 ride the high country (released in the uk as guns in the afternoon) is a 1962 american western film directed by sam peckinpah and starring randolph scott, joel mccrea, and mariette hartley. the supporting cast includes edgar buchanan, james drury, warren oates, and ron starr. written by n. b. stone jr. in 1992, ride the high country was selected for preservation in the national film registry by the united states library of congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." it features randolph scott in his final screen performance. ==plot== in the early years of the twentieth century, an aging ex-lawman, steve judd (joel mccrea), is hired to guard a shipment of gold from a high country mining camp to the town of hornitos, california. six miners were recently murdered trying to transport their gold on the one trail leading down from the crest of the sierra nevada. in his prime, judd was a tough and respected lawman, but now his threadbare clothes and spectacles serve as reminders that he is long past his prime. judd enlists the help of his old friend and partner gil westrum (randolph scott) to guard the gold shipment. gil, who makes his living passing himself off as a legendary sharpshooter named the oregon kid, enlists the help of his young sidekick, heck longtree (ron starr). judd, gil, and heck ride up into the mountains toward the coarse gold mining camp. judd doesn't know that gil and heck are planning to steal the gold for themselvesâpreferably with judd's help, but without it if necessary. along the way they stop for the night at the farm of joshua knudsen (r.g. armstrong) and his daughter elsa (mariette hartley). knudsen is a domineering religious man who warns against those who "traffic in gold" and trades bible verses with judd at the dinner table. that night, elsa and heck meet in the moonlight, but knudsen breaks up their rendezvous. back at the 
1960s_Western_(genre)_films 1962_films American_films English-language_films Films_about_old_age Films_directed_by_Sam_Peckinpah Films_set_in_California Films_set_in_the_1900s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer_films United_States_National_Film_Registry_films