Rancho Notorious Review

Rancho Notorious
A nice rancher, seeks out to revenge his fiance's death when she is killed during a robbery. His revenge leads him to Chuck-a-luck, Altar Keane's ranch set up to hide criminals, and he finds more than he bargains for.

by Jake Hamilton |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Mar 1952

Running Time:

89 minutes

Certificate:

PG

Original Title:

Rancho Notorious

The sight of Marlene Dietrich straddling a cowboy like a donkey while slapping his arse is certainly one to behold. Welcome to the Western, Fritz Lang-style. This noir-ish tale of a gunslinger out to revenge his dead sweetheart is sharply written and shot with dark shadows and a subversive eye.

The title may sound like a crass 70s porn flick, yet Lang has inserted enough sordid touches to warrant the link, not least that infamous roulette sequence, and Dietrich is as bewitching as ever. With other good turns from Kennedy and Ferrer. Lang is on form and the pace of the film works wonderfully with the build up of tension.

A nice slant on the revenge western from a true master film-maker.
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