The Lusty Men

Plot synopsis:
When longtime professional rodeo competitor Jeff McCloud (Robert Mitchum) is injured by a Brahma bull he was trying to ride, he decides to quit. He hitchhikes to his childhood home, a decrepit place now owned by Jeremiah (Burt Mustin). Run down as it is, it is the dream home for Wes Merritt (Arthur Kennedy) and his wife Louise (Susan Hayward). They are painstakingly saving up the money to buy it from Wes's meager wages as a cowhand. Wes recognizes Jeff as a once-prominent rodeo rider, and introduces himself, then helps Jeff gets a job at the same ranch. Wes has competed in some local rodeos, but has the ambition to do more, and wants Jeff to help him improve his skills.
Wes enters a local rodeo behind his wife's back. When he does well, he decides to join the rodeo circuit, with Jeff as his partner and trainer. Louise is wholeheartedly against the idea, but goes along. She makes her husband promise to quit once they have saved enough for the house.
As Louise becomes acquainted with rodeo life, she becomes more and more disenchanted. Jeff's friend Booker Davis (Arthur Hunnicutt), once a champion competitor himself, is now a crippled old man with little to show for his efforts. When Buster Burgess (Walter Coy) is gored and killed by a bull, leaving a bitter widow (Lorna Thayer), Louise can no longer bear to watch her husband compete. However, Wes is seduced by his great success and the money he is winning. He refuses to quit when they have enough for the house.
Matters come to a head when Babs (Eleanor Todd) invites Wes to a party she is throwing, and makes a play for him. Louise fights back by putting on her only good dress and going to the party with Jeff. She pours a drink on her rival's head before leaving. In the hallway, Jeff asks her if she could love another man, but she is true to Wes. Coming on the tail end of the conversation, Wes tells Jeff that he is tired of taking all the risks and giving him half the prize money.
Jeff decides to go back to the rodeo, despite not being in shape. He gains back Wes's respect by doing well. Then, in the bronc riding event, his foot gets stuck in the stirrup after a successful ride, and he is fatally injured. Seeing this, Wes comes to his senses and quits.

Tags: cult

Review:
He and feisty Susan Hayward have great chemistry together and the movie is consistently eventful and exciting, with particularly realistic rodeo footage.
I saw this movie as a child on television and could not understand why Susan Hayworth would prefer Arthur Kennedy to Robert Mitchum.It's a dusty, exhausting rodeo film, so realistic that one can almost smell the horses.
He also reveals his ability to play comedy in the scene in Rosemary's trailer with Frank Faylen.I heartily recommend this film to anyone wanting to see a realistic slice of Americana, and good performances by all the leads..
After viewing this film, it is truly a great 1950's classic with outstanding acting by the entire cast; and a great story with a realistic view of what the Rodeo life really is and the pain and suffering that is experienced by men and woman.
Robert Mitchum(Jeff McCloud),"Farewell',My Lovely",'75, played a real calm cool veteran star of the Cowboy game shows and was very successful, but was beginning to show wear and tear.
Arthur Kennedy, (Wes Merritt),"Peyton Place",'57, was originally a ranch hand trying to buy his dream house for his wife Louise Merritt,(Susan Hayward),"With A Song in My Heart",'52, and loved her husband very much.
However, when Wes Merritt got together with Jeff McCloud, all hell broke loose and Louise did everything she could to hog tie her husband down from very hot women, wild horses, and bulls with angry tempers.
One of Robert Mitchum's best films from his days at RKO is The Lusty Men about the rodeo circuit.
Mitchum plays Jeff McCloud a burned out rodeo rider who spots some potential star talent in Wes Merritt.
He also spots Merritt's wife and the Merritts are played by Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward.
Her footage had to be shot first, according to Lee Server's biography of Mitchum, as Hayward had a commitment in Africa to shoot The Snows of Kilimanjaro.Among the supporting cast Arthur Hunnicutt, one of the biggest scene stealers around, is very good as another burned out rodeo rider.
In fact in the end, so does Kennedy.The Lusty Men is a fine depiction of rodeo life, ranking up there with the later Junior Bonner and 8 Seconds.
Don't let the illfitted lurid title mislead you, this is a really good movie played serious, the kind of conventional in its arc but altogether engrossing drama old Hollywood used to make in its golden age.
Robert Mitchum is worn-out bronco rider Jeff McCloud, once a rodeo legend and now a peniless drifter who drunk and gambled away the small fortune he made by falling out of horses' backs.
