Three cowhands between jobs had the unfortunate misfortune of pitching a night camp in the same valley as a cabin full of men who have just robbed a stagecoach and murdered the guard. A posse arrives in the morning, forms up along the ridge, and assumes that everyone down below is guilty—fit for either being shot to pieces or hanged from a tree, whichever comes first. Approximately half of Ride in the Whirlwind's 82 minutes is devoted to capturing the situation's matter-of-fact, absurdist horror. In the second half, the two surviving cowpokes (Jack Nicholson and Cameron Mitchell) seek refuge at a farmhouse, where they reluctantly threaten the farmer, accept breakfast from his wife, flirt with his daughter (Millie Perkins), play checkers, and hope to go unnoticed until nightfall.
Read full
Three cowhands between jobs had the unfortunate misfortune of pitching a night camp in the same valley as a cabin full of men who have just robbed a stagecoach and murdered the guard. A posse arrives in the morning, forms up along the ridge, and assumes that everyone down below is guilty—fit for either being shot to pieces or hanged from a tree, whichever comes first. Approximately half of Ride in the Whirlwind's 82 minutes is devoted to capturing the situation's matter-of-fact, absurdist horror. In the second half, the two surviving cowpokes (Jack Nicholson and Cameron Mitchell) seek refuge at a farmhouse, where they reluctantly threaten the farmer, accept breakfast from his wife, flirt with his daughter (Millie Perkins), play checkers, and hope to go unnoticed until nightfall.
Discussion