Watch Man in the Saddle For Free

So much average

Memorable, crazy movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Some of the reviews here nearly dissuaded me from watching this film, which doesn't seem to have been screened much on British TV (certainly I was unaware of it), whereas the Boetticcher and other later Scott Westerns are shown regularly."MITS" compared very well indeed with these, and the plot was different to those of "stranger riding into town and trouble"). It's been remarked that Scott was a bit old for the two female leads, but that was the case in many of his later Westerns (and Gary Cooper's too). The colour photography also added to my enjoyment of the film. It was good to see Guinn Williams in a role that wasn't his "comic sidekick" one, and also John Russell as a jealous admirer. Joan Leslie's romantic vacillations were a bit unconvincing, as were the final scenes.Unlike at least one previous reviewer, I didn't notice the differing appearances of Scott and his fight stand-in, and I doubt that cinema viewers in the early 1950s did either.(I've just checked the date of release, and was a little surprised, as the film had the "look" of one made late in the decade or even the early 1960s.)I'm glad that I watched it.

I love Randolph Scott westerns and have seen most of his films. However, unlike the vast majority of his wonderful films, this one left me feeling rather indifferent. Some of it is because the plot is oh so familiar, some of it is because the villains aren't particularly believable or interesting (Alexander Knox and Richard Rober were simply too bland for their roles) but I think a lot of it was because the motivations of the baddies were just too vague. It was like they were bad because they were caricatures--not real people. Sure, Knox's character was supposed to be jealous...but this didn't seem enough to explain his actions. And, oddly, for once, Randolph Scott also seemed aimless--at least for part of the film.Another problem, and I've seen this in a couple other Scott films is that the stunt doubles simply didn't look like the people they were doubling for in the film. While the difference between the stunt man and Scott wasn't as bad as the one in I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA!, it was pretty close. Again and again during the fight at the cabin by the waterfall, you could clearly see it wasn't him.Despite all these problems, I am not saying that this is a bad western---it isn't a particularly inspired or interesting one. And, from Randolph Scott you just wouldn't expect ordinary. This was 100% ordinary.

I have to say this is one of the better Randolph Scott pictures that I've seen from his career previous to the "Ranown" films. It has a much more compelling story than a lot of standard oaters from the 40s and 50s, with not one but two interesting female characters.Scott plays Owen Merritt, a tough rancher who is provoked into a range war by the uber-competitive Will Isham (Alexander Knox). Isham has married a former flame of Merritt's (Joan Leslie) and can't stand the thought that she might have residual feelings for Merritt. Also in the mix is the more tomboyish Ellen Drew who plays a neighboring rancher who helps Merritt and falls in love with him.There's a very interesting social subtext to the story with the two women -- the Leslie character is from a poor rural background but wants to escape her history, while the Drew character is more grounded and self-aware and doesn't want to run from her own life. The Knox character is also interesting, psychotic and yet noble. Richard Rober plays the more coldhearted gunslinger who he hires to do his dirty work, and the dynamic between Rober and Knox is interesting as well.I quite enjoyed it and will gladly watch it again. It's not hugely memorable, and the ending is a bit of a let-down, but it has quite a few nice moments and a good western atmosphere with a more interesting story and characters than most. Andre de Toth's direction is very efficient and stately.

Randolph Scott's westerns improved over the years, on the average they were better in the fifties than in the forties, and they reached their peak with "Hangman's Knot", "A Lawless Street" and those made with Budd Boetticher. "Man in the Saddle" is quite enjoyable with a lot of violent scenes: numerous shootouts and quite a fistfight with John Russel. Scott has a small ranch and is facing the jealousy of Will Isham (Alexander Knox) who is marrying Laurie (Joan Leslie) who used to be Owen Merrit(Scott)'s woman. Isham also wants to own all the property that he can and Merrit is on his way. Nan Melotte (Ellen Drew) also owns a ranch and is in love with Merrit who only has eyes for Laurie. The romantic scenes, which should be important lack luster. Scott could do much better as he showed in "The Tall T". Also some comic scenes with Alfonso Bedoya are not really that funny. But those are minor faults, in this fast paced, colorful western directed by Andre de Toth.