The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Patience is part of the point.”
Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.
Back to trending 
Ramrod
Western · 1947
A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.
Movie details
Ramrod
“Men are so Easy!... A Little Lace, a Pair of Lips, a Touch, and they Kill for you!”
1947 Western 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Ramrod?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Tall in the Saddle
Western · 1944
When Rocklin arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who hired him as a foreman has been murdered. He is out to solve the murder and thwart the scheming to take the ranch from its rightful owner.
Buchanan Rides Alone
Western · 1958
Passing through a border town, a man is caught up in a Mexican's murder of a member of the town's most powerful family.
Decision at Sundown
Western · 1957
A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the former blames him for his wife's death.
Firecreek
Western · 1968
A peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.
Frontera
Western · 2014
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Rancho Notorious
Drama · 1952
A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.
Hud
Drama · 1963
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
El Dorado
Western · 1966
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
The Kentuckian
Western · 1955
A frontiersman and his son fight to build a new home in Texas.
Bad Day at Black Rock
Western · 1955
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
André de Toth
Written by
Cecile Kramer · Luke Short · Jack Moffitt · C. Graham Baker
Joel McCrea
Dave Nash
Veronica Lake
Connie Dickason
Don DeFore
Bill Schell
Donald Crisp
Jim Crew
Preston Foster
Frank Ivey
Arleen Whelan
Rose Leland
Charles Ruggles
Ben Dickason
Court is in session
Put Ramrod on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“A test of endurance, your honour.”
Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.