The girl, as is traditional in this plot, doesn't know Holt, and so he has to win her trust. The plot is absolutely routine: Holt uncovers a murder, for which he is blamed, and has to clear his name while simultaneously keeping a pretty girl out of danger. Holt is very young for a rancher, but has the screen presence to overcome this handicap. They were all pretty enjoyable, and short enough not to outstay their welcome, and this is no exception. I can see why it's regarded as such a classic.Very shortly after doing the Magnificent Ambersons, Tim Holt was making Bandit Ranger, one of his innumerable and indistinguishable Westerns. This film has some genius writing going for it. It was a character shift that I couldn't have been happier with. Curtin on the other hand, began as a humble side character and rode off as the hero in the final scene. I look at him and think to myself: "This is the kind of person I want to become." Similar to what someone else already said here, but it's worth repeating.ĭobbs started out as the hero, but became the villain and got exactly what he deserved in the end. He resisted it because he had the conscience which his partner lacked. He could have just as easily succumbed to the gold fever. Curtin stayed good and decent, right until the last frame. But now I understand that it wasn't in Curtin's character to exact revenge. Literally! A part of me had hoped that we would see one final confrontation between him and Dobbs. As soon as he makes it back to Howard and recovers, he's right back on the horse again. It said a lot about his moral compass that even though Dobbs betrayed him, shot him and left him to die, Curtin doesn't give up or lose that optimistic spark. It was so suspenseful, I was invested in every second of Dobb's descent into insanity. I was even happier when he got away to safety. I watched Sierra Madre for the first time about a week ago and I was enormously happy when Curtin was revealed to be alive. I was rooting for him during the entire film. Shame on you! Didn't your mom raise you, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". PS What's with all the snarky people on the web? Last night I read about Dorothy Lamore and someone dismissed her as "average". It would have been half the film (2 stars instead of 4) without him. I think Tim Holt is somebody!! Especially in this movie. And poor Tim Holt, he became an RKO B cowboy but it was too late (end of 40's, early 50's). He died in the Boston Coconut Grove fire, probably a Blessing. He crawled to Hollywood for $300 a week (when he made thousands!) then WHAM!! The Singing Cowboy hit him and Buck was done. Buck produced his own film "the Big Hop", it flopped then he put a Wild West Show on the road and lost everything. But in the case of Buck Jones and Tim Holt it's true, they just didn't have the luck. His sister Jennifer was quite popular in the B Westerns, but alas Tim just didn't have the luck. He had the pedigree his dad Jack was a major silent star. Too bad he didn't get more parts like this, Tim Holt could have been a major star. He never worried about who was gonna gun him down (greed is an ugly thing). You don't know my friend Brett Norman but he's exactly like the Tim Holt character good, and kind, and true.
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