Blu Ray Review: Stranger on Horseback

Kit Parker Films has released a very special western, the 1955 Jacques Tournier feature Stranger on Horseback, in a restored special edition.

Stranger on Horseback is significant as having been shot in the short lived Anso color (aka Ansochrome) process.  Other notable American films shot this way include The Man on the Eifel Tower (1949) and Arch Oboler’s 3D classic Bwana Devil (1952). Stranger on Horseback has often been shown only in black and white.  Through careful restoration, this blu ray from Kit Parker offers the film in color, giving us a more authentic look at a particularly good western from the 1950s; a strong era for the genre. Interestingly, some period movie ads for Stranger on Horseback claimed the film was in Technicolor.

The screenplay is based on a Louis L'Amour story and features Joel McCrea in an excellent performance as a circuit judge battling corruption in a western town where one man controls everything with his family. Despite the danger, and the odds, the Judge stoically and courageously stands up against the corruption and upholds the law. The film is exciting and tightly paced, running 66 minutes, and also features fine performances by John McIntire and Kevin McCarthy.

This is a role that seems made for an actor like McCrea and his excellent performance is the axis of the narrative.  There is an element of romance with the leading lady, Miroslava, a top movie actress in Mexico at the time. Sadly, Miroslava committed suicide by taking poison in March of 1955 shortly before Stranger on Horseback was released.

The blu ray from Kit Parker Films is filled with impressive special features including a mini-documentary - Thunder In The Saddle: The Making Of Stranger On Horseback; an interesting and informative audio commentary by noted western film historian Toby Roan, the film’s theatrical trailer, and image galleries featuring archival materials including rare production photos, the original shooting script, posters, and lobby cards.

Highly recommended, the film is available at this link: HORSEBACK