“Ride a Pink Horse”

Dreamlike noir — from the 1949 Cursed Film Festival in France

Introduction

My interest in this film arose from the fact that it was screened at the Festival du Film Maudit in Biarritz in 1949 — a festival that had none other than Jean Cocteau as its patron. And Any Cocteau connection is enough to spark my interest.

Biography of the Film

Hedda Hopper wrote in her Hollywood gossip column on November 8, 1946, that Universal had wasted no time in acquiring the rights to Dorothy B. Hughes’s novel Ride the Pink Horse: it had only been three weeks since its publication. By then, Hopper noted, Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer were already working on the screenplay adaptation.

By February 1947, Dan Duryea’s name was being considered for the film’s “villain.” But by late March, Robert Montgomery had already taken over the project. Universal wanted Wendell Corey as his antagonist. On April 5, news broke of the signing of Thomas Gómez and Wanda Hendrix (“the little gal who went over to Paramount after making her screen debut at Warners,” wrote Lloyd L. Sloan) for one of the main roles in Ride the Pink Horse. Filming finally began in early May.

“Robert Montgomery, having wrapped up ‘Ride a Pink Horse,’ — wrote Sheilah Graham — , is playing farmer at his New York State estate. Bob writes that he’s in the fields and cutting up a merry turnip. Sounds like hard work.” The film premiered, as we have seen, on September 12.

According to a late September 1947 column by Louella Parsons, Ride the Pink Horse was the reason Burt Lancaster wanted to hire Wanda Hendrix for his first independent production: Kiss the Blood Off My Hands. Hendrix ultimately did not take that role in the film, by the way. But this shows that Montgomery’s film already had a certain “cult” aura (for lack of a better word) even before its screening at the Biarritz Festival. Moreover, several issues of Variety from the fall of 1947 indicate that Ride the Pink Horse received a more than acceptable reception from American audiences.

Summarizing the review in Motion Picture Herald: “the picture is unique in setting, novel in development and direct and strong in appeal.”

Aphorisms, Wisecracks

We are dealing here with another famous Hollywood genre: “Mexican intrigue.” Or perhaps we could call it Mexican Gothic?

One element that cannot be missing in this type of film is superstition. The “gods.” Pilar, the little Mexican girl played by Wanda Hendrix (a Yankee with a face darkened by makeup), gives Lucky (Robert Montgomery) a “goddess” that belonged to her grandmother at the beginning of the film.We are in a cardboard-and-papier-mâché Mexico, dreamlike and mysterious. In this film, the characters’ reason for existing is to “provide atmosphere” rather than to advance a linear narrative.

In other words: a kind of stylistic exercise? A brief contemporary review, signed by Hedda Hopper, already said the following: “‘Ride a Pink Horse,’ starring Robert Montgomery, suffers from a lack of directness in plot but the performances and unusual quirks in the story more than make up for the defect. It’s a picture you will want to see.”

What Does the Narrative Say?

In broad terms, it would be this: Lucky (Robert Montgomery) is being pursued. And he is pursuing. Why? It is never entirely clear. Lucky wants to avenge the death of a certain Shorty at the hands of Frank Hugo (Fred Clark), but he also wants to extort money from him through blackmail. Hugo is one of those “boss of all this” types — a local strongman, in other words (see Mr. Arkadin, see the politician in Jesús Franco’s Rififi in the City, and I suppose there are hundreds more examples).