One of several horses of color

I've always enjoyed Eddie Muller's presentation on Noir Alley, although I have to admit to having already seen quite a few of the films. Among the films I hadn't seen before is Ride the Pink Horse, so as always, I recorded it to watch at a later date. I've finally done that, so now you get the blog post.

Robert Montgomery plays Gagin, a man who gets off the bus in the New Mexico town of San Pablo one day. He's looking for the Hotel La Fonda, and the only person willing to help him is young Pila (Wanda Hendrix), this being a town with such a large Mexican-American population that apparently Spanish is still everybody's first language.

Gagin is told at the hotel that there aren't any rooms available here or at any other hotel, because of the big fiesta that's going to take place tomorrow night. But that's not really quite so important just yet. Gagin is also looking for one Frank Hugo (Fred Clark), and is able to use a ruse to find out what room Hugo is in, although he's not currently there, just his girlfriend Marjorie (Andrea King) and his butler.

Also at the hotel is one Bill Retz (Art Smith). Bill has been trailing Gagin, and knows that neither Gagin nor Hugo is up to any good. Apparently Hugo was engaged in some sort of misuse of government funds during the war, and Gagin's friend Shorty had a check that would prove Hugo's misdeeds. Shorty tried to blackmain Hugo and was killed for it, so now Gagin has the check and is trying to do the same thing, which isn't very bright.

At any rate, the night comes and Gagin has to find a place to stay, and at a hole-in-the-wall cantina, he's introduced to Pancho (Thomas Gomez), who makes a meager living by operating a carousel, living in a lean-to next to the carousel. He offers Gagin a place to stay for the night, and is eventually going to become a sort of friend to Gagin, helping him out.

But, after all, Gagin is trying to blackmail Hugo, and that's illegal. Since the Production Code is in effect and crime most definitely does not pay, he's going to be threatened by some of Hugo's hired goons, while Marjorie is trying to get some of that blackmail money for herself. The goons get in a knife fight with Gagin that winds up like the one in From Here to Eternity, and eventually brings about the denouement of the movie.

Ride the Pink Horse is an odd little movie, in part because all of the characters have odd motivations, and in part because something about the production seems slightly off. The backlot shooting looks decidedly sterile compared to whatever establishing shots they used. Montgomery directed as well as starring, and even though he's the main character he's not quite right in a way that's hard to pin down. Gomez earned a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and gives the best performance.

All in all, Ride the Pink Horse is an interesting movie that deserves to be seen at least once despite the definite flaws that it has. It's available on DVD should you wish to watch.