The Shadow Riders

"Sometimes you have to start a war to finish one."

1982 1h 36m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 56

WesternTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After starring in "The Sacketts", Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott team up again but this time as Mac and Dal Traven, in a movie based on a classic Louis L'Amour novel. They are brothers, who meet up at the end of the Civil War fighting on opposite sides. They go home only to find their family in dire need and their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders. They set out to rescue their family.

“Sometimes you have to start a war to finish one.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

Howdy Amazon ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Tom Selleck
Mac Traven
Sam Elliott
Dal Traven
Ben Johnson
Uncle 'Black Jack' Traven
Geoffrey Lewis
Major Cooper Ashbury, Comanchero Leader
Jeff Osterhage
Jesse Traven
Gene Evans
Colonel Holiday Hammond, Gunrunner
Katharine Ross
Kate Connery / Sister Katherine
Dominique Dunne
Sissy Traven

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writers: Jim Byrnes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, shot by Jack Whitman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerrold Immel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bud Friedgen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott and Ben Johnson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes you have to start a war to finish one.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0084666 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrew V. McLaglen directs. Jack Whitman behind the camera. Jerrold Immel scores. Bud Friedgen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

144 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, shot by Jack Whitman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Jerrold Immel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Bud Friedgen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott and Ben Johnson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Sometimes you have to start a war to finish one.".
7IMDB entry: tt0084666 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Whitman
Original score: Jerrold Immel
Editing: Bud Friedgen
Production design: Jack De Shields
Costume design: Grady Hunt
Makeup / hair: Fred Williams
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Shadow Riders (1982)

Also by

Andrew V. McLaglen

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-01-02
★ 5/10
The Traven Brothers. The Shadow Riders is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and adapted to screenplay by Jim Byrnes from the novel written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Dominique Dunne, Ben Johnson and Geoffrey Lewis. Music is by Jerrold Immel and cinematography by Jack Whitman. A CBS TV production, The Shadow Riders has Selleck (Mac Traven) and Elliott (Dal Traven) as brothers, who even though they fought on different sides in the Civil War, there fondness for each other still exists. With the war now officially ended, the brothers meet up and head for the family home, here they find their parents telling of how their sisters and Dal's girlfriend Kate (Ross) have been abducted by Renegade Rebels. The men promptly set off in search of their loved ones... It's all very much standard stuff, both in plot telling and production values. Exuding very much a family feel, it's a disappointingly bloodless and sexless picture, with some cliché'd dialogue, poor musical accompaniments to certain scenes (tonally way off) and filler sequences thrown in for good measure. That said, it's very much a harmless piece, with the two male leads good company to share some time with, while Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. offer up a welcoming presence. Location scenery is also well photographed, keeping things airy, and ultimately it's a decent enough time waster for Western fans not expecting an under seen gem. 6/10
Wuchak2026-03-11
★ 6/10
Selleck and Sam Elliott as brothers chasing Confederate renegades While this is not a sequel to “The Sacketts” from three years earlier, it features five of the main actors of that 2-part film (aka ‘miniseries’), as well as the writers, Louis L'Amour and Jim Byrnes. Selleck and Elliott, as well as Jeff Osterhage, all wanted to play in another Western together and so they contacted L’Amour about it and this movie is the result. The events take place in the weeks after Lee surrendered to Grant. It’s a good enough Western, which is to be expected with such stalwarts involved in the production. There are similarities to John Wayne’s “The Undefeated” from thirteen years earlier, although this one is distinguished by ocean shore sequences, which brings to mind “One-Eyed Jacks.” Unfortunately, there are some glaring mistakes which can be attributed to the television budget, such as Kate (Katharine Ross) handing Jesse a modern lock blade knife on the beach. Then there’s the frivolous banjo-plucking score combined with too many smiles, which doesn’t gel with the grim nature of the life-or-death proceedings. Then, again, these guys just made it through the Civil War so maybe this adventure seems like child’s play by comparison. Petite blonde Natalie May is on hand as Heather, one of the females destined for slavery in Mexico. She had a memorable part in the post-apocalyptic “Parasite” released earlier the same year. It runs about 1h 32m and was shot in the Jamestown/Sonora area, which is a 2-hour drive southeast of Sacramento in north-central California; meanwhile the Baffin Bay, Texas, scenes were done at Santa Cruz, which is an almost 3-hour drive to the southwest from Jamestown. GRADE: B-