Ride in the Whirlwind
| Ride in the Whirlwind | |
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Film poster created by Jack H. Harris Inc.
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| Directed by | Monte Hellman |
| Produced by |
Jack Nicholson Monte Hellman |
| Written by | Jack Nicholson |
| Starring | Jack Nicholson Millie Perkins Cameron Mitchell Harry Dean Stanton |
| Music by | Robert Drasnin |
| Cinematography | Gregory Sandor |
| Edited by | Monte Hellman |
| Distributed by | Walter Reade Organization (released directly to television in 1968) |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$75,000 |
Ride in the Whirlwind is an Eastman Color 1966 western directed by Monte Hellman and starring Jack Nicholson, Millie Perkins, and Harry Dean Stanton. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced the film.
A trio of cowboys, Vern (Cameron Mitchell), Wes (Jack Nicholson) and Otis (Tom Filer), stop to rest for the night at the remote hideout of a gang of outlaws led by Blind Dick (Harry Dean Stanton). In the morning, they find themselves surrounded by a vigilante hanging party and are forced to become fugitives due to a case of mistaken identity.
Otis is killed. So are accomplices of Blind Dick, who is lynched. Vern and Wes take refuge at a farm belonging to Evan (George Mitchell), who lives alone with his wife and daughter, holding them hostage until they can make an escape. After a member of the vigilantes passes by, the two try to take Evan's horses and he opens fire on them, wounding Vern before he is killed himself.
Wes and Vern ride off together on one horse with the posse in pursuit. Eventually Vern can go no farther but holds off the posse until Wes can safely get away.
The films were made back-to-back, with The Shooting first. Hellman said that Roger Corman had agreed to put up funds for a Hellman-directed western at a lunch meeting at the old Brown Derby on Vine Street, just south of Hollywood Boulevard, one of a small chain of famous restaurants in Los Angeles (the famous hat-shaped one was located on Wilshire). By the end of the lunch, Corman said to Hellman that since Hellman was making one western, he might as well make two – presumably because, in the mind of the budget-conscious Corman, this would allow them to make two films for less than the usual cost.
Hellman said that the crew and some cast members stayed on location, and, after a break for a week, they began filming Ride in the Whirlwind. However, except for savings on travel costs for the actors, there was not a lot of money saved by doing the two back-to-back. Hellman stated that both films were made for under US$75,000 each (approximate total of $150,000 for two, provided by Roger Corman). Hellman and Jack Nicholson, who produced, wrote, and acted in Ride in the Whirlwind, and had a smaller role in The Shooting, had agreed that if they went over budget on either film, they would pay the overage out of their own pockets. Thus they were very careful to keep within the budget for each.
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