Raw Edge (1956) User Reviews (15)

Compelling 50's Western!

[spookyrat1 · 7/10 · 10 December 2018]

Raw Edge is quite a fascinating little (a brief 75 minutes long) western given it was made in 1956 and that the overarching theme being examined in the film is the place and status of women in the "Wild West"; a theme which in the light of ongoing contemporary events, still resonates strongly in the second decade of the 21st century.

I have no idea whether there is any historical basis at all to the fictional events depicted in Raw Edge. Unlike one or two other reviewers at this site however, I'd respectfully suggest that the sort of story we see, set in a frontier settlement with no organised legal. judicial or religious institutions, is not unimaginable. Historically men are drawn to civilisation's peripheries in far more dominant numbers than women.

Besides its very intriguing story, the film looks great in technicolour and makes very good use of its location photography. Rory Calhoun and Yvonne De Carlo are fine in the lead roles, displaying an innate chemistry occurring between their characters, in spite of their frequent antagonistic clashes. Good to see the Native Americans are treated in a very sympathetic light too, with the status of their female characters contrasting markedly with those of the whites.

The main bone of contention that does need to be raised is the frequent anachronistic aspects employed in moulding this fringe story into an action western setting. Therefore though set in 1842 Oregon, the film in its fashions, weapons and even buildings (Montgomery's palatial lodge) seems to be occurring 30 - 40 years later in time. A small price to pay in my opinion for an engrossing oater.

Interesting Western reflects on nature of man

[CelluloidDog · 7/10 · 8 February 2013]

I read the reviews here and wonder if anyone has a different interpretation. This movie is about the dark side of human nature where everyone is for themselves. I'm not sure if that message will catch but it will in another light if you consider more recent films such as the Dark Knight movies or the Man With No Name trilogy. In many movies, there are no real heroes. So even the women in this movie don't have emotional reaction when something tragic happens to a close person. The hero Tex Kirby comes back for revenge of his brother, or is it? Paca who loses her husband finds an cold unexpected way to get revenge. The Indian maids who leave Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo) and the ranch are neutral characters but still, they do what's best in their interest. So at the end, it is easy for Hannah to have no love lost and be willing to leave with the hero.

The wild west was an arena where you had to watch your back. The setting was a wild 1842 Oregon where there are no rules. It was lawless and you defended yourself. Even those you think you can trust, can you really trust them? The rancher who makes the rules, Gerald Montgomery makes very harsh rules. Take a woman like she is property if she has no husband. One evil character shoots his father in the back. No one cries in this movie. Violence, lawlessness and war dull the emotions. We know that where even young children exposed to war get emotionally insensitive to death. It is unusually violent for a movie in the mid-50s depicting rape, murder (of relatives), treachery and lawlessness. It seems really that the Yakima Indians are the only ones with a code, law or ethics.

A question is what degrees of evil and selfishness are there?

If you watch the movie with this in mind, you can see the message. But most people won't see it that way, but will get confused by the mindless violence and unemotional characters. In this way, it's an unusual minor masterpiece.

The evil characters are definitely fun. Overall, supporting roles are well-acted but the leads are very average. The script does not lead to a clearer message and a viewer could get lost in its meaninglessness. Other than the message and supporting actors, the movie is fairly average. So an average rating might be 5-6 for me, but the supporting actors and dark message are fascinating and bump it to a 7 even 7.5. If you don't understand it, it's a 5 or 6.

Strange Western is interesting but unpleasant

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 19 April 2011]

In 1842, Oregon, might makes right. And might belongs to Montgomery, who rules over the land. One of his "laws" is that any "free" woman rightfully belongs to the first man who claims her, until his death. And he has claimed the desirable Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo - no wonder she made so many Westerns, that woman can ride!). When the brother of a man whom Montgomery unjustly sentenced to hanging comes looking for revenge, Montgomery's protectors decide to side with him, hoping to see their boss dead and his wife open to re-claiming. The threat of rape, if not explicit then certainly strongly implied, hangs over the proceedings throughout "Raw Edge", giving the film an unpleasant air (this is definitely no family fare). Even the "hero", or at least the person who comes closest to that description (Rory Calhoun), is morally questionable at best. But the cast is good, and the film is beautifully shot in natural locations and vivid Technicolor. **1/2 out of 4.

The pack is lurking everywhere

[unbrokenmetal · 6/10 · 2 December 2018]

Kirby (Rory Calhoun) comes to town and finds that his brother was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. There is a lot of tension between the men everywhere because too many of them are after two beautiful women, Mrs Montgomery (Yvonne De Carlo) and Paca (Mara Corday). Everyone who dies will mean less competition in the chase for them...

