Ride the Pink Horse is one of the more unusual film noirs you'll ever see. It's set in the fictional rural New Mexico town of San Pablo (with Santa Fe in part, as the film's actual shooting location). A war vet named Gagin (Robert Montgomery) arrives in town seeking to blackmail war profiteer Frank Hugo (Fred Clark), in revenge for the murder of his friend Shorty. Gagin possesses a canceled $100,000 check which Hugo had used to bribe a high government official. The fiesta is about to begin in town, which contains both a large Mexican and Native American population.
The characters function more on a symbolic, stylistic level, representing certain archetypes. So when Gagin meets Retz (Art Smith), a "government" law enforcement official (presumably from the FBI), seeking to gain information about Gagin's dealings with Hugo, one wonders how he already knows so much about Gagin's machinations--and why he's there with no backup.
Similarly, Gagin has no backup either and goes right into Hugo's lair and demands to see him (he knocks out the war profiteer's secretary by promptly punching him in the gut!). Later, Hugo's friend, Marjorie Lundeen (Andrea King), the apparent femme fatale of the piece, advises Gagin to jack up his $30,000 price considerably for the check Hugo seeks. Uncharacteristic of the typical criminal, Gagin refuses to cut Marjorie in on the blackmail attempt and sticks to his guns regarding the initial $30,000 demand. All the while ignoring the fact that Hugo's thugs are closing in and Marjorie could easily go back to Hugo, double crossing him.
The other part of the narrative revolves the Mexican and Native American characters Gagin encounters and interacts with. Early on he meets the enigmatic Native American teenager Pila (Wanda Hendrix), who gives him a good luck charm to ward off death. Pila apparently is looked down upon by her companions is a bit of an oddball. She however represents intuition and we immediately note that the indigenous people in this film are depicted as morally superior to the crass Americans, all guided by materialistic concerns. Gagin, while curious about her enigmatic predictions, also contemptuously refers to her as "Sitting Bull," after he receives the good luck charm.
The stature of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in this film is further enhanced when we meet Pancho (Thomas Gomez), the kind-hearted carousel operator. Pancho is hardly put on a pedestal as he's depicted as prone to drinking and admitting that he finds women sexually unappealing, unless they're all decidedly zaftig. Nonetheless, it's Pancho who allows Gagin to sleep in his makeshift "bedroom" (right next to the carousel he operates) since all the hotels in town are full. And not only that, later he refuses to divulge Gagin's whereabouts, even while being pummeled repeatedly by Hugo's thugs.
The dark moment of the second act occurs when Marjorie lures Gagin outside the Tip Top Café, where he's promptly stabbed by one of two of Hugo's thugs who have attacked him. Gagin fights back killing one of them and wounding another. From this point on, Gagin is no longer the same man. Before, he projects an image of a man in control of everything but now he must count on Pila to save him (with her plan to take a bus back to her home town two hours away). But Gagin is so out of it (hardly in possession of his faculties at all), that he makes his way to Hugo's door back at the hotel and believes he can still effect his blackmail plan. Both Gagin and Pila are beaten by Hugo's thugs in the room after Hugo demands for Gagin to produce the check he desperately wants to get his hands on (Pila is holding the check all along).
In an unlikely scene, Retz bursts in and saves the day by holding Hugo and crew at gunpoint. Gagin then gives the check to Retz, which can be used as evidence to prosecute Hugo.
The film's scenarists avoided a sentimental denouement as Gagin is still depicted as a tough guy but obviously softened up slightly by his association with the native characters (particularly Pila). The intuitive Pila projects a haughty attitude toward Gagin, saying nothing in response to his request to say goodbye. Instead, she toots her own horn in front of her peers, proudly recounting how she saved the tough guy's life. Now instead of being an outcast and an outsider, she's gained an immense amount of confidence and restored her reputation.
Montgomery is excellent as the macho Gagin (notably Montgomery also handled the director's reins here). He easily benefitted from the extremely clever dialogue, a good deal of it penned by the former reporter turned prolific screenwriter, Ben Hecht. There are also extraordinary performances by Wanda Hendrix and Thomas Lopez, the latter having been the first Hispanic actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.
Ride the Pink Horse was based on a novel by Dorothy Hughes and produced by Hitchcock protégé, Joan Harrison. The female influence was decidedly on display here, especially in regards to the development of the Pila character within the narrative. With its non-stereotypical treatment of Mexican and Native Americans, the film deserves its place in the pantheon of progressive films of its time.
The characters function more on a symbolic, stylistic level, representing certain archetypes. So when Gagin meets Retz (Art Smith), a "government" law enforcement official (presumably from the FBI), seeking to gain information about Gagin's dealings with Hugo, one wonders how he already knows so much about Gagin's machinations--and why he's there with no backup.
Similarly, Gagin has no backup either and goes right into Hugo's lair and demands to see him (he knocks out the war profiteer's secretary by promptly punching him in the gut!). Later, Hugo's friend, Marjorie Lundeen (Andrea King), the apparent femme fatale of the piece, advises Gagin to jack up his $30,000 price considerably for the check Hugo seeks. Uncharacteristic of the typical criminal, Gagin refuses to cut Marjorie in on the blackmail attempt and sticks to his guns regarding the initial $30,000 demand. All the while ignoring the fact that Hugo's thugs are closing in and Marjorie could easily go back to Hugo, double crossing him.
The other part of the narrative revolves the Mexican and Native American characters Gagin encounters and interacts with. Early on he meets the enigmatic Native American teenager Pila (Wanda Hendrix), who gives him a good luck charm to ward off death. Pila apparently is looked down upon by her companions is a bit of an oddball. She however represents intuition and we immediately note that the indigenous people in this film are depicted as morally superior to the crass Americans, all guided by materialistic concerns. Gagin, while curious about her enigmatic predictions, also contemptuously refers to her as "Sitting Bull," after he receives the good luck charm.
The stature of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in this film is further enhanced when we meet Pancho (Thomas Gomez), the kind-hearted carousel operator. Pancho is hardly put on a pedestal as he's depicted as prone to drinking and admitting that he finds women sexually unappealing, unless they're all decidedly zaftig. Nonetheless, it's Pancho who allows Gagin to sleep in his makeshift "bedroom" (right next to the carousel he operates) since all the hotels in town are full. And not only that, later he refuses to divulge Gagin's whereabouts, even while being pummeled repeatedly by Hugo's thugs.
The dark moment of the second act occurs when Marjorie lures Gagin outside the Tip Top Café, where he's promptly stabbed by one of two of Hugo's thugs who have attacked him. Gagin fights back killing one of them and wounding another. From this point on, Gagin is no longer the same man. Before, he projects an image of a man in control of everything but now he must count on Pila to save him (with her plan to take a bus back to her home town two hours away). But Gagin is so out of it (hardly in possession of his faculties at all), that he makes his way to Hugo's door back at the hotel and believes he can still effect his blackmail plan. Both Gagin and Pila are beaten by Hugo's thugs in the room after Hugo demands for Gagin to produce the check he desperately wants to get his hands on (Pila is holding the check all along).
In an unlikely scene, Retz bursts in and saves the day by holding Hugo and crew at gunpoint. Gagin then gives the check to Retz, which can be used as evidence to prosecute Hugo.
The film's scenarists avoided a sentimental denouement as Gagin is still depicted as a tough guy but obviously softened up slightly by his association with the native characters (particularly Pila). The intuitive Pila projects a haughty attitude toward Gagin, saying nothing in response to his request to say goodbye. Instead, she toots her own horn in front of her peers, proudly recounting how she saved the tough guy's life. Now instead of being an outcast and an outsider, she's gained an immense amount of confidence and restored her reputation.
Montgomery is excellent as the macho Gagin (notably Montgomery also handled the director's reins here). He easily benefitted from the extremely clever dialogue, a good deal of it penned by the former reporter turned prolific screenwriter, Ben Hecht. There are also extraordinary performances by Wanda Hendrix and Thomas Lopez, the latter having been the first Hispanic actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.
Ride the Pink Horse was based on a novel by Dorothy Hughes and produced by Hitchcock protégé, Joan Harrison. The female influence was decidedly on display here, especially in regards to the development of the Pila character within the narrative. With its non-stereotypical treatment of Mexican and Native Americans, the film deserves its place in the pantheon of progressive films of its time.