Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Ride the Pink Horse

Released Oct 8, 1947 1h 41m Crime Drama List
100% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 86% Audience Score 250+ Ratings
Certain that crime boss Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) has offed a pal of his, Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) tails the gangster to a little New Mexico town. Gagin is seeking hush money, and, if he doesn't get it he'll resort to other means of getting even with Hugo. As FBI investigator Bill Retz (Art Smith) trails both men, Hugo moves to rid the world of Gagin. But in the midst of this macho maelstrom, a savvy local girl (Wanda Hendrix) emerges as a potential heroine. Read More Read Less

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Noel Murray The Dissolve If a director's job is to come up with creative ways to convey who characters are and the deeper meaning of their circumstances, Montgomery earns a gold star. Rated: 3.5/5 Mar 16, 2015 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com An exciting film noir gem ripe for rediscovery. Rated: 45 Oct 28, 2020 Full Review Eric Melin Scene-Stealers.com It shows Montgomery still taking chances, retaining some seriously robust cinematic flair, courtesy director of photography Russell Metty. There are lots of long, fluid takes and a very heavy atmosphere throughout. Rated: 3/4 Jun 12, 2015 Full Review Sean Axmaker Parallax View The film is both tough and touching, with crackling dialogue (scripted by the great Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer) and stylized scenes... Apr 25, 2015 Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing The plot isn't the attraction here; instead, it's the intriguing relationships between the characters, the black-and-white camerawork by the great Russell Metty (Touch of Evil, Spartacus), and the scintillating performances by all concerned. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 4, 2015 Full Review Austin Trunick Under the Radar An under-seen but highly-recommended film. Rated: 7/10 Mar 28, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (24) audience reviews
Chris C My favorite thing about the user reviews is the one that confidently states this was filmed in SoCal and looks nothing like Santa Fe, but conveniently falls to notice that the La Fonda hotel of the film's setting is actually (and was filmed at) the actual La Fonda hotel in actual Santa Fe New Mexico. You can't make this up. An excellent noir that deviates just enough from formula to stay interesting in every scene. While problematic elements exist, it's worth noting that the Hispanic characters are multidimensional and treated with respect by Montgomery as director (and star). Highly enjoyable. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/25/24 Full Review Audience Member The most dreadful thing I've ever seen. Photography was good and Fred Clark was good. It resembled a Luis Buñuel film but in a bad way. Some noir elements. Can someone explain what it was all about? Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review steve d The performances are better than the script. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Refreshing spin on the typical noir narrative where the runway man learns from the society he is trying to escape in. Most of the time, “Mexico” is someplace to disappear to in film noir, where characters can start over. Here “Mexico” helps the protagonist find friends, stability, and the identity he was supposedly running from. Absolutely beautiful film and highly recommended to any fan of noir! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/28/20 Full Review dave j Written and directed by Robert Montgomery, he plays ex-GI Lucky Gagin in search of a person named Frank Hugo, for the intention of getting his share of money owed. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member About as bad as you can get. Cheaply done southern California shots to fake a New Mexican town (no town in New Mexico was like this in the late 1940s, certainly not Santa Fe, the city it was supposed to resemble), poor direction, and an aimless plot added to the quixotic acting by Montgomery, who apparently thought he was doing something novel. The only good character was Pancho, and he stood out because all the others were so bad. This movie does not fit into the film noir category, although it tries to do so. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ride the Pink Horse

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
Force of Evil 100% 75% Force of Evil The Dark Corner 100% 72% The Dark Corner Kiss of Death 89% 76% Kiss of Death The Killers 100% 89% The Killers The Big Steal 71% 64% The Big Steal Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All Ride the Pink Horse photos

Ride the Pink Horse

Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Ride the Pink Horse (1947) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Certain that crime boss Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) has offed a pal of his, Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) tails the gangster to a little New Mexico town. Gagin is seeking hush money, and, if he doesn't get it he'll resort to other means of getting even with Hugo. As FBI investigator Bill Retz (Art Smith) trails both men, Hugo moves to rid the world of Gagin. But in the midst of this macho maelstrom, a savvy local girl (Wanda Hendrix) emerges as a potential heroine.
Director
Robert Montgomery
Producer
Joan Harrison
Screenwriter
Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 8, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Runtime
1h 41m