The Lusty Men

Play trailer

The Lusty Men

1952,

1h 53m,

Western

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

100%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In the American West of the 1950s, talented rodeo rider Jeff McCloud quits after an injury. Returning to his hometown, he gets a job on a ranch. He strikes up a friendship with Wes, a fellow ranch hand who dreams of being a rodeo rider. Wes talks Jeff into training him, and joins the rodeo circuit with the reluctant approval of his wife. But when the two men start to disagree, Jeff returns to the circuit himself.

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

Oct 13, 2014

4/5

Portrayed with Ray's usual sympathy for outsiders, the central threesome are decent, flawed romantics .

Go to Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Oct 23, 2007

A somewhat slow starter, once underway it is kept playing with growing interest under Nicholas Ray's firm direction.

Go to Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Mar 25, 2006

3.5/5

The punch of the film is in its details of rodeo life as it is, and for this R. K. O. and Producer Jerry Wald have a dynamic film.

Go to Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Feb 20, 2024

4/4

Nicholas Ray's beautifully layered, black-and-white rodeo picture.

Go to Full Review

Jacques Rivette

Cahiers du Cinéma

Jun 7, 2022

Nicholas Ray has always offered us the story of a moral dilemma where man emerges as either victor or vanquished, but ultimately lucid: the futility of violence, of all that is not happiness and which diverts man from his innermost purpose.

Go to Full Review

Manny Farber

The Nation

Nov 25, 2020

Mitchum is the most convincing cowboy I've seen in horse opry, meeting every situation with the lonely, distant calm of a master cliché-dodger.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Theodore S

Apr 30, 2018

A tough American classic, it is so american as a movie can be featuring the very american activity - rodeo. The movie tells a classic story of a man bent on earning an "easy-coming" money risking at the same time all he has, including his life and the woman he loves. It's very well-acted with formidable presence of Robert Mitchum and especially Susan Hayward on the part of which the movie hinges. The rodeo sequences are breathtaking and awe-striking. It sure is a good ride this movie is.

See more

George P

Jul 8, 2017

Robert Mitchum as rodeo cowboy.

Read all reviews

Nicholas Ray

Director

Susan Hayward

Louise Merritt

Robert Mitchum

Jeff McCloud

Arthur Kennedy

Wes Merritt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Booker Davis

Frank Faylen

Al Dawson

The Song Remains the Same

40%

87%

The Song Remains the Same

Watchlist

Sergeant Rutledge

92%

89%

Sergeant Rutledge

Watchlist

A Matter of Life and Death

97%

93%

A Matter of Life and Death

Watchlist

To Have and Have Not

97%

90%

To Have and Have Not

Watchlist

TRAILER

for To Have and Have Not

The Secret of Roan Inish

95%

86%

The Secret of Roan Inish

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

In the American West of the 1950s, talented rodeo rider Jeff McCloud quits after an injury. Returning to his hometown, he gets a job on a ranch. He strikes up a friendship with Wes, a fellow ranch hand who dreams of being a rodeo rider. Wes talks Jeff into training him, and joins the rodeo circuit with the reluctant approval of his wife. But when the two men start to disagree, Jeff returns to the circuit himself.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Producer: Jerry Wald, Norman Krasna
Screenwriter: David Dortort, Horace McCoy
Production Co: Wald/Krasna Productions
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 24, 1952, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 53m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings