MovieChat Forums > Ride the High Country (1962) Discussion > Fonda and Stewart in place of Scott and ...

Fonda and Stewart in place of Scott and McCrea.

posted 13 years ago by sockscats
5 replies | jump to latest

Let me qualify where i'm coming from before i start. I truly love this film and i equally love "Liberty Valance" that was made about the same time. This is an issue simply for discussion because no 2 actors could have made the film better than Scott and McCrea.

I love classic films and don't pine about who i would rather have in certain roles. I love classic films for what they are. For example people speculate how Clint Eastwood could have made "Once upon a time in the west" a better film. No he could not have. Charles Bronson was perfect for that and the best man for that role.

So simply for discussion purposes i just wonder how great Stewart would have been in Mcrea's role and i imagine Fonda in Scott's role playing a darker character but nothing like the evil Frank in Once upon.

As best friends with a long history together the chemistry would have been great and both men were outstanding actors. Both men were obviously at the right age for the roles.

Those 2 are the only ones who could have equaled Scott and McCrea and that includes Wayne and Cooper who Peckinpah first envisioned for those roles. Of course Cooper died in 61 and Wayne was busy with John Ford's liberty valance.

All that said we got the best possible scenario with Scott and McCrea in their film and the outstanding cast in Liberty Valance. 2 films i watch over and over again.

What do you folks think?

[–] nateba 13 years ago

I think it was a great exit for two wonderful old pros. The shot of them walking next to each other into that final showdown wouldn't have the same effect had it been done with lesser personalities. The only thing that comes close (coincidentally) is that final walk with Oates, Johnson, Borgnine and Holden in "The Wild Bunch".

cinefreak

[–] JackBluegrass 13 years ago

I believe Sam Peckinpah wanted two "older" actors who were most connected with past Western movies. Fonda and Stewart did Westerns, of couse, but also a wide variety of other types.

Peckinpah may have felt that his choice of actors gave roles to experienced actors in Westerns who could each handle their complex roles, and would not confuse the audience with actors having identifiable modern-day roles (Fonda and Stewart).

[–] mcintyro 12 years ago

No, surprisingly, they wouldn't have been that effective due when the film was made.

This was the first Randolph Scott film I had ever seen, Just the sound of his voice at the beginning hawking that carny rifle game blew me away.

[–] deforest-1 11 years ago

Fonda might have been ok because capable of playing character roles, but Stewart was a walking cliche in most of his movies -- and has ruined my viewing of "Liberty Valance" shown on tv twice in the past two weeks. That stupid exaggerated voice just grates, plus the fact he is 54 supposed to be playing a young lawyer. He probably would have ruined "Ride the High Country" too. Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott did fine but John Wayne would have been much better than Stewart.

[–] DrGlitterhouse 10 years ago

If you're going to insert Stewart and Honda, I think Stewart would make a more natural Westrum (similar to his character in Two Rode Together), with Fonda as the upstanding Judd, although I don't think either looked as old and worn as McCrea and Scott did in 1961.

Let's take a vote: Who wants to stay and die?