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      Ramrod

      Released May 2, 1947 1h 34m Western List
      Reviews 50% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score Ambitious Connie Dickason (Veronica Lake), daughter of wealthy rancher Ben Dickason (Charlie Ruggles), loses her sheep rancher beau when he is unable to stand up to bullying Frank Ivey (Preston Foster), a cattle baron. Adding the sheep ranch to the Dickason property, Connie hires amiable but tough overseer Dave Nash (Joel McCrea) -- but no sooner has he arrived when Ivey attacks and burns Connie's ranch. The resulting range war causes several deaths and exposes Connie's own ruthless streak. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Really good western around here that I highly recommend James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas June 7, 2023 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/08/23 Full Review Matthew D Veronica Lake mesmerizes as a femme fatale ranch owner. Director André de Toth's Western Ramrod (1947) is a beautiful and exciting picture. Ramrod shows principled men standing by their women, friends, and oaths, while villains only seek money with whose side they think will win the rancher war. Toth delivers on cool shootouts, striking quickdraws, and touching drama with hardened characters. Writers Jack Moffitt, Luke Short, C. Graham Baker, and Cecile Kramer create moral dilemmas. You have different ranchers each wanting land and workers and the hands have to choose who they'll shoot and die for and why. Ramrod is intriguing and grounds its Western flair in character drama. It also ends with a quickdraw duel wherein the hero uses a shotgun! Editor Sherman A. Rose uses succinct cuts for a brisk pace and striking emphasis on how characters feel about each decision. Cinematographer Russell Harlan uses wide shots of deserts to show the distance between ranches and allow the cast to wander on their horses to transition between scenes. I liked the striking close-ups on faces to really let the emotional choices linger and carry more weight. Joel McCrea is fantastic as the cool quickdraw gunslinger and alcoholic ranch hand Dave Nash. He feels like a regular guy that wants to be free and employed by his own choosing, but Nash clearly is suckered into working for Veronica Lake's Connie. He feels smart, collected, fast, loyal, and yet even his moral romantic hero commits multiple murders for Lake. I liked how he chooses Rose over Connie because he's just that kind of old soul. Arleen Whelan is very pretty as the sweet and loyal lady Rose Leland, who clearly loves Joel McCrea's Dave Nash. Veronica Lake is unbelievably lovely in Ramrod as femme fatale Connie Dickason. Her highly engaging dramatic performance starts out as tearful and endearing as she just wants to own her own ranch by rights. I loved how she manipulated each rancher and hired gun to her cause with her cunning intellect and womanly wiles in a stunning performance. Veronica Lake looks gorgeous throughout Ramrod and she is very fun deceiving each guy. You can see how her effortless charm and sheer charisma lead nearly every male character to his death directly or indirectly in Ramrod. Charles Ruggles is despicable as Lake's disloyal father Ben Dickason, who does not help his daughter at all. Don DeFore is entertaining as the amiable hired gun Bill Schell, who is a close friend to Nash. Donald Crisp is a straight shooter as the honest Sheriff Jim Crew, who just ends up being too old to handle Ivey's wrath. Preston Foster is sinister and calculating as the villain Frank Ivey, willing to kill anyone just to inherit all the land and money. Lloyd Bridges gets to play a sleazy ranch hand named Red Cates who Joel McCrea smacks around in a tense bar sequence. Nestor Paiva gets absolutely rocked as Curley. Robert Wood is excellent as the gullible idiot Link Thomas. Ian MacDonald is fun as the coward Walt Shipley, who is bullied out of his ranch by Ivey. Wally Cassell is great as the foolish Virg Lea, who tells the truth with his dying breath. Production designer Lionel Banks makes surprisingly lavish sets instead of your run of the mill wooden shacks for a Western township. Set decorator Allan O'Dea did really nice work providing chandeliers for the interiors. Composer Adolph Deutsch's film score features fun and lively classical orchestration with a Western flair. You know when something bad will happen as the tension is all in the music. Costume designer Edith Head made absolutely gorgeous gowns for Veronica Lake and Arleen Whelan that are ladylike and elegant. I liked when Lake shows up in cowboy gear towards the end too. In all, Ramrod is a short and sweet Western at 95 minutes with shootouts, quickdraws, and rancher rivalry. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/18/23 Full Review Audience Member a very good western Veronica Lake in cowboy clothes in a rough woman role.she also rode horses yee haw. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Has a fairly gritty story for a 1940's western, although the production style remains familiar from the factory production line era of Hollywood. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Veronica ventures into Barbara Stanwyck territory in this oater. She's fine but the film is ordinary. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Very great even when watched in the abomination of vhs. It's an early example of a norish Western that is masterfully directed by Andre De Toth. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Critics Reviews

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      Philip Concannon The Skinny Ramrod is a tough and stark western, but it's also a remarkably beautiful one. Rated: 4/5 Mar 6, 2018 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 11, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews An intriguing psychological Western about evil and out of control cowpokes. Rated: B Dec 29, 2003 Full Review Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Rated: 4/5 Aug 22, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Ambitious Connie Dickason (Veronica Lake), daughter of wealthy rancher Ben Dickason (Charlie Ruggles), loses her sheep rancher beau when he is unable to stand up to bullying Frank Ivey (Preston Foster), a cattle baron. Adding the sheep ranch to the Dickason property, Connie hires amiable but tough overseer Dave Nash (Joel McCrea) -- but no sooner has he arrived when Ivey attacks and burns Connie's ranch. The resulting range war causes several deaths and exposes Connie's own ruthless streak.
      Director
      Andre de Toth
      Screenwriter
      C. Graham Baker, Cecile Kramer, Jack Moffitt
      Distributor
      United Artists
      Genre
      Western
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 2, 1947, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 25, 2013
      Runtime
      1h 34m