Editing Randolph Scott (section)

==Career==
{{Further|Randolph Scott filmography}}

===Stage and early film appearances===

====Early films====
Around 1927, Scott developed an interest in acting and decided to make his way to Los Angeles and seek a career in the motion picture industry. Scott's father had become acquainted with [[Howard Hughes]] and provided a letter of introduction for his son to present to the eccentric millionaire film maker.<ref name="Thomas"/> Hughes responded by getting Scott a small part in a [[George O'Brien (actor)|George O'Brien]] film called ''[[Sharp Shooters]]'' (1928). A print of the film survives in the [[UCLA Film and Television Archive]].

In the next few years, Scott continued working as an extra and bit player in several films, including ''Weary River'' (1929) with [[Richard Barthelmess]], ''[[The Far Call]]'' (1929), ''[[The Black Watch (film)|The Black Watch]]'' (1929) (directed by [[John Ford]] with [[John Wayne]] also uncredited) and uncredited as the Rider in ''[[The Virginian (1929 film)|The Virginian]]'' (1929) with [[Gary Cooper]]. Scott also served as Cooper's dialect coach in this latter film.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edelstein |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOgGEAAAQBAJ |title=Legends of the Wild West: True Tales of Rebels and Heroes |date=December 1, 2020 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-951274-35-1 |pages=64 |language=en}}</ref>

Scott was also uncredited on ''[[Dynamite (1929 film)|Dynamite]]'' (1929) directed by [[Cecil B. DeMille]], and Ford's ''[[Born Reckless (1930 film)|Born Reckless]]'' (1930).

===Stage===
On the advice of [[Cecil B. DeMille]], Scott gained much-needed acting experience by performing in stage plays with the [[Pasadena Playhouse]]. His stage roles during this period include:<ref>Nott 2004, p. 136.</ref>

* A minister in ''Gentlemen Be Seated''
* A butler in ''Nellie, the Beautiful Model''
* Metellus Cimber in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]''
* Hector Malone in [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s ''[[Man and Superman]]''

Scott appeared in the play ''Under a Virginia Moon'' at the Vine Street Theatre in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1932. His performance garnered several [[screen test]] offers from the [[Studio system|major movie studios]].<ref name="Thomas"/> Scott eventually signed a seven-year contract with [[Paramount Pictures]] at a salary of US$400 per week ({{Inflation|USD|400|1932|r=-2|fmt=eq}}).<ref>Nott 2004, p. 10.</ref>

===Movie debut===
In between his Pasadena Playhouse days and Vine Street Theatre performance Scott made his film debut.

In 1931 Scott played his first leading role (with [[Sally Blane]]) in ''[[Women Men Marry (1931 film)|Women Men Marry]]'' (1931), a film, now apparently [[lost film|lost]], made by a [[Poverty Row]] studio called Headline Pictures. A silent film by the same name from 1922, directed by Edward Dillon, has apparently been preserved, however, at Filmmuseum Amsterdam.<ref>The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:..Women Men Marry.</ref>

He followed that movie with a supporting part in a [[Warner Bros.]] production starring [[George Arliss]], ''[[A Successful Calamity]]'' (1932).

===Paramount===
====Zane Grey apprenticeship====
[[File:Poster - Man of the Forest (1933) 02.jpg|thumb|right|With [[Verna Hillie]] in ''[[Man of the Forest (1933 film)|Man of the Forest]]'', 1933]]
[[File:Poster - Man of the Forest (1933) 05 (1).jpg|thumb|right|[[Barton MacLane]], [[Tom Kennedy (actor)|Tom Kennedy]], [[Noah Beery Sr.]], Scott and [[Verna Hillie]] in ''Man of the Forest'', 1933]]
[[File:Poster - Man of the Forest (1933) 09.jpg|thumb|right|[[Noah Beery Sr.]] and Scott in ''Man of the Forest'', 1933]]
Scott's first role under his new [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] contract was a small supporting part in a comedy called ''[[Sky Bride]]'' (1932) starring [[Richard Arlen]] and [[Jack Oakie]].

