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Pretty Good

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

THE RIVER'S EDGE is a solid 1950s Hollywood adventure film, not one of the best I've seen but with enough rugged scenery and quality performing to make it an enjoyable experience. It reminded me a little of the Robert Ryan film INFERNO and while not as good as that, it still packs a punch with some surprisingly vicious violence for the era. The film makes full benefit of the Mexican locations with the rugged scenery proving a real hit throughout and becoming a character in itself.Ray Milland is a delight as the villain of the piece, all scheming and bravado. A little like his role in DIAL M FOR MURDER and very nearly as good. Anthony Quinn is a likable hero, perhaps not the first actor you'd think of to play the dirt rancher and tracker, but a nice fit by the end of it. Debra Paget has the most complex role as the femme fatale of the piece and although her character isn't remotely likable, she's thoroughly convincing in the part. For a film with just three characters on screen for most of the running time, THE RIVER'S EDGE offers endless twists and turns, plenty of suspense, and a good if inevitable ending.

Not a western but a well shot and performed drama set in the West. The story is rather ordinary but benefits from the role reversal of Ray Milland, usually the hero and Anthony Quinn, often the heavy but in opposite roles here. Even at the relatively brief running time the script could have been tightened a bit but overall a good film. One caveat-it would take a great deal to make a woman as stunning as Debra Paget was in her prime look bad but the filmmakers almost achieve that feat. Saddled with unflattering makeup and frightening Lucille Ball red hair that never moves no matter what travail she is enduring her beauty is almost completely obscured.

Harold Jacob Smith co-adapted his own short story "The Highest Mountain" about a cattle rancher near the Mexico border who reluctantly harbors a fugitive; seems the rancher's new bride was once a pushover for this manicured killer, and now she's involved with him again. Handsomely-produced, sloppily-directed crime-drama with western applets doesn't seem to have anywhere to go after the set-up is clear. A few senseless murders don't do much to enhance Ray Milland's crook-in-a-suit (he's passable, but that's all); Debra Paget isn't bad as the fiery woman caught between the two men, however Anthony Quinn's performance in the lead strikes gold. Alternately a big brother and a daddy-bear husband to Paget, Quinn knows exactly how to handle this scenario, and never overplays. One comes away wanting to know more about this character and hoping he'll be all right--and that's solely due to Quinn's acting. The cinematography and the score (which pushes the oldie "You'll Never Know" a bit strenuously) are both classy, but director Allan Dwan doesn't know how to stage this showdown, and occasionally one loses patience. ** from ****

This movie shows the good and bad side of people. When the main character obtains his rich fortune from steeling a million dollars, he seeks his former lover to share his life. This movie shows what love and wealth can do to people when times are tough. It seemed, as the main character had to kill two people, it was not done in hate but to reach his goals, as a person would do to protect his belongings. I saw a good side in the main characters side and having a tragic end when he tries to do something good. The lady in the movie seemed to shift loves too easily and not something I see as a good quality. The Rancher showed his love to his wife during these turbulent experiences and ended up bonding with his wife over these trials.