Ride the High Country
Ride the High Country (released internationally as Guns in the Afternoon) is a 1962 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Mariette Hartley. The supporting cast includes Edgar Buchanan, James Drury, Warren Oates, and Ron Starr. The film's script, though credited solely to veteran TV screenwriter N. B. Stone Jr., was – according to producer Richard E. Lyons – almost entirely the work of Stone's friend and colleague, William S. Roberts, and Peckinpah himself.
Plot
In the early years of the 20th century, an aging ex-lawman, Steve Judd, is hired by a bank to transport gold from a high country mining camp to the town of Hornitos, California. Six miners were recently murdered trying to transport their gold on the one trail leading down from the crest of the Sierra Nevada. In his prime, Judd was a tough and respected lawman, but now his threadbare clothes and spectacles serve as reminders that he is long past his prime. Judd enlists the help of his old friend and partner Gil Westrum to guard the gold transfer. Gil, who had been making his living passing himself off as a legendary sharpshooter named The Oregon Kid, enlists the help of his young sidekick, Heck Longtree.
More details
author | Sam Peckinpah William Roberts |
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contentLocation | California |
director | Sam Peckinpah |
editor | Frank Santillo |
events | old age |
genre | western |
keywords | 20th century build dead brother domineer early years even flower girl force hear kill maid of honor married mining camp morning after murder old friends older men ore outnumber pass plan retire rid set up sierra nevada wait wedding dress wedding night wound |
musicBy | George Bassman |
producer | Richard E. Lyons |
productionCompany | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
publisher | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |