That was an excellent one.

Boring

Absolutely the worst movie.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This really is not that bad of a early 1950 western but since most know the history of the pony express plus Bill Hickok it does not add up to the expectation. It is more-or-less a fantasy of the writers as they makes up nearly the entire script. It does not take long into the film before Cody jumps on a stagecoach, that is as fancy as any five star hotel that you would see today, and takes a smooth ride into Indian territory. This is just the beginning of things that do not add up for the period of time the film is suppose to represent.As stated, this is not a bad western but with the information provided by the preview, the movie is a far reaching story that is hard to believe- it turned negative fast. The movie felt so out of character that even Charlton Heston could not overcome the staged events.If you did not read the previews, or the title, then this is a nice early western film. But the details provided with the script made the movie rather sad.

This film may feature some real characters they weren't involved in the founding of the real Pony Express... still as a work of fiction it is entertaining enough. The film opens with 'Buffalo' Bill Cody left stranded in the middle of the prairie after his horse is killed in an Indian attack. Luckily for him the stage coach passes by not long afterwards and he gets on board. There are two people inside already; Evelyn Hastings and her brother Rance. They haven't been travelling long when they meet what appears to be a group of soldiers; they claim that they have been sent to arrest the Hastings for treason but Bill realises that they aren't who they claim to be. The Hastings do however wish for California to break away from the United States as they believe their state is too distant from the rest of the country to be cared about. Bill, and his friend 'Wild' Bill Hickok, however are doing something about bringing it closer to the rest of the Union... not in distance but in the time it takes news to get through. They are working on setting up a string of relay stations across the country so that news may be passed from rider to rider rather than relying on the slow stage coach. Rance Hastings and his collaborators are determined to prevent the express running, and to make matters worse a local Indian chief is determined to kill Cody. Not surprisingly there is also a romantic subplot; tomboy Denny Russell is clearly in love with Cody but gets jealous when he appears to be more interested in Evelyn.Charlton Heston was not yet a major star when this was made although he is clearly the star of the film; he puts in a solid performance... although I don't know how somebody in 1860 could have a smile like that; he looked like he was in a toothpaste commercial with his brilliant white teeth! Rhonda Fleming, playing Evelyn, was clearly meant to be the leading lady however she was upstaged by the short-haired Jan Stirling who played the feisty Denny. There was a good amount of action spread throughout the film including plenty of gunfights, a fight between Cody and an Indian chief using tomahawks and even an explosion. The story is fairly standard with separatists and Indians clearly meant to be viewed as the bad guys, although the latter are at least bad guys with honour; while those wishing to do their bit to preserve the Union being obvious heroes; the final shoot out did feature one surprise but I won't spoil that here. At a hundred and one minutes it is clearly too long for a B-western however it does have a B-western feel to it; it might be best looked at that way as it passes the time well enough but it will never be a classic of the genre.

Directed by Jerry Hopper and starring Charlton Heston, Forrest Tucker and Rhonda Fleming, Pony Express is adapted from a story written by Frank Gruber. It revolves around the birth of the Pony Express and how it linked California to the rest of the United States, thus preventing it from becoming a separate republic. Buffalo Bill Cody (Heston) and Wild Bill Hickok (Tucker) are the principal characters in the formation of the St Joseph-Sacramento speed run that has long since passed into folklore. Very much a fictionalised account of the "Express" and its principals, this tale deals in an attempt to form a separatist movement from the Union and the trials and tribulations that Cody & Hickok go thru in order to successfully launch the "Express". Cue Indian attacks, with the Indians being armed by corrupt business men, and sinister plotting by the seemingly affable Hastings siblings (Michael Moore & Fleming). A loose remake of the 1924/25 silent film of the same name, Hopper's movie suffers from being overlong and for spending too much time with the Hastings sub-plot. It's only when we get to the last quarter that the film gathers apace, until then we are left with only Heston's gusto and Fleming's sexuality to hold our attention. Director Hopper struggles to craft any energy from the number of dialogue driven set-ups, and even a Mano-Mano fight to the death between Cody and Yellow Hand (Pat Hogan) is undeniably flat. Thank god then for Heston giving it brio. A few years away from career defining roles, he seems to be enjoying himself and puts ebullient life into the film when it starts to sag. Fleming too is a highpoint. When not asked to lead off awful films like Bullwhip, Fleming was a more than capable actress, helped enormously by her sexiness and ability to own her scenes. She raises temperatures here considerably with one particular scene as both Jan Sterling (as Tomboy Denny) and herself each take a bath. Thankfully the finale doesn't follow suit with what has gone before it, with Hopper gaining a little redemption with this action quarter. The momentum is built up as we approach the first "Express" run, a gunfight is well staged and the shots of the horses bolting along the plains are a joy; in particular one shot as man and beast speed off under a blood red sky (well done cinematographer Ray Rennahan). Then it's the inevitable showdown where Heston flexes his gun toting muscles and a surprise development earns the picture an extra plaudit. So a real mixed bag for sure then. Well worth a watch for Heston purists and Fleming lusters. And indeed for Western fans who are versed in the lower grade genre entries so prominent in the 1950s. But it clearly doesn't fulfil its potential and the snippets of good only further make one feel a touch annoyed once the end credit booms out from the screen. 5.5/10

In 1860, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok joined their strength to establish a communication route with the East through a fresh and fast relay stations of young riders on horseback...Charlton Heston plays the legendary mountain man, buffalo hunter, U. S. Army Scout and Indian fighter and backer of the 'Pony Express' from St. Joseph to Sacramento in only ten days... Forrest Tucker plays his friend Wild Bill Hickok, an U. S. Marshal who brought order to the frontier with many encounters with outlaws among them Michael Moore (Lance Hastings) and Henry Brandon (Cooper) whose plans are to destroy the relay stations and ambush the express riders...The film is loaded with action scenes and amusing moments... When Heston stops a stagecoach and tells the coachman: 'I'm Buffalo Bill Cody.' 'Sure, and I'm Wild Bill Hickok,' replies the driver... Coming alongside and smiling, Heston says: 'Nope, You're not that ugly!'When Heston meets Tucker arriving in town... Their courteous words are replaced by a shooting game, a rare but funny expression of friendship, putting holes in each other's garments including Tucker's nine dollars expensive hat... 'It's fancier than shaking hands,' expresses Jan Sterling to Rhonda Fleming from the window of her hotel...-When Jan Sterling comes into the presence of the famous 'Pair of Bills,' wishing to increase her impression on Buffalo Bill with a fancy pink dress... Seeing her, Heston notes: 'Why not you go back and put some clothes on!'Rhonda Fleming plays Evelyn Hastings, the ravishing wealthy redhead, who falls in love with Heston, leaving alone her brother who never wanted the 'Pony Express' to get through..-Jan Sterling plays the sincere pretty blonde who loves so much Buffalo Bill...Filmed in Technicolor, this enjoyable Western, based on factual account, is adequately entertaining...