Cheap Ride in the Whirlwind (Video) (Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson) (Monte Hellman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Ride in the Whirlwind

The sodbuster, an old guy, lives with his wife and daughter, played by Millie Perkins, and as Jack says about her, "You don't talk much." True. In fact, nobody does in this film, but that's just fine. Because it's the atmosphere that counts here, and Monte Hellman, the director, gets that just right. I found Hellman's The Shooting somewhat pretentious and the ending was just plain weird. But Ride in the Whirlwind is the kind of Western that resonates a lot more--it FEELS like you're there; it feels like you can talk to these people. They won't say much, but what they will say counts for a lot.

Nicholson is fine as Wes and Cameron Mitchell equally strong as his partner Vern. As Blind Dick, leader of the small outlaw gang, Harry Dean Stanton puts in another of his strong, straight-ahead performances. The shootout is between the outlaw gang and a vigilante posse that's out to get the gang after the latter have held up a stagecoach.

One thing that makes this Western so strong is the small, dusty, lonesome life that all the main characters lead. The sodbuster and his family live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The cowpokes ride together, but they're removed from anyone else. The outlaw gang similarly hangs out in an isolated shack, and the vigilate posse, all men, ride wherever they think there's outlaws; one of them, seeing Abigail for the first time (Millie Perkins) mentions to his partner that she's a "cute piece" and that he'll be coming back to have a meal.

This lonesomeness is what pervades Ride in the Whirlwind and what makes it so compelling. It's a short (82 minutes) film, but well worth watching, if not owning.

SEE THIS WITH "THE SHOOTING"
In the spring of 1965, Roger Corman, the king of profitable, low budget movies, helped produce (without credit) two amazing films that have achieved legendary cult status. Now, thanks to VCI Home Video, Monte Hellman's "THE SHOOTING" and "RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND" are available on DVD in pristine, widescreen transfers. The films should be seen together. They are subtly connected in many ways. Perhaps even insubtext and theme.

Both films star a then unknown Jack Nicholson and super starlet Millie Perkins and were shot simultaneously on location in Utah for the modest amount of $150,000. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced "Ride in the Whirlwind." It is the straightforward tale of the making of a bad man and features on target performances from Cameron Mitchell, Harry Dean Stanton, Rupert Crosse and Katherine Squire among others. After accidentally happening on a group of outlaws, and getting caught in the crossfire by a sheriff and his posse, Wes (Jack Nicholson) is mistaken for one of the gang and escapes. But, in order to defend himself during his flight, has to start killing. By the end of the film he has become a legendary and mythic figure. Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Hellman, has called this "one of the greatest films ever made."

In the The Shooting, former bounty hunter turned miner Gashade (Warren Oates) returns to his diggings to find one of his partners, Leland, dead, his brother Coigne gone, and his third partner, Coley (Will Hutchins) holed-up in a nearby cave. Soon, a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) materializes out of nowhere and offers Gashade a huge sum of money to guide her on a journey he soon realizes is a manhunt.

The quirky screenplay is by Adrien Joyce, the odd pen-name of the brilliant screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the acclaimed "Five Easy Pieces" which also stars Nicholson.

What "The Shooting" is actually about is anybody's guess. It has been called an existential western, or anti western. The super low-budget enforced a minimalist, almost surrealistic style that is terrific and timeless. The stark outdoor locations add immensely to the mood and of this this strange, enigmatic story that seems to reflect mid 60's paranoia and disillusionment.

Since their initial release, both films, though seldom seen, have become critical favorites, and have attained cult film status here and in Europe. Both discs include an entertaining and revealing commentary by director Monte Hellman and actor Millie Perkins with additional informed commentary by American Cinematheque programmer Dennis Bartok.

ride the whirlwind
wow ! i saw this movie years ago ! can't remember very well, but remember that it was one of the best performances of Cameron Mitchell ! (i am a big fan of him !) the movie is as far as i remember about friends who got fals accused for something and got hunted ! and about sacrifice ! watch it !