Ramrod

"Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!"

1947 1h 35m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 54

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.

“Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!”

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Cast

Joel McCrea
Dave Nash
Veronica Lake
Connie Dickason
Don DeFore
Bill Schell
Donald Crisp
Jim Crew
Preston Foster
Frank Ivey
Arleen Whelan
Rose Leland
Charles Ruggles
Ben Dickason
Lloyd Bridges
Red Cates

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: André de Toth
Writers: Luke Short, Jack Moffitt, C. Graham Baker
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

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by André de Toth, shot by Russell Harlan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake and Don DeFore carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039750 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

André de Toth directs. Russell Harlan behind the camera. Adolph Deutsch scores. Sherman A. Rose cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by André de Toth, shot by Russell Harlan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Adolph Deutsch. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sherman A. Rose shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake and Don DeFore carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!".
8IMDB entry: tt0039750 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Original score: Adolph Deutsch
Editing: Sherman A. Rose
Production design: Lionel Banks
Costume design: Edith Head
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Ramrod (1947)

Also by

André de Toth

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-05-11
★ 8/10
From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own. And, being a woman, I won't have to use guns. Ramrod is directed by Andre DeToth and collectively written by Luke Short, Jack Moffitt, C. Graham Baker and Cecile Kramer. It stars Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Don DeFore, Donald Crisp, Preston Foster, Arlene Whelan and Charles Ruggles. Music is by Adloph Deutsch and cinematography by Russell Harlan. Sick of self proclaimed bully boss of the valley Frank Ivey (Foster) getting his way, hard driven Connie Dickason (Lake) sets up the Circle 66 Ranch. Hiring Dave Nash (McRea) as her ranch foreman (ramrod), Connie uses tricks and feminine wiles to win the personal battles to hand - which may well spell bad news for everyone... Ramrod was the first Western directed by De Toth, and it's quite an impressive genre start. Splendidly capturing the film noir zeitgeist that was occurring at this time, pic looks terrific, De Toth and Harlan bring perfect monochrome moodiness for narrative compliance. The story pulses with psychological beats, the characters ranging from damaged addicts, the lovelorn and the lost, the power crazy and the cowardly, and right there at the core of it all is a femme fatale who is very much all woman but manipulative, bitter and destructive to the bone! Story has a number of splinters lifting it out of the ordinary, the twists and turns not ridiculous, the sly machinations of principals are devilishly enjoyable for the like minded noir of heart. The plotting is clinically smart by not being ordinary, De Toth toying with the traditional tropes of the good versus bad Western staples. It's fair to say that Ramrod will reward more on further viewings, where it has the power to have the viewer dissecting the Freudian angles on show. Cast are well suited to their respective roles. Lake rightly deglamourizes for Connie, and yet she carries a steely sexiness that has you understanding how men fall under her spell. McRea underplays it perfectly, he got the dupe role down pat, whilst DeFore steals the men acting honours as Bill Schell, who is Dave's mate, a jumping bean loose cannon dealing death with a nod and a wink. Support cast all come out in credit to seal the deal, for Ramrod is a must see for those who like Western and film noir hybrids. 8/10

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