Being something of a cowboy-junkie and a die-hard fan of Westerns from the 1940s and 50s, I can usually tolerate and excuse a lot of repetitiveness, inconsistencies and flaws in the story lines of these movies, providing, of course, that the direction is strong and that the principle characters appeal to my sense of masculinity and what I believe to be the true "Code of the West".
But, with that said, I found Ramrod (which was an unfitting/dumb title) played too much like a "Harlequin Romance" Chick Flick and, due to that, it nearly put me off to sleep with its dull-edged drama and drag-along action.
Not only was there some very serious miscasting in this picture (especially that of Veronica Lake, who was more suited for glamor roles in fluffy comedies), but, it also appeared to me that most of the actors were sleepwalking their way through their parts, clearly showing no sign of life or conviction in what they were doing.
Mind you, Ramrod certainly did contain some very impressive camera-work in a number of scenes, especially when the action (or lack of it) was taking place out in the beautiful, wide-open country of Utah.
Ramrod's far too predictable story was basically the umpteenth re-telling of the same, old tale regarding an intense conflict that's escalating out of control between the powerful cattlemen and the struggling sheep ranchers. In order to generate some much-needed excitement into Ramrod's snail-paced story, a token barn-burning was even thrown into the mundane mix, for good measure.
All-in-all - You can be sure that if actress Veronica Lake hadn't been married to Ramrod's director Andre De Toth at the time, then, she, most likely, would've never, ever been considered for the part of Connie Dickason in a million years.
Also - When it came to the likes of Veronica Lake and her co-star Joel McCrae, not only was the chemistry going absolutely nowhere between these 2, but, her tiny, petite stature of only 4' 11" was greatly contrasted by his hefty, towering height of 6' 3".
When these two incompatible actors were photographed standing together, Lake looked like a literal midget next to McCrae - And, this, in turn, rendered Lake's already unsubstantial character as being even more insignificant than it already was to begin with.
But, with that said, I found Ramrod (which was an unfitting/dumb title) played too much like a "Harlequin Romance" Chick Flick and, due to that, it nearly put me off to sleep with its dull-edged drama and drag-along action.
Not only was there some very serious miscasting in this picture (especially that of Veronica Lake, who was more suited for glamor roles in fluffy comedies), but, it also appeared to me that most of the actors were sleepwalking their way through their parts, clearly showing no sign of life or conviction in what they were doing.
Mind you, Ramrod certainly did contain some very impressive camera-work in a number of scenes, especially when the action (or lack of it) was taking place out in the beautiful, wide-open country of Utah.
Ramrod's far too predictable story was basically the umpteenth re-telling of the same, old tale regarding an intense conflict that's escalating out of control between the powerful cattlemen and the struggling sheep ranchers. In order to generate some much-needed excitement into Ramrod's snail-paced story, a token barn-burning was even thrown into the mundane mix, for good measure.
All-in-all - You can be sure that if actress Veronica Lake hadn't been married to Ramrod's director Andre De Toth at the time, then, she, most likely, would've never, ever been considered for the part of Connie Dickason in a million years.
Also - When it came to the likes of Veronica Lake and her co-star Joel McCrae, not only was the chemistry going absolutely nowhere between these 2, but, her tiny, petite stature of only 4' 11" was greatly contrasted by his hefty, towering height of 6' 3".
When these two incompatible actors were photographed standing together, Lake looked like a literal midget next to McCrae - And, this, in turn, rendered Lake's already unsubstantial character as being even more insignificant than it already was to begin with.