The Shadow Riders

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Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott play Mac and Dal Traven, two amiable brothers who fought on opposing sides during the Civil War. Now, the war is over, but one revenge-crazed associate of Dals', Major Ashbury (Geoffrey Lewis), is intent on keeping the war going. To that end, he's made an alliance with a rascally gun runner, Holiday Hammond (Gene Evans). Meanwhile, Ashbury and his men have gone on a spree of crimes including the kidnapping of members of the Traven family. This Louis L'Amour adaptation (by executive producer Jim Byrnes) amounts to agreeable entertainment, with the expected stunts, action scenes, and lovely scenery. The story is nothing special, but it's not hard to follow, and it DOES kill time amiably. What really makes it work as well as it does is the able cast, including such Western veterans as Ben Johnson (as Mac and Dals' scoundrel of an uncle, Black Jack Traven), R.G. Armstrong, and Harry Carey, Jr. Elliotts' real-life longtime companion, Katharine Ross, is vibrant as Kate, and it's no surprise that the two of them share a natural chemistry. Jeff Osterhage co-stars as a scrappy Traven sibling. Other familiar faces include Dominique Dunne (in what was sadly her last role), Marshall R. Teague, and Jane Greer as Carey's wife. Selleck and Elliott look right at home in this genre, just as they always do, and show off plenty of charisma. Johnson clearly has fun getting to play a colourful role. The writing might not be particularly sharp or witty, but these filmmakers, led by director Andrew V. McLaglen, *still* manage to show their audience a pretty good time. Nobody ever appears to take any of this very seriously, anyway. It's just "good", lighthearted, amiable, predictable TV-level Western storytelling. Seven out of 10.

Brothers Mac (an excellent and engaging performance by Tom Selleck) and Dal Traven (the always fine Sam Elliott) return home after fighting in the Civil War only to discover that their home town has been ravaged by a gang of renegade Confederate soldiers. Assisted by their wayward Uncle Jack (a wonderfully rascally Ben Johnson), the Travens go after the soldiers who have kidnapped their younger sisters as well as Dal's feisty sweetheart Kate (well played with considerable spunk by Katherine Ross). Director Andrew V. McLaglen keeps the engrossing and entertaining story moving along at a brisk pace, offers a flavorsome evocation of the period, maintains an amiable good-natured tone throughout, takes time to develop the characters, and stages the shoot outs with aplomb. Selleck and Elliott display an extremely winning and natural chemistry in the leads. The tip-top cast keeps this picture humming: Geoffrey Lewis as the fanatical Major Cooper Ashbury, Gene Evans as wicked slave trader Colonel Holiday Hammond, Jeffrey Osteridge as the brave Jesse, Dominique Dunn as the spirited Sissy, R.G. Armstrong as the vengeful Sheriff Miles Gillette, and Jane Greer and Harry Carey Jr. as Ma and Pa Traven. Both Jack Whitman's polished cinematography and Jerrold Immel's lively honky tonk country score are up to speed. An immensely fun film.

So in spite of the caste, this is a mediocre made-for-TV movie. The plot has promise but the uninspired dialog drags it down. The background music doesn't contribute at all, rather it conflicts with the actions on screen. Who puts music more fitted to a comedy in a drama? It would have helped this movie a lot to have the correct background music.

I really like Sam Elliott, he was real huge in Gettysburg as General Buford, or he was very very decent as Sheriff Bucky O'Neal in Rough Riders. Here, he is a pale shade of his later self. Tom Selleck is not of a much help, too. What is the main reason? Weak script, and a very strange, almost skewed genre - it borders on a deep drama and then, it almost glides onto a farce, or a comedy. Very light, almost comedy-prone music is not suitable here as well. The film was made but the same fella who did great The Undefeated. Here, a huge disillusion awaits. The wry smile of Selleck tires itself off very soon, and raw character of Elliott is a big drawback, too. The main pair does not hold our attention and leaves rather bored, if not bemused. Do not watch this mish-mash of genres, a waste of time, and really nothing new. Very trite and banal. It is also so badly predictable, you can easily say what's lurking round the corner next frame. Boring, unfunny stuff.

I'm not one to like Western movies, but this movie is one Western I like. Tom Selleck plays his part with 100% perfection. **Spoilers ahead** Mac Travern, (Selleck) has just served in the Civil War, on the Union side. His younger brother, Dal Traven, (played by Sam Elliot) had been on the Confederate side. But the two brothers joined each other to rescue their Uncle "Black Jack" Travern, who had been kidnapped by some Confedreates who refused to believe the3 war was over. Jesse Traven (Jeff Osterhage) had also been kidnapped, and then comes the chase and rescue bit that always turns out either funny or tragic. I have not read any of Louis L'Amour's books, but this was a great film based on his writing. My Score: 7/10.

While I certainly feel that serious film criticism has its place, it is just silly to over-think and over-analyze a film like this. It's a Western, but it's not The Searchers. It has a sense of humor about itself. The actors are fun to look at. The good guys win. The nice guy gets the girl. The bad guys get shot or face the law. They all lived happily ever after. Is any of this a spoiler for a "Good-Time Western?" Nope, but that's okay. It's a fun movie. If you don't like this movie, you are thinking too much. If you don't love this movie, that's all right. You were only meant to have a good time with it.

I have not read the Louis L'Amour novel on which this is allegedly based, but hopefully L'Amour's original has a little more going for it in the credibility department. Rock Hudson's CSA officer in "The Undefeated" tested the credibility threshold but at least there was a twisted sort of logic to his goal in that movie. Such is not the case here and you are left waiting for the guys in the white coats to sedate Geoffrey Lewis and take him away to the quiet room. Which is unfortunate because it wastes great chemistry in the pairing of Selleck and Elliott. The titles and the credit sequences are first class with "period" stills Civil War daguerreotypes. The return home of the brothers is the highlight of the film and almost makes the thing worth watching. Jane Greer and Harry Carey, Jr. are excellent in this very moving film moment. Katherine Ross has a nothing role and it is too bad Dominique Dunne ended her career playing a minor supporting role in a wasted opportunity movie. Ben Johnson seems to enjoy himself in this although he probably should have been taken to that quiet room along with Lewis. A good strategy is to watch the first 25 minutes up until the first beach scene, then walk away because you will have seen everything worth watching by that point.

The cast of Ben Johnson, Sam Elliot, and Tom Selleck in a western is unbeatable. Some have compared this movie to The Sacketts (same writer, same cast), and gave is something of a pan. I found the story line in general, and a couple of the sub-plots, very very entertaining. I think you have to recognize that adultery has been around since the beginning of time. The treatment of of Uncle Jack (Ben Johnson) reminded me a lot of one of my uncles, and the dialog just sounded right. While the scenery may have looked a little California, the place settings in Texas were genuine - Big Springs and Baffin Bay are real places. Baffin Bay is at the south end of Padre Island off Laguna Madre - home of the best bay fishing in Texas.

I love Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot. Together in the same just makes it better for me. Playing two brothers home from the just ended Civil War, where they fought on opposite sides, they find that their women folk have been stolen by what turns out to be Rebels who are running for Mexico to keep on fighting. The bad guys plan on trading them to some gunrunners for surprise, surprise, guns. Katherine Ross plays the brave, undaunted, heroine type. She shows great spirit and fortitude. Ben Johnson appears as the brothers long gone Uncle Black Jack, a character of dubious reputation. He turns out to be just what the brothers need. Every thing turns out well and the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Typical for a L'Amour novel.