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The Lusty Men

The Lusty Men

Drama · Western · 1952

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

Movie details

The Lusty Men

“A Fast Buck... A Fast Bronc... A Fast Thrill!”

1952 Drama · Western 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Lusty Men?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nicholas Ray

Written by

Claude Stanush · Horace McCoy · David Dortort · Jerry Wald

Susan Hayward

Susan Hayward

Louise Merritt

Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Jeff McCloud

Arthur Kennedy

Arthur Kennedy

Wes Merritt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Booker Davis

Frank Faylen

Frank Faylen

Al Dawson

Walter Coy

Walter Coy

Buster Burgess

Carol Nugent

Carol Nugent

Rusty Davis

Court is in session

Put The Lusty Men on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.