Following that, however, Paramount cast him as the lead in ''[[Heritage of the Desert (1932 film)|Heritage of the Desert]]'' (1932), his first significant starring role and also the one that established him as a [[Western (genre)|Western]] hero. As with ''Women Men Marry'', [[Sally Blane]] was his leading lady. [[Henry Hathaway]] made his directorial debut with ''Heritage of the Desert''. The film was popular and Scott would go on to make ten "B" Western films loosely based on the novels of [[Zane Grey]].

Many of these Grey adaptations were remakes of earlier silent films or even retitled versions of more recent movies. In an effort to save on production costs, Paramount utilized stock footage from the silent version and even hired some of the same actors, such as [[Raymond Hatton]] and [[Noah Beery]], to repeat their roles, meaning that sometimes their ages would vary eight or more years during the same scene. For the 1933 films ''[[The Thundering Herd (1933 film)|The Thundering Herd]]'' and ''[[Man of the Forest (1933 film)|Man of the Forest]]'', Scott's hair was darkened and he sported a trim moustache so that he could easily be matched to footage of [[Jack Holt (actor)|Jack Holt]], the star of the silent versions.

In between his work in the Zane Grey Western series, Paramount cast Scott in several non-Western roles, such as "the other man" in ''[[Hot Saturday]]'' (1932), with [[Nancy Carroll]] and [[Cary Grant]]. Scott returned to Zane Grey Westerns with ''[[Wild Horse Mesa (1932 film)|Wild Horse Mesa]]'' (1932), then was the romantic male lead in ''[[Hello, Everybody!]]'' (1933). ''[[The Thundering Herd (1933 film)|The Thundering Herd]]'' (1933) was another Zane Grey Western with Hathaway, then he was in two horror movies, ''[[Murders in the Zoo]]'' (1933) with [[Lionel Atwill]] and ''[[Supernatural (film)|Supernatural]]'' (1933) with [[Carole Lombard]]. After the Western ''[[Sunset Pass (1933 film)|Sunset Pass]]'' (1933), Paramount loaned Scott to [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]], to play [[Bebe Daniels]]'s love interest in a minor romantic comedy called ''[[Cocktail Hour (film)|Cocktail Hour]]'' (1933).

Back at Paramount, Scott acted in the Westerns ''[[Man of the Forest (1933 film)|Man of the Forest]]'' (1933) and ''[[To the Last Man (1933 film)|To the Last Man]]'' (1933), both with Hathaway from Zane Grey novels and featuring Noah Beery Sr. as the villain. Scott was loaned to [[Monogram Pictures]] for ''[[Broken Dreams (1933 film)|Broken Dreams]]'' (1933) then was back with Hathaway for ''[[The Last Round-Up (1934 film)|The Last Round-Up]]'' (1934).

Scott did three more Zane Grey Westerns without Hathaway: ''[[Wagon Wheels (film)|Wagon Wheels]]'' (1934) directed by [[Charles Barton (director)|Charles Barton]] (a remake of 1931's ''[[Fighting Caravans]]'' starring [[Gary Cooper]]), ''[[Home on the Range (1935 film)|Home on the Range]]'' (1935) from [[Arthur Jacobson]], and ''[[Rocky Mountain Mystery]]'' (1935) with Barton.

Film historian [[William K. Everson]] refers to the Zane Grey series as being "uniformly good".<ref name="Everson">Everson, William K. ''The Hollywood Western: Ninety Years of Cowboys and Indians, Train Robbers, Sheriffs and Gunslingers''. New York. Citadel Press, 1992, First edition 1969.</ref> He also writes:

{{blockquote|''To the Last Man'' was almost a model of its kind, an exceptionally strong story of feuding families in the post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] era, with a cast worthy of an "A" feature, excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, and an unusual climactic fight between the villain (Jack LaRue) and the ''heroine'' ([[Esther Ralston]], in an exceptionally appealing performance).

''Sunset Pass''...&nbsp;was not only one of the best but also one of the most surprising in presenting Randolph Scott and [[Harry Carey (actor born 1878)|Harry Carey]] as ''heavies''.}}

The Zane Grey series films were a boon for Scott, as they provided him with "an excellent training ground for both action and acting".<ref>Nott 2005, p. 9.</ref>

====RKO and "A" Films====
Paramount loaned Scott to [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]] to support [[Fred Astaire]], [[Ginger Rogers]] and [[Irene Dunne]] in ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935), a hugely popular adaptation of the Broadway musical. RKO liked Scott and kept him on for ''[[Village Tale]]'' (1935), directed by John Cromwell, and ''[[She (1935 film)|She]]'' (1935), an adaptation of [[She (novel)|the novel]] by [[H. Rider Haggard]] from the makers of ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]''.

