Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Pretty Good

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Perhaps Hollywood realized their egregious error in not casting Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum in A Streetcar Named Desire the previous year, or perhaps the film just fit into both stars' contracts, but the two strong, sexy stars finally lit up the screen together in 1952's The Lusty Men. Bob plays a rodeo star who returns to his old hometown after being injured in the ring. He meets Suzy, but unfortunately for the audience, the sparks don't immediately fly. She's married to Arthur Kennedy and fears Bob to be a bad influence on her steady hubby. Sure enough, Bob starts training Arthur on the art of the rodeo and they start planning their path to the big time.If you're looking for a steamy romance with two of Hollywood's hottest stars, this isn't it. First and foremost, it's a rodeo movie. Using real footage and incredible stuntmen, it's pretty entertaining for those who are interested in that sport. I'm not, so even though Suzy's one of my favorite actresses and Bob is as hunky as a man can be, this isn't my favorite movie. Arthur Kennedy is cute in his own way, but up against Robert Mitchum there's no contest. So why put him in a role where he's clearly not the love interest, when everyone in the audience wants to see him make Susan Hayward swoon? I don't know. Rumor has it the pair hated each other off screen, and he would eat garlic before their intense close ups; that bit of trivia doesn't help the lack of romance in the movie.

where the enemy is time and your own over-confidence and not those nasty Nazis? That MIGHT describe it The magnificently laconic Robert Mitchum turns in one of his most captivating performances in Nicholas Ray's brilliant modern day western.Set in the down and dusty world of professional rodeo riders, it also stars Susan Hayward and Arthur Kennedy. Mitchum is Jeff McCloud, a former rodeo star, now somewhat adrift and down on his luck. He stumbles into town and quickly latches onto Wes and Louise, a married couple with aspirations of someday having a place of their own. Wes also harbors dreams of becoming a star on the rodeo circuit, a world McCloud is all too familiar with and one that Wes figures could be his ticket to a more rewarding life. It doesn't take a whole lot of encouragement on Wes' part to convince McCloud to become his mentor and before long this trio is on the road in search of those elusive cowboy dreams. Likewise it doesn't take a genius to figure out that an uncomfortable romantic triangle will emerge, sparking an unsettling and inevitable chain of events.This is one Nicholas Ray film that rarely gets mentioned, yet it is one of the director's most emotionally satisfying works. Masterfully shot in black & white by Lee Garmes ( "NIGHTMARE ALLEY", "PORTRAIT OF JENNIE", "CAUGHT", etc) it has a beautifully lived-in look that enhances the exotic world it portrays. The performances are all sterling and the dialogue provided for them (most likely compliments of Horace McCoy, one of the most remarkably and honestly expressive writers of the period) rings remarkably true even in the midst of some overtly romanticized (it is a Nicholas Ray film, after all) moments.The rodeo sequences are exceptionally exciting. Of course, the movie is quite atmospheric and nicely captures the lifestyle of the rodeo crowd. There are some exciting moments (like Wes riding Yo-Yo) and some great lines. ("Men... I'd like to fry 'em all in deep fat!") Highly recommended, and you don't necessarily even have to be a western fan, just a student of human nature.

Spare tough little drama of the rodeo circuit with fine performances all around. Reminiscent in ways of The Misfits but without that film's crushing sense of disillusionment. However you can see many of the peripheral characters and perhaps Mitchum's too as following the same path as those men.Ray's direction keeps the film on a steady forward course to tell it's at times simple at others complex story. He is mightily aided by his three superior leads, all fine performers, all stars in their day but none truly appreciated for their subtle skill and all contributing some of their best work in this film. Mitchum pitches his performance perfectly, a rambler who knows no other way but is starting to wonder if what he's pursuing is worthless. Arthur Kennedy, a tremendously under rated actor, is excellent in a part that could have been eclipsed, since the real conflict is between Bob and Susan, but for his subtle shading of the role. As the main female protagonist of the piece Susan Hayward is all tough, flinty grit. Always a memorable screen presence whether playing it big, i.e. Demetrius and the Gladiators, or subdued as she is here she always carried a grounding gravitas that made her characters memorable. Her Louise is a sensible, down to earth woman who is clear in what she wants, has no problem laying it on the line and taking on anybody that gets in her way. Strangely obscure film considering Ray's reputation and the superstar standing of its two main stars probably owing to its unavailability on DVD although there are rumors of a remastering and upcoming release. Very much worth seeking out.

Nicholas Ray directed this excellent melodrama about ordinary folks trying to make their American Dream happen by utilizing the rodeo circuit. Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward star as Wes and Louise Merritt, an ordinary couple living an ordinary life as a ranch hand and a ranch hand's wife respectively. In walks Robert Mitchum as Jeff McCloud, a virile stranger who may be an opportunist and a lothario as well as an ex rodeo champion. Director Ray, known for his strong characterizations, excels at meshing the three lives of the principals in this film. Kennedy tires of ranch life just as Mitchum enters the picture, worrying his wife Hayward.Mitchum is outstanding as usual in the role of Jeff McCloud and fits right in with the rough and tumble rodeo world. Kennedy is perhaps too old to play a new rodeo star, and he certainly does not have the athleticism and physicality of Mitchum to be as believable as a rodeo star. However, Kennedy's character changes as the film progresses from an ordinary ranch hand to an egotistical star, becoming more distant from his wife's perspective. Hayward's character character changes too from a dutiful spouse to a woman willing to fight to keep her husband and in one piece. Mitchum's character change near the end is not quite believable, and as a result, the ending is not entirely satisfying.Director Nicholas Ray was always ahead of his time, focusing on characters' conflicts with themselves as well as each other; in that, the conflicts served as catalysts for action and/or change. Ray filmed the rodeo scenes with a 16 millimeter hand-held camera, a device that modern filmmakers have returned to with digital cameras in recent years in filming within close quarters, to intensify emotion/horror, or to portray an environment with more realism. Ray made an interesting choice to film in black and white in between two films in color he did: Flying Leathernecks and Johnny Guitar, mirroring the very real black and white results of his characters' decisions in The Lusty Men. Arthur Hunnicutt has a supporting role as an aging ranch hand. Horace McCoy contributed to the screenplay. *** of 4 stars.