Review of The Man from Bitter Ridge

A 1955 Technicolor western from Universal, staring tall former Tarzan Lex Barker. It's a modified cattlemen vs. sheepmen flick. But it's also a modified evil grasping town or range boss vs. a collection of honest 'little men' film....... Sheriff Dunham (Trevor Bardette), of Tomahawk, is frustrated, He's pretty sure the 3 Jackman brothers are behind the recent string of stage holdups and associated killings, but he hasn't any proof. That's where Jeff Carr(Lex Barker) comes in.. He's a special agent for the stage line, sent to investigate who's behind these holdups. But, initially he's thought to be one of the bandits. That's because he is a stranger who claims to be from Bitter Ridge, and is apparently riding a horse identified as carrying one of the holdup men. Shep Bascam(Ray Teal) had come upon Carr, and, at gunpoint, had taken his gun and horse, leaving him a partially lame horse. The sheriff with posse soon come upon him, and jail him for suspicion of being one of the robbers. But he's soon out, as the stage depot manager recognizes his name as being that of the special agent. The sheriff tells Carr that he suspects the holdups were mainly for the purpose of adding to Ranse Jackson's slush fund for the imminent election of sheriff. He's been wineing and dining the electorate and blaming the sheepmen as the obvious suspects for the robbery. They have a small settlement up in the mountains. Dunham is chided for not being aggressive enough in pursuing the culprits. Tomahawk is a center for mostly cattlemen, who resent Dunham's apparent pro-sheepmen bias. Nearly all the men who support Jackman are cattlemen or townies.......A second plot component is the question of whether beautiful tomboy Holly Kenton(Mara Corday) is going to stick with sheepmen leader Alex Black(Steve McNally) as her apparent husband-to-be, or be tempted by the flirtatious Carr. whom she saved from being shot, with her dead eye shooting....... Carr is involved in several gun battles with the Jackmans or their henchmen. In the first, he kills Linc Jackman, sent to kill him. This induces Ranse Jackman to sent a sizable gang to burn up the sheepmen's settlement and kill Carr and Bascam, the latter perhaps having squealed to Carr. They partially complete this mission, throwing dynamite around, in addition to using their firearms. But Carr and Bascam miraculously survive a dynamite blast, hiding behind a barricade that takes most of the force. The second phase of the climax occurs the next day, which is election day. The sheepmen plus Carr and Bascam mosey into town and forcefully close the ballot box just as the first voters are lined up. They announce that Bascam will tell them what he knows about the holdups. But...... See the movie to see the conclusion. It's available at YouTube.