Scott went back to Paramount for ''[[So Red the Rose (film)|So Red the Rose]]'' (1935) with [[Margaret Sullavan]], then was reunited with Astaire and Rogers at RKO in ''[[Follow the Fleet]]'' (1936).<ref>Nott 2004, p. 43.</ref> It was another big hit.<ref name="rko">Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931–1951', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p55</ref> Scott was in a car drama at Paramount, ''[[And Sudden Death]]'' (1936), directed by Barton, then was loaned to independent producer [[Edward Small]], to play [[Natty Bumppo|Hawkeye]] in another adventure classic, ''[[The Last of the Mohicans (1936 film)|The Last of the Mohicans]]'', adapted from the 1826 [[The Last of the Mohicans|novel]] by [[James Fenimore Cooper]]. A big hit, the film "gave Scott his first unqualified 'A' picture success as a lead."<ref>Nott 2004, p. 58.</ref>

At this point Paramount only put Scott in "A" films. He was a love interest for [[Mae West]] in ''[[Go West, Young Man (1936 film)|Go West, Young Man]]'' (1936) and was reunited with Irene Dunne in a musical, ''[[High, Wide and Handsome]]'' (1937). This last film, a musical directed by [[Rouben Mamoulian]], featured Scott in his "most ambitious performance."<ref>Nott 2004, p. 59.</ref>

Scott went to [[20th Century Fox]] to play the romantic male lead in a [[Shirley Temple]] film, ''[[Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938 film)|Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm]]'' (1938). At Paramount he made a well budgeted Western ''[[The Texans]]'' (1938) with [[Joan Bennett]] then he starred in ''[[The Road to Reno (1938 film)|The Road to Reno]]'' (1938) at Universal.

One missed opportunity came about around this time. Due to his Southern background, Scott was considered for the role of [[Ashley Wilkes]] in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'', but it was [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]] who eventually got the part.

===20th Century Fox===
Scott's contract with Paramount ended and he signed a deal with Fox. They put him in ''[[Jesse James (1939 film)|Jesse James]]'' (1939), a lavish highly romanticized account of the famous [[Jesse James|outlaw]] ([[Tyrone Power]]) and his brother [[Frank James|Frank]] ([[Henry Fonda]]). Scott was billed fourth as a sympathetic marshal after the James brothers; it was his first film in color.

Scott was reunited with Temple in ''[[Susannah of the Mounties (film)|Susannah of the Mounties]]'' (1939), Temple's last profitable film for Fox. The studio gave him the lead in ''[[Frontier Marshal (1939 film)|Frontier Marshal]]'' (1939), playing [[Wyatt Earp]], after which he went to Columbia to star in a medium budget action film, ''[[Coast Guard (film)|Coast Guard]]'' (1939). Back at Fox he was in a war movie, ''[[20,000 Men a Year]]'' (1939).

Scott went over to Warner Bros to make ''[[Virginia City (film)|Virginia City]]'' (1940), billed third after [[Errol Flynn]] and [[Miriam Hopkins]], playing Flynn's antagonist, a Confederate officer – but a sympathetic one, and not the actual villain (which was played by [[Humphrey Bogart]]). There were frequent disputes between director [[Michael Curtiz]], actors and producer [[Hal Wallis]] about script changes. But Curtiz recalled that Scott tried to stay out of those arguments: "Randy Scott is a complete anachronism," said Curtiz. "He's a gentleman. And so far he's the only one I've met in this business..."<ref name="Nott 2004 p. 84">Nott 2004 p. 84</ref> According to Nott, Curtiz and Scott got along well both personally and creatively, with Scott giving one of the top performances in his career.<ref name="Nott 2004 p. 84" />

