FOUR RODE OUT! (1968)

Star: Sue Lyon; Pernell Roberts;
Leslie Nielsen
Spain/USA Co-Production
Music by Janis Ian (“The Singer”)


An indecisive, worn-out, dispirited U.S. Marshall (Pernell Roberts) slogs into a sleepy bordertown searching for a young Mexican bankrobber, who may have killed a bank guard. He interviews the desperado’s girlfriend (Sue Lyon), who hurls abuse at him, and then meets up with a sleazy, condescending Pinkerton agent (Leslie Nielsen), who further insults and verbally humiliates him. But wait, there’s more!

Despite the fact that Nielsen directly tells Roberts that he’s going to interfere—in every possible way--with his attempt to capture the robber and bring him to trial---Pernell lets him ride along with him anyway! Further, after telling the girlfriend that he won’t take her along, Roberts welcomes Sue Lyon when she rides out-in violation of his orders—in a sexy lady caballero outfit and joins the posse as well. Is anyone listening to Pernell? Anyone at all?

This all takes place in the first 15 minutes. The remainder of the film is a solid 85 minutes of bickering, back-biting, name calling, taunting, demeaning, and mean-spiritedness between the Marshall, the Pinkerton Man, Sue Lyon, and her Mexican fiancé (who also, unwillingly, joins up with them) while they’re all dying of thirst in the middle of the desert. And that’s even before most of the shooting starts!

This “modern” western is based more on Camus and Sartre than Sergio Leone, and what’s most surprising is that the whole thing actually works! With a soundtrack propelled by the mournful and minor-key acoustic guitar strumming of Janis Ian (who was then riding high on her hit “Society’s Child”), “Four Rode Out” actually is a pretty decent cinematic sojourn!

Sue Lyon looks pretty and does a good job of conveying the angst of a bad girl trying to find value and love in her life, even though her bank robbing boyfriend isn’t really worth the trouble; and Leslie Nielsen is delightfully over-the-top as the villainous, lecherous, and sleazy Pinkerton agent, who may or may not be whom he claims to be. Pernell Roberts, fresh out of Bonanza, is really working his role and gives a solid, if somewhat TV-like, portrayal.

And though “4 Rode Out” certainly mines the same territory as Monte Hellman’s earlier “The Shooting” and “Ride The Whirlwind,” it’s more fleshed out (by beautiful Western cinematography---of Almeira, Spain) and substantial and its bigger budget pays off. If you want to take this “ride,” it will only cost a dollar (it’s a DVD double-feature, on Digiview, with “Boot Hill”), and you can’t even buy a 16 ounce Pepsi for that!