Lassiter's sister was killed and her young daughter taken and raised by outlaws. Years later Lassiter arrives at the Withersteen ranch looking for the now grown daughter. Fugitive bank robber Joe Maybe steals the identity of a marshal and rides into a town whose judge asks Joe to act as town marshal but an old flame almost betrays his real identity forcing Joe to claim she's his wife.
Lassiter, a Texas Ranger, goes after the sect which has abducted his sister Millie. During his search, he encounters Jane Withersteen, who owns a rich estate. Lassiter saves a man named In Wyoming, mountain trapper Yancy goes to the nearest town to trade his pelts but gets into trouble when he tries to save runaway saloon girl Rosalie from her shameful job. Lassiter discovers the judge Barrat who cheated his neice of her inheritance leads a gang of badguys posing as vigilantes.
This particular Zane Grey novel has been made into at least five different films during the past eighty years. It's appeal lies in the unfolding story of a loner, a self-sufficient man, but one who is somewhat apart from the rest of society. The plains and prairies of the old west are a perfect setting for a man such as this. If George Montgomery seems at home in this role, it's because he literally grew up on a horse in Montana. His riding skills are evident in some early scenes where he is seen stopping a cattle stampede.
Riders of the Purple Sage () - Rotten Tomatoes
Paramount cast the veteran actor Robert Barratt in the antagonists role, Judge Dyer. The part has been sanitized since in the original novel the character was a leader of the Mormon church Barratt always brought authenticity to his parts and he does so here. Kane Richmond, a 30s character actor in "A" films and a leading man in some "B" films plays Adam Dyer, the judge's son. He is more than annoyed when Montgomery shows up to interfere with his pursuit of Jane Withersteen, played by Mary Howard. Richmond brings some fire to his role mixed with just enough sympathy that the viewer might wish he wasn't such a bad fellow after all.
Mary Howard is adequate, which is enough when it comes down to the women shown in 30s and early 40s westerns. Richard Lane and Lynne Roberts round out the other major parts. This film was a favorite of George Montgomery's, who possessed the only copy I've ever seen. I recommend watching this one because it is both entertaining, and a well-told tale.
Start your free trial. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Full Cast and Crew. William Bruckner screenplay , Robert F. Sage sage sage sage riders sage sage. Sage sage if sage sage thunder. Sage sage sage; sage sage sage sage. Mormons sage sage sage sage, sage sage shot, sage sage sage sage. There were some other words and stuff, but really this book is about sage.
Mormons, Gentiles, and some other things are mentioned, but the focus is on the sage. The color of the sage, the t Summary: The color of the sage, the things in the sage, the way the sage looks, the way the sage feels, the sage the sage the sage. I took to counting the amounts of times the word 'sage' was used - This isn't a big book. That's a lot of freaking uses of the word 'sage'. Sometimes Grey would get clever and hyphenate words: It still tastes the same, no matter how you cook it.
Clearly the words 'plant' and 'shrub' were considered too dull for use in this story. Did you know the sage was purple? There was a lot of purple sage. There's no other way to describe such a sight. All of this aside, the story actually isn't so bad. It's hard to muddle through some of the especially purple prose for lack of a better phrase - like sage, prose can only be purple , but I was surprised that there's an actual story here. An interesting one at that. Wikipedia calls the story "complex" and I can't say I disagree.
I don't know Westerns very well. I watched a lot of reruns of The Lone Ranger when I was a kid and harbored a weird kid-sized crush on Clayton Moore as a result but that was pretty much it. I don't like John Wayne. Since we weren't allowed to play games as children that might have been remotely violent, the concept of playing Cowboys and Indians was probably out of the picture.
As I got older the idea of reading a Western never appealed much to me, and as an adult working in a bookstore I realized that those Longarm books by Tabor Evans are the male equivalent of Harlequin romances read by so many women. My point here is that I have always expected Westerns to be sort of Lots of guns and dust and prejudiced comments about women and their place in the world. But then once upon a time about nine years ago I took a Greyhound bus from Pittsburgh to Memphis to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. And on the way there or maybe the way back I looked up from whatever book I was reading at the time I know it wasn't a Western to find we were stopped in downtown Zanesville, Ohio.