Scott went back to RKO to play the "other man" role in the [[Irene Dunne]]–[[Cary Grant]] romantic comedy ''[[My Favorite Wife]]'' (1940), a huge hit for RKO. For [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], he starred with [[Kay Francis]] in ''[[When the Daltons Rode]]'' (1940). Back at Fox, Scott returned to [[Zane Grey]] country by co-starring with [[Robert Young (actor)|Robert Young]] in the [[Technicolor]] production ''[[Western Union (film)|Western Union]]'', directed by [[Fritz Lang]]. Scott played a "good bad man" in this film and gave one of his finest performances. [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote:<ref>''[[The New York Times]],'' February 7, 1941.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=May 2023}}

{{blockquote|Randolph Scott, who begins to look and act more and more like [[William S. Hart]], herein shapes one of the truest and most appreciable characters of his career as the party's scout.}}

In 1941 Scott also co-starred with a young [[Gene Tierney]] in another Western, ''[[Belle Starr (1941 film)|Belle Starr]]''. followed by a spy film with [[Elisabeth Bergner]], ''[[Paris Calling]]'' (1941).

===Universal===
Scott's only role as a truly evil villain was in [[Universal Pictures|Universal]]'s ''[[The Spoilers (1942 film)|The Spoilers]]'' (1942), an adaptation of [[Rex Beach]]'s 1905 tale of the [[Klondike gold rush|Alaskan gold rush]] also starring [[Marlene Dietrich]] and [[John Wayne]]. The [[Marlene Dietrich|Dietrich]]-Scott-[[John Wayne|Wayne]] combination led to [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] casting the trio that same year in ''[[Pittsburgh (1942 film)|Pittsburgh]]'', a war-time action-melodrama. Scott was billed above Wayne in both films but Wayne actually played the heroic [[leading man]] roles and enjoyed more screen time in each movie.

===World War II===
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Scott attempted to obtain an officer's commission in the [[United States Marines|Marines]], but because of a back injury years earlier he was rejected.<ref name="Thomas"/> However, he did his part for the war effort by touring in a comedy act with [[Joe DeRita]] (who later became a member of [[the Three Stooges]]) for the Victory Committee showcases, and he also raised food for the government on a ranch that he owned.<ref>Nott 2004, p. 67.</ref>

In 1942 and 1943 Scott appeared in several war films, notably ''To the Shores of Tripoli'' (1942) at Fox, ''[[Bombardier (film)|Bombardier]]'' (1943) at RKO, the Canadian warship drama ''[[Corvette K-225]]'' (1943) (produced by [[Howard Hawks]]), ''[[Gung Ho! (1943 film)|Gung Ho!]]'' at Universal<ref>{{Citation|title=Bugs Bunny-War Bonds|date=1943|url=https://archive.org/details/GungHo-1943Trailer|access-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref> and ''[[China Sky (film)|China Sky]]'' (1945) at RKO. He also made ''[[The Desperadoes]]'' (1943), [[Columbia Pictures]]' first feature in [[Technicolor]]. The film was produced by [[Harry Joe Brown]], with whom Scott would form a business partnership several years later.

Scott was one of many Universal stars who made a cameo in ''[[Follow the Boys (1944 film)|Follow the Boys]]'' (1944). He was in a "northern" with [[Gypsy Rose Lee]], ''[[Belle of the Yukon]]'' (1944), and made a [[swashbuckler]] film for producer [[Benedict Bogeaus]] alongside [[Charles Laughton]], the cheaply made production ''[[Captain Kidd (1945 film)|Captain Kidd]]'' (1945).

Scott performed on two radio shows in 1945: "[[Belle of the Yukon]]" on ''[[The Screen Guild Theater|Screen Guild Players]]''<ref>"Those were the days." ''Nostalgia Digest'', Volume 39, Issue 2, Spring 2013, pp. 32–39.</ref> and "A Lady Takes a Chance" for ''Old Gold Comedy Theatre''.<ref name=rga1>"Radio's golden age." ''Nostalgia Digest'', Volume 38, Issue 3, Summer 2013, pp. 40–41.</ref> 

===Post–World War II career===
[[File:Abilene Town 1946 (2).jpg|thumb|With Jack Lambert in ''Abilene Town'', 1946]]

