Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

writers_reign Hard to believe that Fritz Lang signed off on this ho-hum oater that comes across as a prototype Johnny Guitar inasmuch as both movies boast strong females (Crawford, Deitrich) running isolated establishments which offer hospitality/hideouts for outlaws. Despite an interesting roster of supporting players barely two members of the entire cast - Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Frank Ferguson, William Frawley, Jack Elam - are able to look as if they are in the same movie, or care either way. I managed to avoid this shambles for years but it's just turned up on television so, on the off chance that my instincts had been under the weather I gave it a whirl. Should have trusted my instincts, now I'm down the thick end of two hours I can never get back.

MartinHafer When the film begins, Vern Haskell (Arthur Kennedy) is shown with his fiancé. However, shortly after Vern leaves her store, a thug wanders in to rob the place and then assaults and murders her as well. Vern makes it his life work to track down the killer and punish him, but he has very few clues. Through much of the film, he's on the trail and eventually finds his way to a wanted man, Frenchy Fairmont (Mel Ferrer). He arranges to break Frenchy out of jail...and pretends to be a bad guy in the hope that Frenchy takes him to the rest of the gang and the murderer. Once with the gang, however, like EVERYONE in this film he inexplicably falls for the charms of Altar Keane (Marlene Dietrich)--a woman who runs sort of a hostel for crooks called 'Chuck-A-Luck'. Vern's problem now is what to do...keep on his path of revenge or settle down with Altar and her feminine wiles.While I know a lot of folks love this film, for me it was problematic to watch due to the casting. Like Joan Crawford in "Johnny Guitar", the leading lady (Dietrich) was just too old and unattractive to be portraying such a vivacious and sexy character. Some women are still gorgeous at 51, but, sadly, Dietrich here is just kind of sad playing a sexy siren. This is a severe knock against the film as is the annoying song "Chuck-A-Luck", though otherwise it is well acted, written and directed (by Fritz Lang of all people). Enjoyable but seriously flawed.

moonspinner55 A honest rancher, palming himself off as an outlaw to gain acceptance into a fraternal haven of gangsters hiding out in the sticks, is only after the varmint who murdered his fiancée--but ends up feeling a strong sexual attraction to the woman who runs the Chuck-a-Luck, a former saloon hostess with a colorful reputation. Fritz Lang-directed western was plagued with problems (both during the production and after), although Marlene Dietrich--allegedly the cause of most of the on-set turmoil--gives a must-see performance as the notorious Altar Keane ("They even named a railroad car after her!"). Throaty, sensuous, and no-nonsense, Dietrich is willing to go all the way with this role, and one can practically feel the binds holding her back. Arthur Kennedy is better than usual as the newcomer to Dietrich's brood of happy killers and robbers (he and Marlene have palpable chemistry), but Mel Ferrer is stiff and unsure as suave outlaw Frenchy Fairmont (the cartoonish name doesn't match the actor playing the role). The deep, mellow colors are beautiful, and yet the Technicolor cinematography heightens the artificiality of the indoor sets. Not a great picture, and one that is prodded along by a laughably corny folk ballad, though Lang does manage to come up with a few fresh twists on the genre and the supporting players are solid. ** from ****

Claudio Carvalho In a small town in the Wyoming, the pacific cowboy Vern Haskell (Arthur Kennedy) and his beloved fiancée Beth Forbes (Gloria Henry) will get married in eight days, and plan their lives living in a ranch of their own in eight years with many children. However, their dream is destroyed when Beth is raped and murdered by an outlaw during a heist in the store of her father. The full of hate Vern follows the trail of the criminal alone, and meets his partner, who was betrayed by the killer and shot on his back, dying in the desert. The bandit tells that his partner is going to Chuck-a-Luck hiding place, but nobody knows where it is. In his journey, Vern learns how to shoot and listens to many stories about the famous Altar Keane (Marlene Dietrich), a woman that worked in many cabarets and made a fortune gambling in a Chuck-a-Luck wheel helped by the hit-man Frenchy Fairmont (Mel Ferrer), the fastest trigger in the west. When Vern finds that Frenchy has just been captured and is arrested in the local jail, he shoots bottles in a bar to be sent to jail. Vern is locked with Frenchy and becomes his friend when he helps the hit-man to escape. They ride to a remote ranch in the border owned by Keane, actually a sanctuary for criminals, where Vern tries to find the murderer and revenge the death of Beth."Notorious Ranch" is a wonderful tale of hate, murder and revenge. I am not fan of the genre, but this western directed by Fritz Lang tells a solid and credible story, with characters very well-developed and supported by a magnificent cast leaded by Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy and Mel Ferrer. I only regret the poor quality of image of the Brazilian DVD, which has not been restored. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "O Diabo Feito Mulher" ("The Devil Like Woman")