Ride the High Country
Reception
Reception
---------

The film was released on the bottom half of a double bill. [William Goldman](/wiki/William_Goldman "William Goldman") says he spoke to an MGM executive at the time who says the film had tested strongly but they felt the film "didn't cost enough to be that good".William Goldman, *The Big Picture?: Who Killed Hollywood and Other Essays*, Applause, 2000 p 29

According to MGM records, the film lost $160,000\..

Seen in a double bill with *[The Tartars](/wiki/I_Tartari "I Tartari")*, [Bosley Crowther](/wiki/Bosley_Crowther "Bosley Crowther") greatly preferred *Ride the High Country*, calling it a "perfectly dandy little Western" and "the most disarming little horse opera in months." According to Crowther:

> The two young people are quite good, especially Miss Hartley, a newcomer with real promise. R. G. Armstrong and Edgar Buchanan also contribute telling bits. We know little about the director and scenarist, but Mr. Peckinpah and Mr. Stone certainly have what it takes. And so, if anybody ever doubted it, do a couple of leathery, graying hombres named McCrea and Scott.

*Ride the High Country* was hailed as a success upon its release in Europe, winning first prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The film's reputation has only grown in following years, with Peckinpah's admirers citing it as his first great film. They also note that all of the themes of Peckinpah's later films, such as honor and ideals compromised by circumstance, the difficulty of doing right in an unjust world, the destruction of the West and its heroes by industrial modernity, and the importance of loyalty between men are all present in *Ride the High Country*. In 1964 the film won the prestigious [Grand Prix](/wiki/Grand_Prix_%28Belgian_Film_Critics_Association%29 "Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association)") of the [Belgian Film Critics Association](/wiki/Belgian_Film_Critics_Association "Belgian Film Critics Association").[Grand Prix de l'UCC (1964\)\-IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0002756/1964/1/?ref_=ev_eh)

In his autobiography *In the Arena* (1995\), [Charlton Heston](/wiki/Charlton_Heston "Charlton Heston") wrote that he was considering remaking the film in the late 1980s, presumably with [Clint Eastwood](/wiki/Clint_Eastwood "Clint Eastwood") as a co\-star, but after viewing *Ride the High Country* Heston proposed [Harry Julian Fink](/wiki/Harry_Julian_Fink "Harry Julian Fink")'s script of *[Major Dundee](/wiki/Major_Dundee "Major Dundee")* (1965\) to Peckinpah.

The original casting was for McCrea to play the Gil Westrum part and Randolph Scott to play Steve Judd. After reading the script the two men agreed that a switch of roles was in order.

The film is recognized by [American Film Institute](/wiki/American_Film_Institute "American Film Institute") in these lists:
* 2008: [AFI's 10 Top 10](/wiki/AFI%27s_10_Top_10 "AFI's 10 Top 10"):
	+ Nominated Western Film


How was Ride the High Country recognized by the American Film Institute?