'Raw Edge' was shown in my country under a title that means 'The Pack Is Lurking Everywhere', and indeed it feels as if men behave like a pack of hounds here, no character is entirely sympathetic. The makers did not bother much about historical accuracy, because several pieces of clothing and weaponry look way too modern for Oregon in 1842. But surely the aim of the movie was to tell a story about the dark side of human nature, and it fully succeeded at that. A sinister and unusual western ahead of its time.

One most desirable woman

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 22 May 2015]

Set in the days of the Oregon Territory, Raw Edge is one of your more adult westerns made during the Fifties at a time when westerns were trying to compete with westerns shown on television. The Saturday matinée kids of the Thirties and Forties did not see westerns that were about sex.

John Gavin married to Mara Corday insults Yvonne DeCarlo in the eyes of her husband Herbert Rudley who is the local Ponderosa owner in the area. But this guy has a lot more power than Ben Cartwright ever dreamed of. He's a veritable medieval lord of the manor and he's in charge of the women who in pioneer Oregon are the most valuable commodity around.

Gavin is hung as per Lord Rudley's orders and Mara Corday who is a mixed racial women is then 'assigned' to Robert J. Wilkie also per Lord Rudley's orders. That's how it is in his part of Oregon.

That is until former Texas Ranger Rory Calhoun arrives in town and is greeted with his brother's lifeless swinging body. He wants answers and wants them now.

Which presents a peculiar conundrum for a lot of people. They're all under Rudley's thumb, but they also realize that there's still a shortage of women and Yvonne DeCarlo's one most desirable woman. And she'd also be a wealthy widow. And Corday has a tribe of relations ready to take up her cause as well.

All in all Raw Edge with its emphasis on sex and women as valuable commodities is an unusual, but entertaining western. Besides those I've mentioned look for good performances from Rex Reason as a cynical gambler and a father and son pair of lowlifes, Emile Meyer and Neville Brand.

Definitely one adult western.

"It ain't everybody can look behind a man's eyes and figure him out."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 30 June 2016]

Wow, keep the feminists and National Alliance of Women away from this one! I couldn't believe the premise laid out in the opening minutes (actually I can believe it, but it's really over the top) when it was stated that the law, such as it was in 1842 Oregon, held that women were for the taking by the strongest man who could affect his will on her and claim her for his own. After that, she became his property until he died.

Talk about a dysfunctional family, I'm still thinking about how Tarp Penny (Neville Brand) shot his Pa (Emile Meyer) in the back! over the old Montgomery Doctrine stated above. George Montgomery (Herbert Rudley) was king of the hill in this story, with his wife Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo) the top prize. Funny, but I didn't get much of a sense that Hannah objected to being his wife for the most part until things got intense with the unjust hanging of Dan Kirby (John Gavin). Otherwise it didn't appear that she was much opposed to this particular law of the Oregon jungle.

I'll say this for Dan Kirby's widow Paca (Mara Corday), she sure pulled a neat double cross on Montgomery to save hero Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) the trouble. He had his own hands full dealing with the Penny's, Tarp and his Pa. If you think about it, Tarp never had to atone for the problem that opened the story, the attack on Hannah Montgomery. But that issue was settled when he went up against Tex for the final showdown. I thought it a bit too coincidental that Tex and Tarp ran out of bullets at the same time, at which point Tarp found himself on the horns of a dilemma.

Nor did it seem very realistic that Hannah would simply run off with Tex to close out the story, but that's how a lot of these Westerns ended for lack of something more creative. It's too bad we never got to see what ever happened to Sile Doty (Robert Wilke). Left to my own imagination, I'd like to think that Paca got her Yakima revenge on his butt too.

Sex Starved Western in Widescreen and Technicolor

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 15 June 2016]

A very Different Western with its concern Focused on Sex. Competing with TV, the Movies of the Decade occasionally ventured into this Territory. The Movie Stars Two Beautiful Women, Yvonne De Carlo, and Mara Corday and the Complete Running Time is spent with both being Chased, Near Raped, and generally Lusted after.

The Male Cast lead by Rory Calhoun also features Neville Brand, Rex Reason, and Emile Meyer. The Screen is On Fire from Frame One and the Chase is On to see who can Bed the Beauties First.

It's Widescreen and Technicolor and Runs 76 Minutes. The Subject Matter Alone makes this one Stand Apart from other Fifties Western Fodder. Definitely Worth a Watch for Western Movie Fans and even those not usually drawn to Genre might find it Entertaining as it leans more toward an Adult Audience.