This is a three-character drama that bounces off inside the triangle formed by washed-up, has-been bronco rider McCloud, the ambitious and reckless up-and-comer played by Arthur Kennedy and his wife (Susan Hayward) who desperately wants her husband off the rodeo business while he can still walk in one piece, all this seasoned for good measure with footage of bronco riding, bulldogging and what have you.
Ray's direction is good, the rodeo setting provides an exotic backdrop of western Americana which should appeal to lovers of open vistas and wild landscapes and the performances are ace all around.
Nicholas Ray had always been fascinated by the relationship between two guys,the older one and the younger one.That was the story of "rebel without a cause" and "run for cover".Even in "Johnny Guitar",there 's a subplot displaying a relationship of the same kind between Johnny(and Emma) and Turkey.This is a cyclic movie ,beginning with a rodeo ,and ending the same way.A recurrent subject is the childhood nostalgia:Mitchum searching for his old rusty money-box in his parents house echoes Dean with his toy in the gutter in the opening scene of "rebel".Robert Mitchum , the stand-out of the film,portrays a cowboy down on his luck who meets another cowboy(Kennedy) and his wife (Hayward).He urges him to ride the rodeo,to make his dream come true:buying a ranch.The depiction of this cruel world is devoid of leniency:we're far away from that of ,say,"Bus stop".And in this man's man's man's world,Ray does not forget the women in the shadow,who hide their fears,suffer and cry.If they made a remake ,I'm sure their parts would be passed over in silence.Women in Ray movies are strong:Crawford in "Johnny Guitar" ,Gardner in "55 days at Peking" and even young girls like Wood in "Rebel" and O'Donnell in "they live by night".One can wonder whether this is an optimistic or a pessimistic ending.Most of Ray movies include death,but from this death,something new is born.Death is almost necessary to allow the others to go on.In "rebel',Wood and Dean reconcile with the adults who have understood Plato/Mineo's plight and near sacrifice;in" Johnny Guitar",monstrous Cambridge's shooting allows Crawford and Hayden to pick up the pieces;in "55 days at Peking",it's Gardner's sacrifice-while trying to help the children-who will lead Heston to adopt the little Chinese orphan girl.Here ,Mitchum did not die in vain: the young couple is now armed against life's harshness..
But even she's dominated by a supremely confident and virile Robert Mitchum, as a has-been rodeo champ trying to turn her husband (a rather miscast, but hard-working, Arthur Kennedy) into a king of the saddle.
It's location-filmed and has no traces of studio hackery, and Nicholas Ray keeps it wonderfully outdoorsy, with some fabulous stunt-riding footage and an authentic atmosphere of the hardscrabble rodeo life.
Maybe it's a 'girl thing.' Robert Mitchum was incredibly handsome and sexy - if I owned the movie, I just might watch it again TO SEE HIM WALK, whew.
He's going back to his roots now that he's quit the circuit, with no other place to go.So he hooks up with ambitious Wes (Kennedy) and his no-nonsense wife Louise (Hayward).
The trouble is Jeff is attracted to the loyal Louise even as Wes begins to live the fast life on his big winnings.
It's quite an intelligent screenplay, except for maybe the abrupt, but oddly satisfying, last scene.Cult director Ray oversees with his usual artistic sensibility, though it looks like he was still suffering intermittent illness since an uncredited Robert Parrish gets a credited appearance from IMDb. And, of course, Mitchum is Mitchum, so low-key here it's hard to read his feelings at any point.
Apparently part of the studio's design to tempt a broader audience in to see this film, 'The Lusty Men' is just not a very good title for it.
Briefly, this is the story of a young ranch worker (Arthur Kennedy) and his new bride (Susan Hayward) trying to save up money to buy a ranch of their own.
Faded rodeo star Mitchum crosses their path and changes their lives, showing the young husband Kennedy a shortcut to big money by riding in the rodeo.
There's a lot of friction resulting as time goes on, with Kennedy hooked on the easy money and attention, while Hayward fears for his safety and blames Mitchum for driving a wedge between the couple.
Just as a compulsive gambler gets that little rush every time he scratches off a lottery ticket or pulls the handle on a slot machine, every time the bull or bronc rider nods his head and the chute gate swings open, he has a brief chance at success and a win and the thrill that goes with it - but he has hundreds, maybe thousands of people playing the game along with him.
That's why 'The Lusty Men' and the other rodeo / bull riding films I've seen have been so good.
