Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
weezeralfalfa
Not the most original nor interesting Scott western I've seen. Like various other reviewers have said, Alexander Knox just seems out of his tree as a cattle baron. I can see why he made a good Woodrow Wilson, or perhaps a good bank president, for example. John Russell would have made a much more believable Will Isham, but then he couldn't have taken part in that marathon brawl with Scott unless the script were rewritten. Similarly, Richard Rober made an unconvincing gunslinger in looks, although his target practice in the saloon was quite impressive. I'm still not positive whether Rober was trying to kill Scott(probably) or Isham, or both, when he burst into the building as Scott and Isham were descending the stairs. Scott ducked back to safety, and Isham, in front, shifted over to where Scott had been, when the revolver fired. That was 3 murders Rober was credited with, and he tried to make Scott number 4. Their shootout continued into the street, where a very strong wind complicated things a bit. Guess who eventually prevailed.Returning to the brawl between Scott and Russell, not only did they destroy the breakaway furniture, they caused the breakaway cabin they were in to collapse! Very lucky they weren't buried under the rubble! They continued their fight over the romantic attention of Ellen Drew down a very steep slope next to a stream, with Ellen tumbling down the slope behind with a rifle. Russell finally managed to get on his horse for a get away before he got shot. Another cliffhanger is when Scott was driving a chuck wagon, trying to outrun a cattle stampede, and the lantern in the back fell off and started a fire. He continued to drive the wagon until it was about to burn him up, when he unhitched the wagon at full speed and apparently jumped off just before what was left was wrecked.The ending is rather unsatisfactory to me. What became of the Scott-Joan Leslie romantic relationship after Isham was murdered? Was she now damaged goods, so that a Scott-Joan union could not occur to combine their resources? Did Joan sell out to Scott or someone else? It appeared that Scott favored Ellen Drew at the end. She was a decade older than Joan, who was only half Scott's age. During sizable chunks of the film, I hardly understood what was going on, riding around here and there, often in the dark.Currently available at YouTube
dougdoepke
Average Scott western, at best. There're some darn fine Lone Pine vistas that aren't usually seen, plus mountain scenes from southern Sierras. That's one thing about well-produced westerns— the scenery can sustain even when all else falters. Scott, of course, is Scott, strong-jawed and humorless, carrying the film even when the congested script doesn't. The plot's pretty familiar, rich landowner taking over hero's land, along with a number of subplots. Then too, we've got not just one ingénue, but two. Leslie and Drew may be malt shop girls from the 40's but they do well enough here. I'm glad their hair color differs, otherwise they would be hard to tell apart. I'm with those who think Rober and Knox too bland to compete with Scott. Also, I agree that Russell would have made a much more vivid villain; too bad he's wasted in what looks like a tacked-on role. And catch how easily Bedoya goes from clown to menace, even without "stinkin' badges". I really did expect sharper results from ace director DeToth. Given the right material, he can be quite affecting, as his western masterpiece Ramrod (1948) proves. As Andrew Sarris points out, few movie makers had a better feel for human treachery than the eye-patch Hungarian. My guess is he regarded the script as little more than a vehicle for Scott, though a few nice fringe touches do emerge, such as the straggler who gets in the way of the showdown.All in all, the oater's too sprawling in both cast and story to achieve anything more than a scenic time passer.
krorie
Though "Man in the Saddle" has some effective moments and a few good action scenes, it is below average for Randy Scott who usually did better. The high point of the action comes near the beginning of the movie when the cattle are stampeded with Randy trying to outrun the herd in a covered wagon that is ablaze. The shoot out at the end is much too abbreviated only lasting a few minutes. Randy doesn't even get to duke it out with the hired gunslinger Fay Dutcher (Richard Rober). What kind of name is Fay for a gunfighter? Owen Merritt (Scott) shoots Dutcher as he rolls for his gun in the street. The talented actor John Russell has a fairly nondescript role. He would have been much better cast as gunman Dutcher. The story of a love triangle with two women Joan Leslie and Ellen Drew after one man (Scott)is at times overplayed. Exactly what Owen's relationship was with Laurie Bidwell (Leslie) before she married Will Isham (Alexander Knox) for money and power is never revealed. Apparently the two had one hell of a relationship the way it still tugs at their heartstrings and is the continued buzz of the town. The hired gun is not just after more ranch land for his boss but after Owen as well. Alexander Knox who played President Woodrow Wilson magnificently in "Wilson" several years earlier was thus typecast and unable to find himself in other parts. When he played the boss rancher in "Man in the Saddle" he was still trying to find his way after Wilson. Alfonso Bedoya and veteran cowboy actor Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams do well in the comedy department. Bedoya is a good foil for Big Boy. He continually looks for a new hat. Big Boy tells him he doesn't need a new hat for his head, he needs a new head for a hat. Even Randy Scott gets in on the humor this time and comes across with some funny lines. When Bedoya tells Scott that the trees are talking to him. Scott replies, "You'd better lay off that vanilla extract." When he is hold up with Nan Melotte (Ellen Drew)recuperating from a gunshot wound he feels the stubble on his face and comments, "It's like a coyote running through brush." The usually serious Scott plays a lighter role this go around and it is a plus for this otherwise dark and moody film. Look for Cameron Mitchell of television's "The High Chaparral" in a small part as one of the two brothers murdered by Will Isham's gang. In the days before Tex Ritter gave immortality to the theme from "High Noon," showing Hollywood how cowboy music should be presented to the public, multi-talented Tennessee Ernie Ford sang the theme to "Man in the Saddle" with much the same feeling of authenticity. He also gets to sing another ballad on camera as one of the wranglers. He's hard to recognize at first because of his youth and no mustache. Tennessee Ernie was singing hillbilly boogie that sounded very much like Rockabilly when Elvis was still driving a truck in Memphis. He ended up concentrating mainly on television, retiring early from show business, except to cut a gospel album every now and then. "Man in the Saddle" is one of his few screen appearances.Though not up to par for a Randolph Scott western, still worth seeing for fans of 50's westerns.
John W Chance
This formulaic film (hero's girlfriend marries the villain) just didn't move along fast enough given some of the circumstances of the story. Scott seems too old in this one, and too many times his character turns away from decisive action, deflating the scenes. He responds to the deaths of some of his hands weakly; he escapes from Knox's gang by hiding in a full rain barrel; his escape to the high country and pursuit by John Russell seem superfluous, as does much of the film. The plot could have been tightened. High points of the film: seeing "Tennessee" Ernie Ford without a mustache singing "Man in the Saddle"; Alfonso Bedoya's too brief scenes as a cook; the color photography of the high country, and the fight scene there with John Russell.
