Ride the Pink Horse (Criterion Collection)

Hollywood actor turned idiosyncratic auteur Robert Montgomery (Here Comes Mr. Jordan) directs and stars in this striking crime drama based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. He plays a tough-talking former GI who comes to a small New Mexico town to shake down a gangster who killed his best friend; things quickly turn nasty. Ride the Pink Horse features standout supporting performances from Fred Clark, Wanda Hendrix, and especially Thomas Gomez, who became the first Hispanic actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for his role here. With it's relentless pace, expressive cinematography by the great Russell Metty (All That Heaven Allows), and punchy, clever script by Charles Lederer (His Girl Friday) and Ben Hecht (Spellbound), this is an overlooked treasure from the heyday of 1940s film noir.