Ride in the Whirlwind *** (1966, Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell, Millie Perkins) – Classic Movie Review 6,211

The enigmatic 1966 existential Western film Ride in the Whirlwind reunites screen-writer / star Jack Nicholson and director Monte Hellman, the duo responsible for The Shooting.

The enigmatic 1966 existential Western film Ride in the Whirlwind reunites screen-writer / star Jack Nicholson and director Monte Hellman, the duo responsible for The Shooting.

Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell and Tom Filer play Wes, Vern and Otis, cowhand drifters who help out some outlaws. They shelter in a cabin, and are attacked by an avenging vigilante posse, branded as members of the outlaw gang. But Wes and Vern escape, and end up being chased by the posse, who target them indiscriminately.

The usual, unsurprising Western plot that pits bandits against vigilantes and stirs in mistaken identities is at the centre of this particular whirlwind. That said, Nicholson’s script is serviceable. But it is the iconic cast, the dark, dour and dangerous mood and European-influenced, downbeat tone that raise the movie well above the average B-movie Western. It defies its low budget of only $70,000 and fast shooting in just three weeks.

Also notable in the cast are Millie Perkins as Abigail, Rupert Crosse as Indian Joe, Katherine Squire as Catherine, Harry Dean Stanton as Blind Dick, George Mitchell as Evan, Brandon Carroll as Quint Mapes, and Peter Cannon as Hagerman, B J Merholz as Edgar, John Hackett as Winslow, William A Keller as Roy, Charles Eastman as Drummer, and Neil Summers as Ward.

Hellman recalled Roger Corman agreed to put up funds for a Hellman-directed Western at a lunch meeting at the old Brown Derby on Vine Street, south of Hollywood Boulevard. Corman decided that since Hellman was making one Western, he might as well make two, and Ride in the Whirlwind was shot in 1965 in the Utah desert back-to-back after The Shooting. Both films were made in a total of six weeks of continuous shooting.

Both films were sold to the Walter Reade Organization, who then passed on a theatrical release and sold them as part of a larger package of films to be shown on TV. Eventually, cinema release rights to both films were bought by Jack H Harris Enterprises in 1971 on the strength of Jack Nicholson’s new-found fame, and finally they were released in cinemas.

Millie Perkins was Hellman’s next-door neighbour when he cast her in her fifth film The Shooting immediately followed by Ride in the Whirlwind.

Ride in the Whirlwind is directed by Monte Hellman, runs 82 minutes, is made by Proteus Films and Santa Clara Productions, is released by Jack H Harris Enterprises and Favorite Films, is written Jack Nicholson, is shot in Eastman Color by Gregory Sandor, is produced by Monte Hellman and Jack Nicholson, and is scored by Robert Drasnin.

The cast are Cameron Mitchell as Vern, Jack Nicholson as Wes, Tom Filer as Otis, Millie Perkins as Abigail, Katherine Squire as Catherine, George Mitchell as Evan, Harry Dean Stanton as Blind Dick, Rupert Crosse as Indian Joe, B J Merholz as Edgar, Peter Cannon as Hagerman, Brandon Carroll as Quint Mapes, John Hackett as Winslow, William A. Keller as Roy, and Charles Eastman as Drummer.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6211

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com