Note...Director John Sherwood made a career as a Second Unit Director and only Directed three films. Other than this one...The Monolith Monsters (1957) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).

Edgy western.

[rc223 · 5/10 · 11 January 2001]

This edgy and off-beat western has plenty of seething resentment amongst its characters (and there are lots of them: vengeful gunslinger, baddie, baddie's dumb henchmen, local gambler, baddie's wife, baddies girlfriend...) but isn't too believable. Some good action scenes but only average over all. (5

Trashy

[goatcheese-25746 · 3/10 · 7 January 2020]

From the deep, dark depths of Universal's back catalogue comes Raw Edge, a truly bizarre western. It's really awful.

The movie is set in the 'lawless' 1842 Oregon, where if a woman is widowed, they are up for grabs to whoever 'claims' her first. The land baron who set this rule has a beautiful wife (played by Yvonne DeCarlo) who all the men covet. When she gets assaulted, an innocent man is lynched and his wife is widowed. It's gonna take tough gunslinger Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) to avenge his brother and sort out the greatly misogynistic tyrant.

This movie's biggest failing is the story which is pretty ridiculous. The premise is unbelievable, even for the Oregon of the Wild West. The plot itself wasn't particularly engaging either, the revenge story had been done dozens of times before and much better than this. It's also not very exciting and there are barely any fights that were fun to watch.

Rory Calhoun is fine in the movie, he says his lines and does bring a sort of stoic personality to his character. Same goes for Yvonne DeCarlo, she's fine. Neville Brand plays an over the top villain who's out to get DeCarlo, he was entertaining enough.

Overall, this film is really bizarre and barely entertaining enough to warrant a watch. The acting is serviceable but the plot is all kinds of strange. But I think it could be fun for the sheer weirdness of it.

An Excellent Western

[januszlvii · 10/10 · 22 April 2020]

Rory Calhoun ( Tex Kirby) made a lot of Westerns, and in my humble opinion Raw Edge is the best of them. What makes it different is the way women are treated; Hannah Montgomery ( Yvonne DeCarlo) plays the trophy wife of Gerald who is almost like a King in a small Oregon town. Spoilers ahead: He does stuff like having Tex's younger brother Dan hung just because he did not like him, and Dan's Indian wife Paca , then had to go with a man who claimed her as his property. Obviously Montgomery is going to get his: The only question is will it be Paca or Texas Ranger Tex doing the deed. As bad as Montgomery was, even worse was a father son team Pop and Tarp Penny ( Neville Brand at is nastiest)., How bad was Tarp? He murdered his father in cold blood by shooting him in the back. Of course, he goes up against Tex, who ends up Killing Tarp after a particularly nasty fight. After that as he is leaving asks Hannah "What are you waiting for"? And she will be going back to San Antonio with him. Now I have read some posters ask why did she leave? 1: She knew the rules of the Town: After her husband died, she ( and all her husband owned would belong to whoever claimed her ( Paca was luckier she had the opportunity to leave the man who claimed her and return to her tribe)). 2: Tex could have claimed her and had everything. But instead, he proved he loved her ( not her money) by offering her the chance to go with him. 3: She loved him as well. So it became a very easy choice for Hannah. Ps: As the song at the end pointed out: Hannah became his wife, so it worked out well for her. Again an excellent western. 10/10 stars.

Unpleasant, silly, unbelievable -- skip it, much as I like the cast

[chipe · 4/10 · 28 October 2012]

This is one of the most implausible Westerns I have ever seen. Despite the good actors, acting, cinema-photography and other good production values, the story reduces the movie to rubbish. ***Lots of spoilers.**** The movie centers on a stupid rule/custom of the locale that an unmarried woman can be claimed by any (strong) man. So when an Indian wife's (Mara Corday) white husband is hanged on flimsy grounds, she calmly accepts the man claiming her, even though the Indian helping her escape back to her tribe is also killed.. Vigilantes hung the husband for assault even though the wife (Yvonne De Carlo) of the big local land baron said the Indian's husband did not attack her. Rory Calhoun is looking for the land baron, who instigated the hanging (of Calhoun's brother), so some lustful townspeople follow along hoping to claim the land baron's wife and property after he is hopefully killed by Calhoun. Even though he had Corday's husband hanged, the land baron trusts Corday that the Indian tribe wants to see him, not kill him, but she lies and he is killed. Near the end one of the bad guys shoots his father in the back. To top it off, at the end De Carlo goes off with drifter Calhoun, seemingly leaving her wealthy husband's property behind.

Its Not The Best

[damianphelps · 3/10 · 23 February 2021]

A little sinister, dark, slow and boring. Not a winning combination for a matinee style western.

