Ride The Pink Horse

Obscure noir, unavailable on DVD and rarely shown on TV, Ride the Pink Horse is a fascinating little film filled with an independent spirit and occasional sparks of brilliance. A dark story of revenge, directed by and starring 30's leading man, Robert Montgomery (Elizabeth's daddy), it follows a bitter vet who arrives in a New Mexico border town to blackmail a deaf gangster responsible for the death of his army buddy. Along the way he hooks up with a young, mysterious mexican girl and the owner of a carousel from which the movie gets its title.

Though the film ultimately falls apart in the end and becomes conventional, the ride is filled with moments of cinematic genius. When Montgomery, injured from a knife in the back is hidden from his attackers by the girl and the carousel owner, the thugs come looking for him. As Montgomery hides in a carriage on the spinning carousel, the goons beat the owner senseless trying to find out where their quarry is. The carousel, filled with children, spins past a beating that becomes more and more severe with each turn of the ride. The violence is implied; its brutality escalating primarily through the increasingly horrified looks of every child who rides past it.

Released in 1947, Ride the Pink Horse could easily have been one of the teats upon which the French New Wave Auteurs suckled in their cinematic youth. It's rural setting - it was shot on location - is a welcome change from noir films of the period and their urban landscapes. Strange and unconventional for the most part, it feels distinct from the Hollywood mainstream of its time period even though it earned an Academy Award nom for Thomas Gomez as Best Supporting actor.

It's hard to find and your best bet is to set Tivo to hunt it down on TCM.