The Long Riders

Walter Hill had always wanted to shoot a Western, and got his first chance with 1980's THE LONG RIDERS, another telling of the exploits of the James and Younger clans in the Midwest following the Civil War.  The director was building a solid resume of action dramas with laconic, somewhat misanthropic protagonists.  A script co-written by Stacy and James Keach, who had originated their story on stage, was given to Hill after others passed.  There was a big (but entirely appropriate) casting gimmick - not only would the Keach brothers play (respectively) Jesse and Frank James, but the Carradines (David, Keith, and Robert) would play Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger and the Quaids (Dennis and Randy) would play Ed and Clell Miller.  Christopher and Nicholas Guest would play Charley and Robert Ford, but these brothers weren't as well known at the time as the others and don't even get mentioned in the opening credits. 

The siblings robbed banks and trains in between visits to saloons and cathouses.  Sometimes, innocent folks got killed.  Ed Miller even gets kicked out of the gang for such action.   Jesse eventually starts a family.  The Pinkerton detective agency dispatches the cocksure Mr. Rixley (James Whitmore Jr.) to catch the criminals but only ends end killing their relatives and losing them across the divide.  Along the way, famed lady of the evening Belle Star (Pamela Reed) saunters through and flirts with Cole, leading to a nicely choreographed knife fight between him and Belle's new husband Sam, an American Indian who looks like he wandered off the set of Hill's earlier film THE WARRIORS.

THE LONG RIDERS is a clear nod to the work of Sam Peckinpah, with whom Hill worked on THE GETAWAY in the early '70s.  Hill's use of slow motion is skillful and effective, especially during the fallout of the Nothfield, Minnesota  bank debacle.  The violence there will remind you of THE WILD BUNCH, though maybe with more cuts.  The film is well shot by Ric Waite and Ry Cooder's score is quite sublime.  Surprisingly, Hill opts for a comic book style, complete with "wipes" between scenes.  Maybe not so surprising, as all of the director's films sport this method.  And I almost always dig it.

I would've appreciated more character development, but a relatively short running time may be the culprit.  With so many characters, only a mini-series could do that justice.  Everyone gets at least one decent moment.  David Carradine (perhaps the biggest star at the time of this film's release) has several, probably the most.  Everyone in solid in their roles, and I think Reed has the strongest role for a female in any Walter Hill picture.