It seems that after the shooting of "Macao", director Nicholas Ray (who replaced Josef von Sternberg) and actor Robert Mitchum were prepared for a second match.
This was "The Lusty Men", a poetic and sensitive film about a man at the moment of his decadence as a rodeo figure.
Two very different yet compatible stars of the early 1950s, Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward sizzle on the screen together in a film focusing on the world of rodeo, which includes a significant amount of media frenzy, partying and drinking, as well as putting one's life on the line every time out.Director Nicholas Ray has a beautiful set-up here: once-famous rodeo star Jeff McCloud (Mitchum) gets involved with an ambitious cowboy and his beautiful wife who desire to buy their own ranch and settle down.
Along the way, the husband gets carried away with success while Mitchum finds himself ever more attracted to the steel-eyed wife (Hayward).
This fine western about life on the rodeo circuit is more about drama than action but still packs a wallop, thanks largely to Robert Mitchum and Susan Hayward.
Mitchum is a washed up bronc rider who becomes a mentor to Arthur Kennedy who has dreams of becoming a big time rodeo performer.
Eager to buy a ranch but lacking money, Kennedy learns the ropes of rodeo performing and the three decide to travel the rodeo circuit although Hayward is cool to the idea.
Mitchum, rough and virile, looks the part of a cowboy and he and Hayward have great chemistry in their scenes but Kennedy is no cowboy and he doesn't seem to be a good match for Hayward.
However you can see many of the peripheral characters and perhaps Mitchum's too as following the same path as those men.Ray's direction keeps the film on a steady forward course to tell it's at times simple at others complex story.
This film begins with an ex-rodeo champion (Robert Mitchum) wandering around the property where he grew up--and hasn't seen in two decades.
He meets up with the current owner (Burt Mustin--everybody's favorite old man) and they chat a bit--until a cowhand and his wife (Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward) come to Mustin's home.
It seems they'd love to buy it but have little, if any, money.When Kennedy recognizes Mitchum as a rodeo star, he gets a bright idea--he can get Mitchum to train him so he can take up rodeo.
Hayward is emotional but good (and plays a great dame), Mitchum is his easy-going self and Kennedy surprisingly macho--something you don't see very often.
I wasn't expecting much from what appeared to be a garden-variety drama set in the world of rodeo performance, but was drawn to it by the presence  of Robert Mitchum and Arthur Kennedy.
I was pleasantly surprised by director Nicholas Ray's ability to put together a pretty engrossing story of life on the rodeo circuit and the personality types one encounters.
Mitchum does his usual fine job; Arthur Kennedy was an excellent B-list actor who here shows his talent well.
That MIGHT describe it The magnificently laconic Robert Mitchum turns in one of his most captivating performances in Nicholas Ray's brilliant modern day western.Set in the down and dusty world of professional rodeo riders, it also stars Susan Hayward and Arthur Kennedy.
Mitchum is Jeff McCloud, a former rodeo star, now somewhat adrift and down on his luck.
Wes also harbors dreams of becoming a star on the rodeo circuit, a world McCloud is all too familiar with and one that Wes figures could be his ticket to a more rewarding life.
The performances are all sterling and the dialogue provided for them (most likely compliments of Horace McCoy, one of the most remarkably and honestly expressive writers of the period) rings remarkably true even in the midst of some overtly romanticized (it is a Nicholas Ray film, after all) moments.The rodeo sequences are exceptionally exciting.
Perhaps Hollywood realized their egregious error in not casting Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum in A Streetcar Named Desire the previous year, or perhaps the film just fit into both stars' contracts, but the two strong, sexy stars finally lit up the screen together in 1952's The Lusty Men. Bob plays a rodeo star who returns to his old hometown after being injured in the ring.
Sure enough, Bob starts training Arthur on the art of the rodeo and they start planning their path to the big time.If you're looking for a steamy romance with two of Hollywood's hottest stars, this isn't it.
Arthur Kennedy is cute in his own way, but up against Robert Mitchum there's no contest.
But I will give it credit for having more complexity, both in character and theme, than the typical romantic drama of the time.What I think makes this feel more like a Ray film than anything else is that, though the female protagonist at the film's center (played by a miscast Susan Hayward), or rather the males' feelings about her, are the catalyst for the plot, the principal relationship in the film is between Robert Mitchum, as a retired rodeo celebrity, and Arthur Kennedy, as the man who idolizes him.
Hayward isn't remotely convincing as a simple country girl who wants nothing more than a ranch and a man, but both Kennedy and especially Mitchum give very good performances.
