In 1966,as the old Hollywood was giving way to the new, underground filmmakerMonte Hellmandirected two small-scale Westerns back-to-back:The ShootingandRide in the Whirlwind.Both films were produced byRoger Corman, the King of “B Movies,” and both starred Corman’s favorite leading man:Jack Nicholson(who also wrote the latter film). Produced on a shoestring budgetin the Utah desert, the films share similar themes, crews, and actors, as well as a dreamy story structure that hinted at the genre-twisting, existential dramas that would dominate the 1970s. Far from your father’sJohn Waynemovie,The ShootingandRide in the Whirlwinddeconstruct traditional Western tropes of heroism and masculinity and re-frame them for the sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll generation.
‘The Shooting’ and ‘Ride in the Whirlwind’ Made the Most of Their Limitations
InThe Shooting,bounty hunter Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) and his slow-witted friend, Coley (Will Hutchins), are hired by a mysterious woman (Millie Perkins) to accompany her through the desert. Along the way, they encounter a black-clad gunslinger, Billy Spear (Nicholson). Billy antagonizes Coley, who is in love with the woman despite her icy demeanor. Willett, meanwhile, thinks the woman might have hired Billy to kill them. InRide in the Whirlwind, cowboys Wes (Nicholson) and Vern (Cameron Mitchell) find themselves at the remote hideout of Blind Dick (Harry Dean Stanton) and his gang of robbers, who have just ripped off a stagecoach. When a posse fires upon them, Wes and Vern make a run for it, taking refuge in a nearby farm. Despite their innocence, Wes and Vern take the rancher, Evan (George Mitchell), his wife, Catherine (Katherine Squire), and their daughter, Abigail (Perkins), hostage as the vigilantes search for them.
Jack Nicholson’s Movie Debut Came in This Delicious Low-Budget Exploitation Thriller Produced by Roger Corman
Even back then, Nicholson’s talent was apparent.
Production onThe ShootingandRide in the Whirlwindlasted all of six weeks, with Hellman and Nicholson replicating the back-to-back filming method they had previously employed in the Philippines on the thrillersFlight to FuryandBackdoor to Hell.Suffice it to say, this production modelwas well suited to Corman, who liked to make movies fast and cheap. With their small casts and limited locations,The ShootingandRide in the Whirlwindwear their low budgets on their sleeves, foregoing the epic scope ofJohn FordandAnthony Mannfor a more intimate approach. But that’s not the only way in which Hellman distinguishes his two films from more traditional Westerns. Hellman tells these stories in a jagged, anti-narrative fashion, filled with wandering conversations and surreal flights of fancy that mirror the fractured psyche of the characters. The results are two of the earliest examples ofthe acid Western, which would come to fruition withAlejandro Jodorowsky’s 1970 cult classicEl Topo.
‘The Shooting’ and ‘Ride in the Whirlwind’ Paved the Way for Revisionist Westerns
The ShootingandRide in the Whirlwindshare many narrative and thematic similarities, from their focus on manhunts totheir bleak climaxes. They also both focus on antiheroes, examining morality in shades of gray as opposed to black-and-white. The ethical ambiguity and valorization of outlaws predates 1967’sBonnie and Clyde,which, along withThe Graduatethat same year, blew the gates off the Hollywood studio system, ushering ina new generation of filmmakerseager to tell more personal, complex stories. The films also predicted the rise of revisionist Westerns likeThe Wild Bunch,Little Big Man, andBuffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson, which deconstructed the genre and took critical views of the myths, legends, and ethos that defined it.
Unfortunately, it took a long time for most audiences to appreciate what Hellman had achieved withThe ShootingandRide in the Whirlwind,as both films sat on the shelf for many years without theatrical distribution. After making the festival rounds, they played in Paris to great acclaim before finally being sold to American television by producerWalter Reade Jr.It wasn’t until Nicholson achieved fame withEasy RiderandFive Easy Pieces(scripted byCarole Eastman, who also wroteThe Shooting) that the films finally got attention from U.S. audiences, which only grew thanks to pristine restorations byThe Criterion Collection. Better late than never.
The Shooting