This movie is light on for action and plot or even story development. The bad guys are pretty mild and Rory just seems to be going through his paces on this one.

The ending is also a fail.

There are plenty of great westerns out there you can enjoy, sadly this isn't one of them.

Drive-in western

[happytrigger-64-390517 · 8/10 · 7 November 2017]

"Raw Edge" is an exploitation Universal western in its story and direction but shot in classic settings. It was directed by John Sherwood who was a great assistant director (he worked for Anthony Mann, Bud Boetticher, Max Ophüls, John Sturges, ...). Harry Essex wrote the script of "Raw Edge", he wrote also scripts for Jack Arnold, and the three movies John Sherwoood shot were like Jack Arnold's movies, "The Creature Walks Among Us" and "The Monolith Monsters" being the two others.

"Raw Edge" describes how sex could have been in those times with workers having no home and being strong alcoholics. There are scenes never seen before in a western, like the one with Neville Brand and Yvonne de Carlo. So "Raw Edge" cannot please to westerns purists, it's more a western for 1956 youth watching it in a drive-in in their muscle-car, looking for sex and violence. Rory Calhoun had already played in the western "Four Guns To The Border" directed by Richard Carlson in which there also were very erotic scenes with Colleen Miller. How could those scenes have been through the censorship? Beginning of the end...

No excuse to miss this western

[searchanddestroy-1 · 4 June 2023]

This is really a shame that director John Sherwood gave us only three films: this one, CREATURE WALKS AMONG US and MONOLITH MONSTERS. This western is very unusual concerning not the cast but the topic. It is very smart of have shown how West was in those times, where there were so few women for so many men. And no one can miss a western starring the flaming Yvonne De Carlo, co starring here Mara Corday and the likes of Neville Brand, Rory Calhoun. Excellent directing, excellent locations, settings, and for a short length, only seventy five minutes. Not a masterpiece but an Universal western to remember.

The raw edge of desire

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 12 January 2024]

The opening credits play while a balladeer sings a tune about a woman named Hannah (Yvonne De Carlo). We are told she inspires the dark raw edge of desire, since men all around take notice. They notice when she walks down the street, shades of Jezebel, with a long flowing red dress. It's a fun screen entrance: all we glimpse initially is the bottom part of the dress, then her shapely legs and attractive heels...before seeing De Carlo's lovely face.

The men in town aren't the only one who notice Hannah. The women do too, especially the ones that appear unkempt. They tidy up their hair, in order to be just as presentable. It doesn't matter. Hannah will always be the center of attention. We learn she is married to a land baron who claimed her as chattel some time ago, but she is still desired by other men...including a guy named Kirby (John Gavin).

There's no law in the Oregon territory where the town and its surrounding ranches are located. It's 1842, and the region is controlled by the strongest man who runs everything. His name is Montgomery (Herbert Rudley), and he's Hannah's husband. She doesn't really love him, but is not free to leave and take up with Kirby or anyone else.

An early scene has Hannah attacked by an unknown assailant who has a score to settle with Montgomery. The attack is blamed on Kirby, but he is innocent. Montgomery wastes no time having Kirby killed. This brings Kirby's brother Tex (Rory Calhoun) to town, to avenge the death. In the process, Tex meets Hannah and falls for her, too.

The wiki page for the film says this was De Carlo's first project at Universal in five years, which is not true. De Carlo became famous for westerns and musicals at the studio in the mid-40s. By 1951, she had earned the right to freelance; so, yes, her output at Universal decreased, as she was now making films at MGM and Republic, plus a few for British studios in the U. K. But she still had an ongoing agreement with Universal, and she had made a previous western in 1954 for the studio, in which she costarred with Joel McCrea. RAW EDGE was not a homecoming, but a continuation of the deal she had.

It's easy to see why she picked the script for this story. Mostly, because she gets to look stunning in almost every scene. Also, she is able to play a complex love triangle, and given the fact she felt right home in the genre, it was a no-brainer for her to make another western. Many of De Carlo's westerns show her abilities as an expert horsewoman, as well as her doing some stunt work.

As for Rory Calhoun, he was no stranger to these kinds of stories himself. The actor's most successful films in the 1950s had him as a drifter or cowboy down on his luck. Here, he rides on to the scene to deal with his brother's recent death. In the process, he finds the love of his life; and after the most ruthless man (Rudley) is eliminated, she's finally free to be the type of woman she was meant to be.

With beautiful scenery, two stars who are just as nice to look at, and a tale about the liberation of a kept woman, this is a classic story with plenty of melodrama and action. Don't miss it.