Saddle the Wind (1958)

Robert Taylor is Steve Sinclair, a former gunman who has settled in a valley controlled by cattleman Dennis Deneen (Donald Crisp).

Deneen saw his son die by the gun and has but one demand– he wants peace in the valley.

That peace is interrupted by Taylor’s younger brother, Tony Sinclair (John Cassavates). He’s just itching to prove his manhood and his ability with a six-gun.

And there’s no stopping his demise into a blood-hungry killer after he outdraws a man named Vendables who has come gunning for his older brother.

Into the volatile mix rides Joan Blake (Julie London), a saloon singer from Juletown who’s seen more than her share of hard times.

She’s drawn in by Tony’s charming ways and his stories of the wonderful valley in which he and his older brother live. But she has no idea how vicious he can be.

Also complicating matters is the arrival of a family of nesters led by Clay Ellison (Royal Dano), a proud man looking to fence part of the range land the Sinclairs claim as their own.

Robert Taylor as Steve Sinclair, doing his best to raise a hot-headed younger brother in Saddle the Wind (1958)

John Cassavetes as Tony Sinclair, reacting to a slap across the face in Saddle the WInd (1958)

Review:

Excellent, wonderfully scripted and tightly-constructed little Western.

Particularly impressive are the scenes where the nesters try to stand up to Steve Sinclair, first, and then his more violent brother. And Dano’s determined to cross Cemetery Ridge when he and Cassavetes have their final showdown.

It’s easily one of the best of Robert Taylor’s Westerns from the 1950s and benefits from strong performances by Dano, Crisp, McGraw and London, the latter as a saloon singer desperate for a fresh start only to find she’s made a poor choice in Taylor’s brother.

This marked the only Western for Cassavetes, who went on to a long career in film as an actor and director. He was married to actress Gena Rowlands for more than 30 years prior to his death at age 59 in 1989.

Partial credit for the intelligent script goes to Rod Serling, later of “The Twilight Zone” fame.

Julie London as Joan Blake, the saloon singer Tony Sinclair brings back from Julestown in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Royal Dano as Clay Ellison, the man who shows up determined to farm part of the valley in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Directed by:
Robert Parrish

Cast:
Robert Taylor … Steve Sinclair
John Cassavetes … Tony Sinclair
Julie London … Joan Blake
Donald Crisp … Dennis Deneen
Royal Dano … Clay Ellison
Irene Tedrow … Mary Ellison
Charles McGraw … Larry Venables
Ray Teal … Brick Larson
Douglas Spencer … Hemp Scribner
Richard Erdman … Dallas Hanson

Runtime: 84 min.

Title tune: “Saddle the Wind”
performed by Julie London

Donald Crisp as Dennis Deneen, a man who won’t permit violence in his valley in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Ray Teal as Brick Larson, Deneen’s foreman, alarmed by news of a killing in the valley in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Memorable lines:

Steve Sinclair, after Tony returns from a cattle drive with Joan Blake: “I thought you were going to keep an eye on him.”
Hemp Scribner: “I can’t keep an eye on that kid. Looking after your brother is like poking butter in a wildcat’s ear. It just can’t be done.”

Steve Sinclair: “I don’t like tricked-up guns, Tony. He’s got that trigger honed down so fine you could sneeze it off.”

Steve Sinclair, scolding his brother for spending so much time honing his six-gun skills: “I’ve got something against the breed (of men) that over practices. How do I get that to register? Do I have to crawl inside your head with an iron and burn it there?”

Charles McGraw as Larry Venables, the gunman who shows up looking to even an old score with Steve Sinclair in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Richard Erdman as Dallas Hanson, Tony’s friend, getting his first glimpse of Joan Blake in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Joan Blake, as Steve Sinclair wonders how she landed at the ranch: “I’m not slut, Mr. Sinclair. He (Tony Sinclair) didn’t buy me like he bought that gun.”

Joan Blake, to Tony Sinclair, after fending off his advances: “You kissed me like you paid for the privilege. I don’t like that kind of kiss.”
Tony Sinclair: “I don’t know how to figure you. You sing to me like you’re inviting me in, then you shut the door on me. I’d like to understand you. I’d like to know what you want.”
Joan Blake: “Gently, Tony. Anything you do for me, do it gently.”

Larry Venables: “You fast, little friend?”
Tony Sinclair: “Boy, you got a good chance to find out.”
Vendables: “Sonny, I got the guts and know-how to puncture your belly six times before you can take a breath of air.”

Douglas Spencer as Hemp Scribner, trying to explain how Tony returned from a cattle drive with a saloon girl in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Jay Adler as Hank and Stanley Adams as Joe, the barkeep, both concerned by Larry Venables arrival in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Steve Sinclair, after Tony guns down Larry Venables: “I’m only asking you to remember one thing. Every gunfight, there’s one who walks up to the bar and buys the drinks and there’s the other that gets his name carved into a stone. At best, the odds are 50-50, Tony.”

Brick Larson: “I don’t think that Tony ever did get born. I think somebody found him inside a gun cylinder and shot him out into the world by pressing a trigger.”

Steve Sinclair to his brother Tony: “You did okay. If you set out this morning to prove everybody right — that you are a strutting, itchy-fingered little monster, you did okay. You proved it.”

Robert Taylor as Steve Sinclair and John Cassavetes as yonger brother Tony after the latter brings pretty Joan Blake to the ranch in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Irene Tedrow as Mrs. Ellison, pleading her husband’s case to Steve Sinclair in Saddle the Wind (1958)

John Cassavetes as Steve Sinclair, trying to make sure Joan Blake (Julie London) is comfortable in her new home in Saddle the Wind (1958)

Robert Taylor as Steve Sinclair, wondering if he can save his gun-happy younger brother while Joan Blake (Julie London) looks on in Saddle the Wind (1958)