weezeralfalfa Yes, stages were often pulled by mules, rather than by horses, as in most westerns. Although in most westerns, we are interested in the passengers or strong box, as articulated elsewhere, without their mail-carrying function, we would have had to charge passengers more than their $200. from San Francisco to St. Louis or vice versa, for a 25 day bone-rattling journey.This is the first of 2 films I'm familiar with in which Ty Power and Susan Hayward costarred. The second: "Untamed", is also essentially a western, only Zulus replace Native Americans as their adversaries. Both are worth a look and available at You Tube. This film mainly deals with the relationships between 4 escaped prisoners, and the other inhabitants of an Overland relay station at Rawhide Pass. Originally, this included crusty Edgar Buchanan as the regular stationmaster, who is giving the son of the head of the eastern division of Overland a taste of what it's like to be a stationmaster in the West. Unfortunately, during an altercation with the 4 escapees, who had taken over the relay station, he was shot dead. This left Ty(Tom) and Susan(Vinnie)as the only other adults at the station between stage stopovers. In addition, Susan is carrying her deceased sister's baby, Callie, to be deposited with relatives in Missouri. Of the escapees, Zimmerman(Hugh Marlowe)is the self-appointed leader,since he apparently engineered the escape the others only incidentally took advantage of. He has a problem with Jack Elan(Tevis), who is very persistent I his goal of having sex with Susan. Zimmerman figures he needs Ty to help convince the drivers that everything is normal, when they arrive. Since Susan is assumed to be Ty's wife, Zimmerman doesn't want Ty upset by the 4 forcing themselves on Susan. Finally, Elan has had enough of Zimmerman interfering in his plans, and shoots him dead, also killing companion Gratz(George Tobias), for good measure. Since the other escapee, Yancy(Dean Jagger) had wandered off somewhere, that leaves Elan as the only escapee right around the station. Susan is running around looking for Callie, who has wandered off. Meanwhile, Elan and Ty engage in s gun battle. When Callie wanders into view, Elan changes his target to her vicinity, with the warning that he will be more accurate in the future if Ty doesn't come out with his hands up. Ty complies, with the prospect of being shot as he moves toward Elan, as commanded. But, Susan sees the situation and finds Gratz's riffle beside his body, shooting Elan dead just in the nick of time. The ending leaves the fate of Yancy up in the air. Also, any possible future relationship between Ty and Susan is left to the viewer's imagination. At one point, the escapees were very interested in a large gold shipment said to be on the next stage from the West. However, this seems to have been forgotten about in the ruckus surrounding Elan's pursuit of Susan, and Elan's killing of his compatriots..Calli, a toddler, does her parts well, giving us a fright as she wanders around the legs of the mules. She cries appropriately when Elan is shooting slugs in her direction, that kick up dust nearby.I would say that "Hangman's Knot", which has a screen play rather like this one, is more interesting, as is "Untamed", which I previously mentioned. See the latter film, as well as the present one at YouTube.

dougdoepke Considering the two big stars, Power and Hayward, along with big-budget TCF producing, I was expecting a large-scale western. But it's not. Instead, the action is limited to a stagecoach way station out in the middle of nowhere. But what the movie lacks in scale, it makes up for with close-in dramatic tension. Tom (Power) better figure out a way to foil the gang of cutthroats before the gold-bearing stage comes through or he and Vinnie (Hayward) and probably her little girl are toast.Gang leader Zimmerman (Marlowe) seems like a reasonable enough bad guy who just wants the gold and then skedaddle. The trouble is he's got wild man Tech (Elam) to contend with, and Tech wants Vinnie, no matter the problems this creates for her protector Tom or for the gang. To say that Elam steals the show would be an understatement. He's one scary bad guy, leering and mugging it up like ten-miles of really bad road. No one has looked like him before or since. In fact, he so overshadows gang leader Marlowe that the final showdown is between him and Power instead of Power and Marlowe. But then Marlowe never was much of a screen presence. Anyway, despite the big names, the movie remains an Elam showcase since the rest of the cast pretty much low-keys it. I'm just wondering how director Hathaway got little toddler Callie (Dunn) to respond to cues since she can barely walk. Still, she's got a tense, demanding little role, and if Oscars were given to toddlers, she would deserve a Lifetime Award. All in all, the western is both different and underrated, I expect, because it lacks sweeping action. Nonetheless, the lack of sweep is more than made up for in dramatic tension. Besides, the film includes one overriding curiosity—it features what may be Hollywood's handsomest man against what may be its ugliest. Now there's a real face-off.

satwalker99-1 One earlier reviewer remarked on the theme - the only music at the opening & closing. I agree with his comment on the studio's invidiousness about the music credits - I have been provoked several times when trying to pin down recordings or sources & failing to find the truth. This theme from "Brigham Young" which coincidentally starred the Canadian Dean Jagger ( one of Hollywood's scene stealers & Oscar winner from another Hathaway winner, "12 O'Clock High") was used again by Fox for the similarly gritty "Yellow Sky". It almost seems the studio favoured repeated themes, possibly the most familiar being Alfred Newman's evocative "Street Scene" was used in several films noires & I think,included in one of a series of LPs in the 70s of compilations from famed classics by Charles Gerhardt & the NPO as well as a promo CinemaScope music short featuring Newman & his full studio orchestra released to support the UK Premiere of "Young Bess". Another theme for which I cannot trace a recording used originally throughout Hathaway's "House on 92nd St" & "Street With No Name" featuring a young Widmark reprising his giggling villain & Lloyd Nolan as Inspector Briggs which I can only call the FBI march ( also used briefly at the close of "13 Rue Madaleine"). I have remarked elsewhere on the iniquity of wrongly crediting Adolphe Deutsch with all the music for Billy Wilder's "The Apartment" when the compelling main theme was one "Jealous Lover" composed by Charles Williams(1949) who has contributed popular themes to several British films of the 40s. (This point is included in the trivia listing by IMDb for this movie.) 8 out of 10 for "Rawhide" which I thoroughly enjoyed & is one of my more memorable westerns.Spunky Susan Hayward remains one the screen's delectably desirous redheads and not just a pretty face as she proved in the harrowing biopic "I Don't Want To Die!" The manner of her premature death was another of Hollywood's tragedies & a sad loss.

disdressed12 i thought this was a pretty good western.it contains most of the elements western contain,stagecoaches,robbers,and gunfights.and,there is the beautiful woman(Susan Hayward)and the man(Tyrone power)she is unwittingly thrown together with in a fight to survive.there is not a lot of action,in this particular western,but that's OK.the dramatic parts are well done,and the acting is very good.Power and Hayward acquit themselves quite well do quite well here,but Hugh Marlowe is really good as the chief Villain.Dean Jagger,Jack Elam and George Tobias also play villains with Jack Elam very strong here.there is some great chemistry/tension between Power and Hayward.as most western go this one follows the formula,so it's fairly easy to predict how thing will go.i will say,though,that the ending went a bit different than i had expected.overall,an enjoyable 86 minutes or so