The Shadow Riders (1982)

The Shadow Riders is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and adapted to screenplay by Jim Byrnes from the novel written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Dominique Dunne, Ben Johnson and Geoffrey Lewis. Music is by Jerrold Immel and cinematography by Jack Whitman.A CBS TV production, The Shadow Riders has Selleck (Mac Traven) and Elliott (Dal Traven) as brothers, who even though they fought on different sides in the Civil War, there fondness for each other still exists. With the war now officially ended, the brothers meet up and head for the family home, here they find their parents telling of how their sisters and Dal's girlfriend Kate (Ross) have been abducted by Renegade Rebels. The men promptly set off in search of their loved ones...It's all very much standard stuff, both in plot telling and production values. Exuding very much a family feel, it's a disappointingly bloodless and sexless picture, with some cliché'd dialogue, poor musical accompaniments to certain scenes (tonally way off) and filler sequences thrown in for good measure. That said, it's very much a harmless piece, with the two male leads good company to share some time with, while Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. offer up a welcoming presence. Location scenery is also well photographed, keeping things airy, and ultimately it's a decent enough time waster for Western fans not expecting an under seen gem. 6/10

I love Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot. Together in the same just makes it better for me. Playing two brothers home from the just ended Civil War, where they fought on opposite sides, they find that their women folk have been stolen by what turns out to be Rebels who are running for Mexico to keep on fighting. The bad guys plan on trading them to some gunrunners for surprise, surprise, guns. Katherine Ross plays the brave, undaunted, heroine type. She shows great spirit and fortitude. Ben Johnson appears as the brothers long gone Uncle Black Jack, a character of dubious reputation. He turns out to be just what the brothers need. Every thing turns out well and the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Typical for a L'Amour novel.

One of the worst of the made-for-TV westerns, this cheap-looking production features slapdash direction (by the unremarkable Andrew V. McLaglen of THE UNDEFEATED fame), an often silly script, and poor production design. Not only that, but it's all dragged down by Jerrold Immel's horrendous score, which is one of the worst examples of "Mickey Mouse-ing" I've ever heard. An excellent cast, several of whom appeared in the earlier and more successful TV-movie THE SACKETTS (in which Immel's music was slightly better but still pretty awful) is woefully wasted here. I wanted to like this movie but found it very disappointing.

If three guys ever looked like rugged, craggy-faced cowboys, it has to be the trio that starred in this made-for-TV movie: Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck and Ben Johnson. With those guys, and a whole lot more, and a story written by Louis L'Amour, this is about as western a Western as you'll ever find.....and it should be better than it is.There is just too much "Rambo" mentality in the good guys never get hit and the bad guys get hit with every shot. That, and a few comments made such as "(adultry) is no big deal" has no place in this story and that kind of liberalism is more with the filmmakers than the people of the Old West.The film is just "fair" in about every aspect, nothing of note, despite a lot of similarities (cast and author) as the better-made "The Sacketts."