Ramrod (film)

Last updated

Ramrod
Ramrod poster.jpg
Movie poster for Ramrod (1947)
Directed by Andre de Toth
Written by Luke Short (story)
Jack Moffitt
C. Graham Baker
Cecile Kramer
Produced by Harry Sherman
Starring Joel McCrea
Veronica Lake
Preston Foster
Don DeFore
Cinematography Russell Harlan
Music by Adolph Deutsch
Production
companies
Sherman Pictures
Enterprise
Distributed by
Release date
  • May 2, 1947 (1947-05-02)
Running time
95 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$ 2 million [2] or $1.5 million [3]
Box office$2 million [3]

Ramrod is a 1947 American Western film directed by Andre de Toth and starring Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Preston Foster and Don DeFore. This cowboy drama from Hungarian director de Toth was the first of several films based on the stories of Western author Luke Short. De Toth's first Western is often compared to films noir released around the same time. Leading lady Veronica Lake was then married to director de Toth. The supporting cast features Donald Crisp, Charles Ruggles, Lloyd Bridges and Ray Teal.

Contents

Plot

Connie Dickason is the strong-willed daughter of a ranch owner who is under the control of powerful local cattleman Frank Ivey, a man her father once wanted Connie to marry. Instead, Connie takes up with a sheep rancher who is run out of town by Ivey, leaving behind a note that he is handing the title of his ranch over to Connie.

The conniving and manipulative Connie persuades ranch hand Dave Nash to be her "ramrod," or ranch foreman. He recruits an old pal, Bill Schell, who bends the law to his own purposes now and then but is fiercely loyal to Dave, to come help him run the ranch and fend off the ruthless Ivey.

Rose Leland is in love with Dave and he feels great affection toward her. Connie seduces both Dave and Bill to do her bidding, however. She even persuades Bill to stampede her own cattle, without Dave's knowledge, just so Ivey will appear guilty to the law. Sheriff Jim Crew goes to arrest Ivey and is shot down in cold blood. Dave is ambushed by a couple of Ivey's men. He kills one of them, Red Cates, but is badly wounded. Bill hides him, but Connie carelessly exposes their hideout. Bill volunteers to distract Ivey and his men while Dave turns to Rose for shelter. Ivey hunts down Bill in the mountains and shoots him in the back.

Dave has had enough. He confronts Ivey in the street, armed with only a shotgun, but beats him to the draw. Connie is delighted. At last, she has her land and her man. Dave, though, wants nothing more to do with her, returning to Rose's arms.

Cast

Production

It was the first film from the independent production company Enterprise and was Lake's first movie as a star outside Paramount. Per the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, production took place from late May to early August 1946. [4] Shooting took place in Zion National Park and Grafton, Utah. [5] [6] :288

Reception

Critical

The film received a positive review from The New York Times , which said in summary "the director, scenarists and cast, many of whom are no strangers to this sort of emoting, have pitched in with him to make this horse opera a pleasant variation on a venerable theme." [7]

Diabolique magazine says "the movie is a bit out of kilter – you have more sympathy for Lake, who has more at stake than McCrea, who is just a hired hand" and that "Ramrod isn’t perfect but it is interesting, and it’s fun to see Lake in a Western." [8]

Box Office

According to Variety, the film earned $2 million, with a negative cost of $1.5 million. This made it one of the more successful films from the short-lived Enterprise Productions. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sullivans Travels</i> 1941 film by Preston Sturges

Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire on the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director who, longing to make a socially relevant drama, sets out to live as a tramp to gain life experience for his forthcoming film. Along the way he unites with a poor aspiring actress who accompanies him. The title is a reference to Gulliver's Travels, the 1726 novel by satirist Jonathan Swift about another journey of self-discovery.

<i>The More the Merrier</i> 1943 film by George Stevens

The More the Merrier is a 1943 American romantic comedy film produced and directed by George Stevens, and starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn. The film's script—from Two's a Crowd, an original screenplay by Garson Kanin (uncredited)—was written by Robert Russell, Frank Ross, Richard Flournoy, and Lewis R. Foster. Set in Washington, D.C., the film presents a comic look at the housing shortage during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Lake</span> American actress (1922–1973)

Constance Frances Marie Ockelman, known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, her peek-a-boo hairstyle, and films such as Sullivan's Travels (1941) and I Married a Witch (1942). By the late 1940s, Lake's career began to decline, due in part to her alcoholism. She made only one film in the 1950s, but made several guest appearances on television. She returned to the big screen in the film Footsteps in the Snow (1966), but the role failed to revitalize her career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel McCrea</span> American actor (1905–1990)

Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he became best known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Ruggles</span> American actor (1886–1970)

Charles Sherman Ruggles was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the elder brother of director, producer, and silent film actor Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972).

<i>I Married a Witch</i> 1942 film by René Clair

I Married a Witch is a 1942 American romantic comedy fantasy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway. The screenplay by Robert Pirosh and Marc Connelly and uncredited other writers, including Dalton Trumbo, is based on the 1941 novel The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith, who died before he could finish it; it was completed by Norman H. Matson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andre de Toth</span> Hungarian-American film director (1913–2002)

Endre Antal Miksa de Toth, known as Andre de Toth, was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary.