In 1946, after playing roles that had him wandering in and out of the saddle for many years, Scott appeared in ''[[Abilene Town]]'', a [[United Artists|UA]]<ref>Gritten 2008, p. 8.</ref> release which cast him in what would become one of his classic images, the fearless lawman cleaning up a lawless town. The film "cemented Scott's position as a cowboy hero"<ref>Nott 2005, p. 15.</ref> and from this point on all but two of his starring films would be [[Westerns]]. The Scott Westerns of the late 1940s would each be budgeted around US$1,000,000, equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1000000|1946|r=-5}}}} today. Scott mostly made Westerns for producers [[Nat Holt]] or [[Harry Joe Brown]] at [[Warner Bros]], although he did make ''[[Albuquerque (film)|Albuquerque]]'' (1948) at Paramount.

''The BFI Companion to the Western'' noted:<blockquote>In his earlier Westerns&nbsp;... the Scott persona is debonair, easy-going, graceful, though with the necessary hint of steel. As he matures into his fifties his roles change. Increasingly Scott becomes the man who has seen it all, who has suffered pain, loss, and hardship, and who has now achieved (but at what cost?) a stoic calm proof against vicissitude.<ref name="BFI"/></blockquote>

====Non-Westerns====
Scott's last non-Westerns were a mystery with [[Peggy Ann Garner]] at Fox, ''[[Home Sweet Homicide]]'' (1947), and a family drama for Bogeaus, ''[[Christmas Eve (1947 film)|Christmas Eve]]'' (1947). He also had a cameo in Warners' ''[[Starlift]]'' (1951).

====Nat Holt====
Scott did two Westerns for Nat Holt at RKO, ''[[Badman's Territory]]'' (1946) and ''[[Trail Street]]'' (1947). He followed it with another pair for Holt at that studio, ''[[Return of the Bad Men]]'' (1948) at RKO and ''[[Canadian Pacific (film)|Canadian Pacific]]'' (1949), then they did ''[[Fighting Man of the Plains]]'' (1950) and ''[[The Cariboo Trail]]'' (1950) at Fox.

Scott also made ''[[Rage at Dawn]]'' in 1955 for Nat Holt, which was released by [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] starring Scott and [[Forrest Tucker]], and featuring [[Denver Pyle]], [[Edgar Buchanan]], [[J. Carrol Naish]] and [[Myron Healey]]. It purports to tell the true story of the [[Reno Gang|Reno Brothers]], an outlaw gang which terrorized the American Midwest, particularly in the area around [[Seymour, Indiana]], soon after the [[American Civil War]].

====Harry Joe Brown====
Scott renewed his acquaintance with producer [[Harry Joe Brown]] at Columbia with ''[[Gunfighters (film)|Gunfighters]]'' (1947). They began producing many of Scott's Westerns, including several that were shot in the two-color [[Cinecolor]] process. Their collaboration resulted in the film ''[[Coroner Creek]]'' (1948) with Scott as a vengeance-driven cowpoke who "predates the [[Budd Boetticher]]/[[Burt Kennedy]] heroes by nearly a decade,"<ref>Nott 2005, p. 29.</ref> and ''[[The Walking Hills]]'' (1949), a modern-day tale of gold hunters directed by [[John Sturges]].

They followed it with ''[[The Doolins of Oklahoma]]'' (1949), ''[[The Nevadan]]'' (1950), ''[[Santa Fe (film)|Santa Fe]]'' (1951), ''[[Man in the Saddle (1951 film)|Man in the Saddle]]'' (1951), ''[[Hangman's Knot]]'' (1952), ''[[The Stranger Wore a Gun]]'' (1953) (shot in 3-D), ''[[Ten Wanted Men]]'' (1955), and ''[[A Lawless Street]]'' (1955) (with [[Angela Lansbury]].)

