Review of Ride, Vaquero!

Robert Taylor thought this movie to be one of his worst! But years later it has come into favor, not only for the unique story line, but because of his performance of the outlaw Rio. He is so unhappy, so silent, so restrained, that when we see him falling in love with Ava Gardner, we almost can not believe it. Anthony Quinn gives a wonderful performance as the head of the gang, he is dirty, drunken, and vicious, the complete opposite of Rio. Esqueda (Quinn) wants to run off all the ranchers, because they bring with them law, and civilization. His time has come, and he knows it. When Howard Keel (Cameron) brings Ava (Dehlia)to his ranch to start a cattle kingdom, she becomes restless and lonely because at every turn, Esqueda burns and ravishes their home. Quinn sees the changes in Rio when he spots him longing, from a distance, after Dehlia. When Taylor is caught after a raid by Keel, he offers him a job, at which point he leaves Quinn, because he wants to be close to Ava. His character is very conflicted by loyalty to Quinn, and his love for Gardner. He knows that they will meet and one will kill the other. He stays anyway, and in the pursuit of horses, saves Keel's life, for which Keel feels vindicated, because he always felt that Rio had some good in him, not knowing that \ he is in love with his wife. He leaves the ranch for a business trip, and when Ava asks Rio to take her to Quinn, so she can plead with him for her new life, he takes her there. When she threatens Quinn, she only stops when he tells her if she kills him she will also be killing Rio, because the gang will take his life. When they return to the ranch, she confronts Rio about the real reason he is there, and in the encounter he asks her why she saved his life. She is so needy, and lonely that she tries to seduce Taylor, and kisses him with such a hunger, that you can feels her needs thru the screen. He rejects her, slapping her, and leaving the home, knowing that he loves her, but that he is no good for her, and that Keel is the right man for her. Esqueda goes on the rampage, and they have a final showdown, where they are both killed. It is quite sad to see Ava, so conflicted, so unsure, seeing Rio dead, and knowing that he did it for her. She asks Keel for forgiveness, and he tells her that he can forgive anything that she can forget. A very interesting portrayal by all. A truly overlooked western, years ahead of its time in the films that would follow. Films that came out of the new Hollywood, method actors, method films. This could really be called a "method western."