Ride In The Whirlwind

Ride In The Whirlwind
1966
Directed By Monte Hellman



SYNOPSIS

Three cowhands (Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Tom Filer) are headed to Texas. They stop and camp near a group of outlaws who just robbed a stagecoach. When a posse shows up the next morning, the cowhands are mistaken for being in the gang. The posse relentlessly pursues the cowhands hoping they hang from a rope.



MY THOUGHTS

An unusual B-movie western.

The script was written by Jack Nicholson (who also produced.) This was made as he still worked in several B-movies for director Roger Corman... and a few years before he became a superstar.
His script does avoid many cliches of the genre. There are no real heroes and no real villains. Every character, from the cowhands, to the posse, to the thieves, to the family, are just trying to survive in the harsh world. You could almost call the film 'artsy' but it completely lacks any pretentiousness.
This slow placed film is far from Nicholson's next two writing assignments as you could get... the very psychedelic drug films The Trip (starring Peter Fonda) and Head (starring The Monkees.)

The acting from all involved could be mistaken for being wooden. They play men who live off the land, not fancy talkers, so the performances fit. Always great character actor Harry Dean Stanton shines as Blind Dick, the leader of the outlaws. His role is really the only charismatic character in the film.

Ride In The Whirlwind is an offbeat and unique western.