she cannot stop him from confronting the gangster again when he regains his strength. This time Gagin gets the better of the situation and defeats the mobster but is tricked by his henchmen. FBI agent Retz, alerted by Pila, intervenes and Hugo is killed.
[edit] Background
According to Alain Silver, the antique "Tio Vivo Carousel" built in 1882 in Taos, New Mexico, was the model for the carousel in the novel Ride The Pink Horse. The same carousel was purchased by the producers and shipped from Taos to the set of Universal where it was reconstructed for use in the film.[2]
[edit] Noir analysis
A common theme in noir films is war and post-war disillusionment; the disillusionment felt by many soldiers in returning to a peacetime economy was directly mirrored in the sordidness of the urban crime film. In these films a serviceman returns from the war to find his sweetheart unfaithful or a good friend dead. The war continues, but now the antagonism turns with a new viciousness toward the American society itself. This is the theme of Ride the Pink Horse, yet in a different environment. Ex-GI Gagin's quest to revenge his friend's death leads him to a small village in rural New Mexico, extending the noir motif that murder and mayhem needs the polluted city landscape to create film noir.[3]
[edit] Cast
- Robert Montgomery as Lucky Gagin
- Wanda Hendrix as Pilar
- Andrea King as Marjorie Lundeen
- Thomas Gomez as Pancho
- Fred Clark as Frank Hugo
- Art Smith as Bill Retz
- Richard Gaines as Jonathan
- Rita Conde as Carla
- Iris Flores as Maria
- Tito Renaldo as Bellboy
- Grandon Rhodes as Mr. Edison, Hotel Desk Clerk
- Martin Garralaga as Barkeeper
- Edward Earle as Locke
- Harold Goodwin as Red
- Maria Cortez as Elevator Girl
[edit] Critical reaction
Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times in 1947, liked the film and especially Robert Montgomery's direction, and wrote, "...Mr. Montgomery, as director and star of this story, has contrived to make it look shockingly literal and keep it moving at an unrelenting pace. And he has also managed to lace it with grisly action and rugged sentiment without deceit. Indeed, he has artfully fashioned a fascinating film within the genre. He has done something else exceptional; he has given the other actors a real chance." Crowther also praised the work of Fred Clark and Wanda Hendrix.[4]
[edit] Adaptation
The film was later remade as a 1964 TV movie called The Hanged Man, starring Robert Culp and directed by Don Siegel.[5]
[edit] Awards
Nominations
- Academy Awards: Oscar; Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Thomas Gomez; 1948.
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Ride the Pink Horse at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Silver, Alain, and Elizabeth Ward, eds. Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, film noir analysis by Alain Silver, page 242, 3rd edition, 1992. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press, ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
- ^ Cobb, Sean. Film Noir: The Trouble with Genre, University of Arizona, 2005. Last accessed: December 7, 2007.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, October 9, 1947. Last accessed: January 29, 2008.
- ^ The Hanged Man (television film) at the Internet Movie Database.
[edit] External links
- Ride the Pink Horse at the Internet Movie Database
- Ride the Pink Horse at Allmovie
- Ride the Pink Horse at the TCM Movie Database
- Ride the Pink Horse at Film Noir of the Week
- Ride the Pink Horse images of film
- Ride the Pink Horse at University of Texas by Eric Enders
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