- Directed by its lead actor Robert Montgomery and based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, Ride the Pink Horse is probably most notable for being one of those rare films noir set outside of a big city. All of the film's events take place in a small New Mexican town with dirt roads that are expected to fill with tourists during the upcoming Fiesta celebration. That turns out to be a bit of bad timing for Lucky Gagin (Montgomery), who hits town hunting for a big man named Hugo (Fred Clark). Maybe Gagin is looking for revenge or maybe he's just out to score some quick dough, but in either case we expect he's going to find trouble.
- The film's first five minutes are also its best, as Gagin wordlessly slinks around the bus station, looking to surreptitiously stash an unidentified item in a locker. After that, Gagin soon finds himself surrounded by friends that, quite honestly, his behavior never earns. There's a young Native American woman named Pila (Wanda Hendrix), who follows Gagin around like a newly imprinted puppy. There's also the affable Pancho (Thomas Gomez), who offers to let Gagin crash at his house, sans walls. Not to mention the mysterious G-man named Retz (Art Smith), who approaches his investigation of Hugo in the most polite way possible. For their kindnesses, these three friends are generally ignored, insulted, and endangered by Gagin.
- If Ride the Pink Horse had intended to satirize film noir anti-heroes by making Gagin such an inconsiderate heel, I might have been more impressed. As it stands, however, he's just a pretty poor excuse for a hero and easily the least likable character in the film. While there is nothing particularly bad about Montgomery's acting or directing, I'm also starting to realize that he tends not to make source material any more exciting than it had to be, although one brutal fight scene is memorably shown from the point of view of some young carousel riders. The overall result is a very odd excursion into frontier-town noir that is unremarkable aside from those first few minutes and that carousel ride. At least Gomez was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, a recognition his performance certainly deserved.
