RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (1962) **1/2 Peckinpah-lite. Not that there's anything wrong with that...there is pleasure to be gained from drinking even a single bottle of Guinness. With Sam toned down there's more opportunity to appreciate the subtleties of his work-the pretty but not overtly artsy shots, the fully developed characters, the wide open appreciation of nature. Not just trees, though, nature in its many forms. Peckinpah has already long determined that there's no point bringing man in out of the jungle, we'll just create a jungle anywhere we go. Typical themes of violence, perversion, and redemption are dealt with accordingly, but none in a manner calculated to risk serious offense or more than the slightest epiphany. Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott effortlessly create the sense of long lost friends brought together by the fates after so many roads ridden alone. Their dialogues are impressive, even though they aren't designed to carry fire. It's not too demanding, and given the extaordinary palate of its creator that must be part of the point.
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