====Warner Bros.====
Scott did ''[[Colt .45 (1950 film)|Colt .45]]'' (1950) at [[Warner Bros.]] where his salary was US$100,000 per picture (equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|100000|1949|r=-5}}}} today). He stayed at the studio to do ''[[Sugarfoot (film)|Sugarfoot]]'' (1951), ''[[Fort Worth (film)|Fort Worth]]'' (1951), ''[[Carson City (film)|Carson City]]'' (1952), ''[[The Man Behind the Gun]]'' (1953), ''[[Thunder Over the Plains]]'' (1953), ''[[Riding Shotgun (film)|Riding Shotgun]]'' (1954), ''[[Tall Man Riding]]'' (1955) Most of these were directed by [[Andre de Toth]].
Also of interest is ''[[Shootout at Medicine Bend]]'' shot in 1955 but released in 1957, which was Scott's last movie in black and white. The movie co-stars [[James Garner]] and [[Angie Dickinson]].<ref>Gritten 2008, p. 1071.</ref>

====Boetticher and Kennedy films====
[[File:Nancy Gates and Randolph Scott in Comanche Station.png|thumb|upright=1.3|With Nancy Gates in ''[[Comanche Station]]'', 1960]]

In 1955 screenwriter [[Burt Kennedy]] wrote the script ''[[Seven Men from Now]]'', which was scheduled to be filmed by [[Batjac Productions]] with [[John Wayne]] as the film's star and [[Budd Boetticher]] as director. However, Wayne was already committed to ''[[The Searchers (film)|The Searchers]]'' with [[John Ford]], and suggested Scott as his replacement.<ref>Nott 2005, p. 131.</ref> The resulting film, released in 1956, did not make a great impact at the time but is now regarded by many as one of Scott's best, as well as the one that launched Scott and Boetticher into successful collaborations on seven films.<ref>{{cite web|website=Trailers From Hell|first=Glenn|last=Erickson|url=https://trailersfromhell.com/the-ranown-westerns-4k/|title=The Ranown Westerns 4K|date=August 12, 2023|accessdate=August 17, 2023}}</ref>

While each film is independent and there are no shared characters or settings, this set of films is often called the Ranown Cycle, for the production company run by Scott and Harry Joe Brown, which was involved in their production.<ref>Wilmington, Michael. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-29-ca-2438-story.html "Tall in the director's chair Budd Boetticher made some of the best-remembered westerns of '50s and '60s; they don't make 'em like that (or him) anymore."] ''Los Angeles Times,'' November 29, 1992, p. 4.</ref> Kennedy scripted four of them. In these films&nbsp;...
<blockquote>Boetticher achieved works of great beauty, formally precise in structure and visually elegant, notably for their use of the distinctive landscape of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|California Sierras]]. As the hero of these "floating poker games" (as [[Andrew Sarris]] calls them), Scott tempers their innately pessimistic view with quiet, stoical humour, as he pits his wits against such charming villains as [[Richard Boone]] in ''[[The Tall T]]'' and [[Claude Akins]] in ''[[Comanche Station]]''.<ref name="BFI"/></blockquote>

After ''[[7th Cavalry (film)|7th Cavalry]]'' (1956), Boetticher, Kennedy and Scott were reunited for their second film, ''[[The Tall T]]'' (1957), which co-starred [[Richard Boone]]. The third in the series was ''[[Decision at Sundown]]'' (1957), although that script was not written by Kennedy. The unofficial series continued with ''[[Buchanan Rides Alone]]'' (1958). ''[[Westbound (film)|Westbound]]'' (1959) is not considered part of the official cycle, although Boetticher directed it. However the last two, both written by Kennedy, were: ''[[Ride Lonesome]]'' (1959) and ''[[Comanche Station]]'' (1960)

====Last film: ''Ride the High Country''====
In 1962 Scott made his final film appearance in ''[[Ride the High Country]]''. It was directed by [[Sam Peckinpah]] and co-starred [[Joel McCrea]], an actor who had a screen image similar to Scott's and who also from the mid-1940s on devoted his career almost exclusively to [[Westerns]].

<blockquote>Scott and McCrea's farewell Western is characterized by a nostalgic sense of the passing of the Old West; a preoccupation with the emotionality of male bonding and of the experiential "gap" between the young and the old; and the fearful evocation, in the form of the Hammonds (the villains in the film), of these preoccupations transmuted into brutal and perverse forms.<ref name="BFI"/></blockquote>McCrea's role in the film is slightly larger than Scott's, although arguably less colorful, but Scott was billed above McCrea after the director tossed a coin over top billing that came up favoring Scott.