Thanks for the memories!

Absolutely Fantastic

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I would really only recommend "The Lusty Men" to Nicholas Ray completists. It doesn't transcend by much your standard 1950s melodrama, let alone come close to being as good as some of Ray's best movies. But I will give it credit for having more complexity, both in character and theme, than the typical romantic drama of the time.What I think makes this feel more like a Ray film than anything else is that, though the female protagonist at the film's center (played by a miscast Susan Hayward), or rather the males' feelings about her, are the catalyst for the plot, the principal relationship in the film is between Robert Mitchum, as a retired rodeo celebrity, and Arthur Kennedy, as the man who idolizes him. At certain times, the love triangle at the film's center shifts perspective, and Hayward is replaced at the apex by one or another of the men. It doesn't feel homoerotic to me; rather, the film does a pretty good job of realizing a complex male relationship, equal parts admiration and jealousy. This male relationship also feels distinctly like a product of and response to the post-WWII generation, full of men who had bonded with other men in life and death situations and then were asked to settle down into the boring tedium of family life. Hayward isn't remotely convincing as a simple country girl who wants nothing more than a ranch and a man, but both Kennedy and especially Mitchum give very good performances. There's also a lot of footage of rodeos for those who are interested, and the metaphorical role rodeos play in the film was not lost on me -- men taming and conquering the wild instincts of beasts.Grade: B

One thing was very clear to me as I was watching this movie. It was extremely difficult to try and imagine Miss Susan Hayward living in a trailer, traveling around with husband Arthur Kennedy and his best pal Robert Mitchum and in constant fear that her husband will be injured while riding the bull. Throughout, Susan establishes friendships with the other women following their own husbands around, another interesting aspect because normally in her movies, Ms. Hayward was more the rival to other women than friendly with them. Of course, with Robert Mitchum top-billed over Susan's on-screen husband, there's bound to be chemistry between them, even though Susie really can't stand Robert's character. But the lust in the title isn't just for the men risking being gored, it's also for the frustrated women, and while Arthur Kennedy may not seem the most sensual of love interests for someone as heated as Hayward, their marriage isn't shaken by Mitchum's presence.While this has more of an interest perhaps for the male fans of rodeos, it will stir up controversy as a part of America's past that today, animal rights activists look on with in disdain. Yes, the whole point of man risking life and limb by riding the hot-tempered bull simply to win a large monetary prize (or the even more controversial calf roping, not seen here), seems somewhat ridiculous when compared with other sporting events, and the idea of it as entertainment for the masses is also bewildering when compared to other distractions. So while this might not be for all tastes, it gets by merely on the casting and the unconventional relationship of the leading man and leading lady. Some interesting supporting players (particularly Arthur Hunnicutt) round out (or round up) the cast to offer the little details to make it better than it would have been without them. In a sense, it's almost a companion piece to the same year's "Clash By Night" which also took lusty characters in squalid settings, placing them in situations they emotionally could not handle.

Along with "With a Song in My Heart", "The Lusty Men" really pushed Susan Hayward toward international stardom. Her role as Louise mirrored her own real life attitude to love and marriage. She tried to stick to her marriage both in the movie and in real life and it could have been Susan saying about her own circumstances "Men!! - I'd like to fry them all in deep fat"!!! Even though the movie garnered excellent reviews and rated a movie review page in the prestigious "Look" magazine it wasn't as big a hit as her other releases.Rodeos are Jeff McLeod's (Robert Mitchum) reason for living and when he is gored by a Brahma bull he is emotionally and physically spent. He desperately wants to rebuild his life and returns to his childhood home. Remembering some "buried treasure" he had hidden under the floorboards as a kid, he retrieves it only to find an old rodeo program and a couple of coins. Wes and Louise Merritt (Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward) are keen to buy Jeff's home and Wes, who recognises him as a former Rodeo star, gets him a job as a ranch hand. Wes has won a few events himself and feels that with Jeff as his manager they would be a great team. Louise is unimpressed with Jeff's cool and lacksadasical attitude, she wants Wes in one piece and to save his money for a house deposit.Wes, with childhood memories of a father who was never his own boss, quits his job for a life on the rodeo circuit and what he thinks is easy money. What with busted legs and faces scarred from Brahma bull hooves, Wes is getting a taste of grim reality - and it's only their first day!!! The film creates an exciting atmosphere with wild horses, bucking broncos and leisure time spent carousing in the bars where a day's prize money could be lost in drinking and gambling. Louise sees Wes being sucked into the itinerant way of life and Jeff, after being taunted by Wes for sponging on his earnings, signs up the next day for all events, even though he is far from being in good shape. He hits trouble when his foot gets caught in a stirrup and his death sets up a pretty contrived ending where Wes, realising Jeff had only his best interests at heart, gives up the circuit for a little home in Texas.Susan gives an unusually restrained performance as Louise (except for one hilarious cat fight) in this movie that shows not only the downside but the excitement that drives cowboys to give their all in the ring. It goes without saying that both Kennedy and Mitchum give superlative performances but a couple of the women step up as well - Maria Hart and Lorna Thayer, actresses I have never heard of. Actual shots of rodeos were filmed in Tuscon, Arizona and Pendleton, Oregon with some of America's most famed rodeo stars including the appearance of Cy Taillon - "The World's Greatest Rodeo Announcer". In fact I can heartily recommend Cyra McFadden's wonderful memoir about life on the rodeo circuit as well as what it was like to be the unofficial mascot as well as Cy Taillon's daughter - "Rain or Shine".

This fine western about life on the rodeo circuit is more about drama than action but still packs a wallop, thanks largely to Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward. Mitchum is a washed up bronc rider who becomes a mentor to Arthur Kennedy who has dreams of becoming a big time rodeo performer. Eager to buy a ranch but lacking money, Kennedy learns the ropes of rodeo performing and the three decide to travel the rodeo circuit although Hayward is cool to the idea. Under Mitchum's tutelage, Kennedy career takes off but he doesn't seem to notice the attraction between Mitchum and Hayward. Mitchum, rough and virile, looks the part of a cowboy and he and Hayward have great chemistry in their scenes but Kennedy is no cowboy and he doesn't seem to be a good match for Hayward. Arthur Hunnicutt does his usual good work in a key supporting role.