I'm surprised Tom Selleck hasn't made more theatrical release Westerns. "Quigley Down Under" (1990) was pretty good, and I enjoyed his TV movie "Crossfire Trail" (2001). Going back in time to 1982, "The Shadow Riders" didn't really resonate with this viewer, but it did have some good cinematography.
This story has Confederate war veteran Cable (Selleck) conflicted over his role in the War Between the States, while his wife Martha (Suzy Amis) has her own issues to work through, as the couple embark on reclaiming their Arizona homestead from Union sympathizers encroaching on their land. That subtext added a compelling backdrop to the story, rather than having just a wild shoot 'em up Western in which the lead hero takes out all the bad guys. In fact, even the bad guys here have some redeeming qualities; Vern Kidston (Keith Carradine) has a change of heart when he learns that shopkeeper Janroe (David Dukes) is playing both sides against each other for his own personal gain.
I kept a close eye on the two kids, the actors Rachel Duncan and Haley Joel Osmont really looked like they could have been brother and sister, so that was pretty good casting there. Clare Cable (Duncan) did a real good job as well while herding those horses, she looked like a pretty fair cowgirl when all was said and done.
The one thing that gets me though, going as far back as movies of the 1930's, is when a runaway wagon suddenly breaks away from a team of horses to head on over a cliff while someone aboard is saved just in the nick of time. It occurred here and looks spectacular, but how does that happen for real is what I'd like to know.
This story has Confederate war veteran Cable (Selleck) conflicted over his role in the War Between the States, while his wife Martha (Suzy Amis) has her own issues to work through, as the couple embark on reclaiming their Arizona homestead from Union sympathizers encroaching on their land. That subtext added a compelling backdrop to the story, rather than having just a wild shoot 'em up Western in which the lead hero takes out all the bad guys. In fact, even the bad guys here have some redeeming qualities; Vern Kidston (Keith Carradine) has a change of heart when he learns that shopkeeper Janroe (David Dukes) is playing both sides against each other for his own personal gain.
I kept a close eye on the two kids, the actors Rachel Duncan and Haley Joel Osmont really looked like they could have been brother and sister, so that was pretty good casting there. Clare Cable (Duncan) did a real good job as well while herding those horses, she looked like a pretty fair cowgirl when all was said and done.
The one thing that gets me though, going as far back as movies of the 1930's, is when a runaway wagon suddenly breaks away from a team of horses to head on over a cliff while someone aboard is saved just in the nick of time. It occurred here and looks spectacular, but how does that happen for real is what I'd like to know.