"The Lusty Men" is one of my all-time favorites and certainly one of Nicholas Ray's best.
I love the strange and subtle relationship between Robert Mitchum's Jeff McCloud, Susan Hayward's Louise Merrit, and Arthur Kennedy's Wes Merrit.
That high-angle shot, after Jeff's death, the word "EXIT", indicating both that the couple (Wes and Louise) are leaving this world, and that the film is about to end.
The compression here is characteristic of melodrama and of Ray. Jeff's return performance makes Wes realize that he'll never be as good in the rodeo as Jeff.
*******SPOILERS *******A very macho story that fits its handle -- this is the story of an ex-champion bull rider (Mitchum) who tries to help an ambitious rancher (Kennedy) who wants to become a rodeo star.
Mitchum tries to latch on to his fiery wife (Hayward) too when Kennedy's fame and fortune begin to turn him into a cheating drunkard.Some very nice footage of rodeo riding, probably of considerable documentary/historical value for fans of the sport.
Hayward and Mitchum have good chemistry, and Kennedy plays his role very well, giving conviction to a role that might have been thankless.
Even though the movie garnered excellent reviews and rated a movie review page in the prestigious "Look" magazine it wasn't as big a hit as her other releases.Rodeos are Jeff McLeod's (Robert Mitchum) reason for living and when he is gored by a Brahma bull he is emotionally and physically spent.
Wes and Louise Merritt (Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward) are keen to buy Jeff's home and Wes, who recognises him as a former Rodeo star, gets him a job as a ranch hand.
He hits trouble when his foot gets caught in a stirrup and his death sets up a pretty contrived ending where Wes, realising Jeff had only his best interests at heart, gives up the circuit for a little home in Texas.Susan gives an unusually restrained performance as Louise (except for one hilarious cat fight) in this movie that shows not only the downside but the excitement that drives cowboys to give their all in the ring.
Usual Understated Mitchum In Ray Rodeo Film.
Nicholas Ray directed this excellent melodrama about ordinary folks trying to make their American Dream happen by utilizing the rodeo circuit.
Arthur Kennedy and Susan Hayward star as Wes and Louise Merritt, an ordinary couple living an ordinary life as a ranch hand and a ranch hand's wife respectively.
In walks Robert Mitchum as Jeff McCloud, a virile stranger who may be an opportunist and a lothario as well as an ex rodeo champion.
Kennedy tires of ranch life just as Mitchum enters the picture, worrying his wife Hayward.Mitchum is outstanding as usual in the role of Jeff McCloud and fits right in with the rough and tumble rodeo world.
Kennedy is perhaps too old to play a new rodeo star, and he certainly does not have the athleticism and physicality of Mitchum to be as believable as a rodeo star.
However, Kennedy's character changes as the film progresses from an ordinary ranch hand to an egotistical star, becoming more distant from his wife's perspective.
Ray made an interesting choice to film in black and white in between two films in color he did: Flying Leathernecks and Johnny Guitar, mirroring the very real black and white results of his characters' decisions in The Lusty Men. Arthur Hunnicutt has a supporting role as an aging ranch hand.
113 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An ambitious ranch-hand (Arthur Kennedy) enlists the aid of a former champion rodeo star (Robert Mitchum) to help him win prizes on the circuit.
It was extremely difficult to try and imagine Miss Susan Hayward living in a trailer, traveling around with husband Arthur Kennedy and his best pal Robert Mitchum and in constant fear that her husband will be injured while riding the bull.
But the lust in the title isn't just for the men risking being gored, it's also for the frustrated women, and while Arthur Kennedy may not seem the most sensual of love interests for someone as heated as Hayward, their marriage isn't shaken by Mitchum's presence.While this has more of an interest perhaps for the male fans of rodeos, it will stir up controversy as a part of America's past that today, animal rights activists look on with in disdain.
Arthur Kennedy, as the talented newcomer, is good enough but the role itself is formulaic.
With each successful appearance at a rodeo, busting broncos, bull dogging, calf roping, riding the Brahma bull (pronounced Bray-ma), his head expands along with his ego and he begins to neglect his loving and dutiful wife, Susan Hayward, developing instead a taste for drinking, gambling, and loose blonds.
Mitchum is an ex prize winner at rodeos and he stumbles on Kennedy more or less by accident.
There are a couple of other scenes, equally nuanced, and if Ray had been able to get more out of Mitchum and had someone with brains and sensitivity buff the script, it could have been a very good movie indeed.