Review of Pale Rider (1985) by Shane D — 12 May 2011

The entertaining but derivative PALE RIDER pales by comparison with the previous Eastwood frontier outings such as the epic saga THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and the supernatural opus HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER Indeed, it looks as if Eastwood intended this heavily atmospheric western as a tribute to the classic Alan Ladd western SHANE. A community of dirty poor of gold miners and their families live under a reign of terror from a wealthy man who harnesses the power of water pressure to tear mountains apart to find gold. This city slicker villain plans to run these miners out of the territory and then appropriate the land. The chief villain believes that it is only a matter of time until he can triumph over the tin pans. What he does not count on is an enigmatic benefactor who shows up out of the blue and changes everything forever.

Essentially, Eastwood appears to be paying tribute to himself, too, because âPale Riderâ? shares a lot in common with HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. The protagonist isnâ(TM)t a ghost but he boasts some supernatural qualities, particularly when you see the number of bullet holes in his back. Unlike the stranger in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, the hero in PALE RIDER does not seem to be trailing the revenge trail. GAUNTLET scenarists Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack never explore our heroâ(TM)s murky past to see how he acquired so many gunshot wounds and survived. Nevertheless, as westerns go, âPale Riderâ? qualifies as a good oater with terrific cinematography, uniformly fine performances, especially from Michael Moriarty, Doug McGrath, and Richard Dysart. Eastwood takes his own sweet time setting up the predicament. In SHANE, a youngster revered the gunfighter, but in PALE RIDER the stranger is sought after by a young girl who has lost her dog and demands retribution. As iconic as Clint Eastwood was at this point in his stellar career, he could not have cast a more accomplished western actor than John Russell to serve as the secondary villain.

Eastwood orchestrates several shoot-outs and close quarters combat with his usual flair.