The Shadow Riders is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and adapted to screenplay by Jim Byrnes from the novel written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Dominique Dunne, Ben Johnson and Geoffrey Lewis. Music is by Jerrold Immel and cinematography by Jack Whitman.

A CBS TV production, The Shadow Riders has Selleck (Mac Traven) and Elliott (Dal Traven) as brothers, who even though they fought on different sides in the Civil War, there fondness for each other still exists. With the war now officially ended, the brothers meet up and head for the family home, here they find their parents telling of how their sisters and Dal's girlfriend Kate (Ross) have been abducted by Renegade Rebels. The men promptly set off in search of their loved ones...

It's all very much standard stuff, both in plot telling and production values. Exuding very much a family feel, it's a disappointingly bloodless and sexless picture, with some cliché'd dialogue, poor musical accompaniments to certain scenes (tonally way off) and filler sequences thrown in for good measure. That said, it's very much a harmless piece, with the two male leads good company to share some time with, while Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. offer up a welcoming presence. Location scenery is also well photographed, keeping things airy, and ultimately it's a decent enough time waster for Western fans not expecting an under seen gem. 6/10

If three guys ever looked like rugged, craggy-faced cowboys, it has to be the trio that starred in this made-for-TV movie: Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck and Ben Johnson. With those guys, and a whole lot more, and a story written by Louis L'Amour, this is about as western a Western as you'll ever find.....and it should be better than it is.

There is just too much "Rambo" mentality in the good guys never get hit and the bad guys get hit with every shot. That, and a few comments made such as "(adultry) is no big deal" has no place in this story and that kind of liberalism is more with the filmmakers than the people of the Old West.

The film is just "fair" in about every aspect, nothing of note, despite a lot of similarities (cast and author) as the better-made "The Sacketts."

For it's dramatic premise, "The Shadow Riders" turns out to be rather uninspiring in it's execution, rising not far above it's 'B' Westerns roots. It's got some good cinematography going for it at least, though the bright blue expanse of Baffin Bay seemed somewhat out of place and jarring as part of the landscape in the middle of the film. In fact the whole movie seemed just a little too bright and colorful in tone for it's story of selling unfortunate men and women into Mexican slavery to revive a defeated Confederate war effort.

Mac (Tom Selleck) and Dal (Sam Elliott) Traven wore opposite colors in the Civil War, while third brother Jesse's (Jeff Osterhage) allegiance remains unknown, cut off by Mac when he was about to tell because it was unimportant now that the war's over. It seemed just a little too convenient how Mac and Dal came charging over the ridge to rescue little brother after his escape from Major Cooper Ashbury's (Geoffrey Lewis) rogue Confederate band.

Katharine Ross's character Kate Connery is one of the film's brighter spots, though the effort seems positioned as a reprise of her role as Etta Place in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid". However she has nowhere near the chemistry with Elliott's Dal Traven as she did with Sundance, or even Butch for that matter. Somehow you knew she wasn't going to get away with the nun gimmick; I have a feeling that when the Mexican bandido said 'pray for me', he meant his casting in the picture.

Ben Johnson rounds out the main cast as Uncle 'Black Jack' Traven, but here again, his on screen presence plays against his reputation as a bad old boy. Do you really think the Travens had to blow up the Converse County jail shack to spring him? A couple of good horses probably could have pulled it down. Bad Springs sheriff Miles Gillette (R.G. Armstrong) reveals near the end of the story why he's been hunting Black Jack down for thirty years (???) - he had an affair with the sheriff's wife! But you know what, trading Jack for Holiday Hammond just might get him re-elected sheriff, so what the hey.

Was I seeing things, or did it look like the burro gave a nod to Selleck's character when they rode into Hammond's (Gene Evans) camp? Check it out for yourself.

One other question - How did Dal's hat stay on as he hung upside down looking into the train window?

Sorry I can't be a little more positive about the movie, but it just doesn't give Western fans a whole lot to work with. All of the principals fared better in other ventures, and in true 'B' Western tradition, even the film's title doesn't really have much to do with the story.