Budapest Classic Film Marathon: Ramrod

Martin Scorsese called André de Toth the ‘director of directors’. In other words, one of the most important creative artists for filmmakers and directors. Only a director can truly assess his importance and understand his calibre. It is already apparent in outdoor scenes shot for Two Girls on the Street just how confidently he is able to rachet up the tension, how unique and interesting his angles are and how superbly he composes a scene. And all this is equally true for this masterpiece, Ramrod, a blend of noir and western, in which, in a way typical for noirs, the protagonists get into ghastly shootings and entanglements verging on Shakespearean drama, all over a beautiful woman (at the time, Veronica Lake who plays Connie was the director’s wife). In the denouement, however, it is not self-sacrificing Connie, who fights for the ranch and is capable of doing anything for the land, who comes out victorious, something the code of ethics of American cinema would not have permitted.