Rod Cameron is Will Ballard, foreman of the Hatchet Ranch. When a blizzard claims the life of the owner and a large part of the ranch’s herd, smaller ranchers, jealous over the Hatchet success, begin closing in.
That leaves Ballard to save the ranch almost single-handedly. And not everyone associated with the ranch thinks it’s worth fighting over.
The former owner’s brother, John Evarts, favors trading away pieces of the ranch in return for peace. So does Sam Danfelser (Forrest Tucker), finance of the former owner’s daughter, Celia.
But Celia has a mind of her own and isn’t anxious to see everything her father built trampled under.
When John is murdered, she begins leaning more and more toward Will Ballard’s way of thinking.
And if that means a fight with the enemies of Hatchet … well, she’s got faith that Ballard can handle that, too.
Others anxious to see Ballard dead include neighboring rancher Bide Marriner and whiskey/horse trader Red Courteen.
Meanwhile, Lottie Priest (Barbara Britton), Ballard’s finance, can’t help but wonder why he’s risking his life to save another woman’s ranch.
Rod Cameron as Will Ballard, explaining his loyalty to the Hatchet ranch to fiancée Lottie in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Ella Raines as Celia Evarts, caring for the wounded Ike Adams in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Review:
Adapted from a Luke Short story, a deep cast makes this an enjoyable 1950s Western, even if the outcome — at least where Will and Celia are concerned — is pretty predictable.
In addition to the leads, the cast includes Chill Wills as Ballard’s sidekick, Brian Donlevy, Jim Davis, J. Carroll Naish and Paul Fix. This actually marked one of the last film roles for Ella Raines, who retired four years later to raise a family.
Donlevy is actually top-billed, though it’s Cameron who’s front and center for the majority of the film and the main subplot is the romantic relationships between his character and Britton’s and Tucker’s and Raines’.
Forrest Tucker as Sam Danfelser, constantly fearing the woman he loves and the ranch he wants are clearing away in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Brian Donlevy as Bide Marriner, determined to graze cattle on the Hatchett range in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Directed by:
Joseph Kane
Cast:
Rod Cameron … Will Ballard
Brian Donlevy … Bide Marriner
Ella Raines … Celia Evarts
Forrest Tucker … Sam Danfelser
Barbara Britton … Lottie Priest
Chill Wills … Ike Adams
J. Carroll Naish … Sheriff Kneen
Jim Davis … Red Courteen
Paul Fix … Ray Cavanaugh
Taylor Holmes … Lowell Priest
James Bell … John Evarts
Al Caudebec … Mel Young
Roydon Clark … Jim Young
Roy Barcroft … Russ Schultz
Runtime: 90 min.
Barbara Britton as Lottie Priest, fed up with her fiancé risking his life to save another woman’s ranch in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Taylor Holmes as Lowell Priest, Lottie’s dad, thinking he might cash in on the Evarts family misfortunes in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Memorable lines:
Ride Marriner, hearing of Bill Everis’ death: “What do you think of that? Bill Evaris finally met up with something that wouldn’t take orders from him — a blizzard.”
Red Courteen to Mr. Priest, plotting a way to get back at Hatchet and Will Ballard : “I’m a black sheep, but the color don’t rub off.”
Celia Evarts, hearing that more ranch hands have quit Hatchet: “Oh, let ’em go. If they’re that chicken-hearted, we don’t want them.”
Ike Adams: “Honey, they could have chicken hearts and lily livers, and we’d still want ’em.”
Jim Davis as Red Courteen, one of many men eager to see the Hatcher ranch collapse in Ride the Man Down (1952)
J. Carrol Naish as Sheriff Joe Keen, a lawman who tries to be fair despite expectations to the contrary in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Chill Wills as Ballard sidekick Ike Adams, wounded and bemoaning how it happened in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Al Caudebec as Mel Young and Roydon Clark as his brother Jim, young men who become Ballard ranch hands in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Douglas Kennedy as Harve Garrison and Paul Fix as Ray Cavanaugh, intrigued by news of a rancher’s death in Ride the Man Down (1952)
James Bell as John Evarts, warning Ray Cavanaugh about grazing his cows on Hatchet Ranch in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Roy Barcroft as Russ Schultz, accused of claiming Hatchet cattle as his own in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Jack La Rue as Wes Kennedy, denying any knowledge of John Evarts’ death in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Ella Raines as Celia Evarts, ordering Bide Marriner off the Hatchet ranch her father built in Ride the Man Down (1952)
Rod Cameron as Will Ballard, deterrmined to help Celia Evarts hold onto her ranch in Ride the Man Down (1952)
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