<i>Colorado Territory</i> (film) 1949 film by Raoul Walsh, Anthony Veiller

Colorado Territory is a 1949 American Western film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, and Dorothy Malone. Written by Edmund H. North and John Twist, and based on the novel High Sierra by W.R. Burnett, the film is about an outlaw who is sprung from jail to help pull one last railroad job.

<i>The Virginian</i> (1946 film) 1946 film

The Virginian is a 1946 American Western film directed by Stuart Gilmore and starring Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy, Sonny Tufts, and Barbara Britton. Based on the 1902 Owen Wister novel of the same name, the film was adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle. The Virginian is about an eastern school teacher who comes to Medicine Bow in Wyoming and encounters life on the frontier. The film is a remake of the 1929 movie with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston. There have been several versions of the story, beginning with a 1914 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and including a 1960s television series that bore little relation to the book other than the title. The film was originally distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is currently owned by EMKA.

<i>Isnt It Romantic?</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Norman Z. McLeod

Isn't It Romantic? is a 1948 American black-and-white comedy musical film from Paramount Pictures, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Veronica Lake and Billy De Wolfe. Supporting actors included Mona Freeman, Richard Webb and Pearl Bailey. Although it takes its title from a 1932 song by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, it is based on a novel called Gather Ye Rosebuds by Jeannette C. Nolan.

<i>Along Came Jones</i> (film) 1945 film by Stuart Heisler

Along Came Jones is a 1945 American Western comedy film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest, and Dan Duryea. The film was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the 1944 novel Useless Cowboy by Alan Le May. It was the only feature film produced by Cooper during his long film career.

<i>The Glass Key</i> (1942 film) 1942 film by Stuart Heisler

The Glass Key is a 1942 American film noir based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The picture was directed by Stuart Heisler starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. A successful earlier film version starring George Raft in Ladd's role had been released in 1935. The 1942 version's supporting cast features William Bendix, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning and Joseph Calleia.

<i>Stars in My Crown</i> (film) 1950 film by Jacques Tourneur

Stars in My Crown is a 1950 Western film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Joel McCrea as a preacher whose faith tames an unruly town by inspiring the townspeople to change. It was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Joe David Brown.

<i>Gunsmoke</i> (film) 1953 film starring Audie Murphy directed by Nathan H. Juran

Gunsmoke is a 1953 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Susan Cabot, and Paul Kelly. The film has no connection to the contemporary radio and later TV series of the same name. The film was based on the 1951 novel Roughshod by Norman A. Fox.

<i>The Gunfight at Dodge City</i> 1959 film

The Gunfight at Dodge City is a 1959 American DeLuxe Color Western CinemaScope film. It was produced by the Mirisch Company, directed by Joseph M. Newman, co-written by Martin Goldsmith and Daniel B. Ullman and starred Joel McCrea as Bat Masterson.

<i>The Sainted Sisters</i> 1948 film by William D. Russell

The Sainted Sisters is a 1948 American comedy film starring Veronica Lake and co-starring Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald, George Reeves, William Demarest and Beulah Bondi. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and is notable for being the last film Veronica Lake made under her contract with the studio.

<i>Stampede</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Lesley Selander

Stampede is a 1949 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Rod Cameron, Gale Storm, Johnny Mack Brown and Don Castle.

<i>The Oklahoman</i> (film) 1957 film by Francis D. Lyon

The Oklahoman is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film starring Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, and Brad Dexter. It was also the last film of actress Esther Dale.

<i>Border River</i> 1954 film by George Sherman

Border River is a 1954 American western film directed by George Sherman and starring Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo and Pedro Armendáriz.

<i>Bring on the Girls</i> (film) 1945 film by Sidney Lanfield

Bring on the Girls is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Eddie Bracken, Sonny Tufts and Veronica Lake. It is loosely based on the 1940 French comedy The Man Who Seeks the Truth.

References

  1. "Ramrod (1947)". BBFC . Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  2. Schallert, Edwin (March 5, 1946). "Sherman Will Produce 'Ramrod' With McCrea". Los Angeles Times. p. A3.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ent's Loan". Variety. July 14, 1948. p. 12. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  4. “Ramrod (1947).” AFI Catalog of Feature Films, https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25310-RAMROD?sid=90d0f829-2c60-4fbf-9a28-d9443338a8ce&sr=10.708853&cp=1&pos=0. Accessed 5 December 2020.
  5. "McCrea and Veronica Lake To Star in Western Film", Hollywood Letter by Frank Daugherty Special to The Christian Science Monitor , July 12, 1946: 5.
  6. D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: A history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN   9781423605874.
  7. "Movie Review: Ramrod". nytimes.com. June 30, 1947.
  8. Vagg, Stephen (February 11, 2020). "The Cinema of Veronica Lake". Diabolique Magazine.