Lusty Men, The (1952)

This touching, realistic drama stars Robert Mitchum as Jeff McCloud – a former rodeo champ forced to retire through injury – and Arthur Kennedy as Wes Merritt, the young man who McCloud coaches.

Of course, there’s also a woman – Louise Merritt (Susan Hayward), who’s married to Merritt and takes McCloud’s fancy.

Mitchum extended his range considerably with this role, and Lee Garmes’s sombre black-and-white photography mirrors the characters’ drab, nomadic existence.

A critical and box-office failure at the time, it is now regarded as one of director Nicholas Ray’s finest films.

Louise Merritt
Susan Hayward
Jeff McCloud
Robert Mitchum
Wes Merritt
Arthur Kennedy
Booker Davis
Arthur Hunnicutt
Al Dawson
Frank Faylen
Buster Burgess
Walter Coy
Rusty Davis
Carol Nugent
Rosemary Maddox
Maria Hart

Director
Nicholas Ray