There wasn't much to Zanesville that I could see and I don't think more than one person actually got on the bus at that point he might have been the sole person living in Zanesville for all I knew. But here's the thing I decided after that trip and stopping for minutes in the town where Zane Grey was born: One day I would read a novel by Zane Grey. Of course the minute I got home I put the thought out of my head because there were prettier, shinier books that should be read. Then a couple years ago I found this book in the clearance section and realized I had no more excuses.
It had to be read. So I bought it. And then promptly forgot about it. Because that's how I roll. I always sort of thought this was his first novel, but it turns out he wrote at least nine books before this one - that this one happens to be his best-known. Despite everything above, I honestly did not hate this book. It was actually a little exciting in parts in the same way I found The Lone Ranger exciting as a kid watching it on TV , but I was so horribly distracted by the amount of repetition included.
I assume this is because Grey himself wasn't actually a writer to begin with - according to my copy's introduction, he was a dentist first, only beginning to write at the prompting of his wife. I am interested to see how his writing in some of his other books stack up. This particular book ended so suddenly another annoyance that I probably need to at least read the sequel, The Rainbow Trail.
I'm not a huge fan of cliff-hangers and this book has one. And I'm dying to know if The Rainbow Trail has as much freaking sage, or if Grey moves on to new words. View all 9 comments. Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" is probably one of the most famous westerns ever written, but, despite its popularity since it was first published in , the book may not hold as significant a place in the Canon of the American West for the simple reason that, until , many people had never actually read the book that Grey wrote.
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When it was ultimately re- Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" is probably one of the most famous westerns ever written, but, despite its popularity since it was first published in , the book may not hold as significant a place in the Canon of the American West for the simple reason that, until , many people had never actually read the book that Grey wrote. When it was ultimately re-published in book form, much of the trimmed material never made it back. Not only that, but much of the book was actually re-written by the publisher, ostensibly to be more palatable and inoffensive to gentle readers.
One could argue that the editors and publishers were simply "improving" upon Grey's tendency for purple prose and many people did, apparently , but essentially what it boiled down to was censorship, a topic which is foremost on most people's minds here on Goodreads. Thankfully, Jon Tuska, with the help of the Ohio State Historical Society, in , published a simple paperback version that restored as fully as possible the original, uncut version of Grey's western masterpiece.
Much of the cut material had to do with Grey's criticisms of Mormonism and organized religion in general. Never having read the bowdlerized version prior to this, I can't make a comparison. I have no idea what was added or changed in this restored version. I don't think it matters, though. What matters is that the book that Grey wrote is what readers are reading with this edition, and that's the most important part.
Grey was an incredibly prolific writer, even if he wasn't a notably excellent one. He wrote for pulps early in his career, so most of what he wrote was paid for by the word. He wasn't writing for awards. He was writing to put bread on his table. Yet, there is something beautiful and dynamic in his writing. His joy and love for the American West and unsullied Nature is evident in his descriptions of the wide-open prairies and deserts and canyons of the Wild West. His books are populated by dynamic, lovable characters who live, and love, in the moment.
I daresay that Grey was the western's equivalent of Charles Dickens. Jane Withersteen, a proud Mormon woman, is left the only heir to a vast plot of valuable land and a large herd of cattle, a plot of land that Elder Tull, the vicious leader of the Mormon church, covets. He also wouldn't mind seeing Jane added to his group of wives. The man she loves, the ranch-hand Venters, has been captured and sentenced to death on clearly trumped-up charges by Tull's men, but before the dastardly execution happens, a lone figure on horseback rides into town.
The notorious gunslinger and killer of men saves Venters, inexplicably, and returns him to Jane. They are grateful but confused. Lassiter wants to know where a certain grave of a young girl is. Jane knows who he is talking about, but she can't figure out for the life of her what Lassiter would want with the information. She keeps it to herself. Lassiter stays on to help. Venters, following the trail of a masked horse thief, follows the rider into a secluded oasis in the desert, a place he calls Surprise Valley.
After a gunfight, he unmasks the masked villain only to find that it is woman, the most beautiful creature he has ever laid eyes on. He nurses her to health, and tries to discover the secret of her identity. It's no secret, though, that she has fallen in love with him. And, despite his love for Jane, he has begun to have feelings for this girl, who calls herself Bess. Lassiter, in the meantime, has thoughts of settling down, and those thought generally tend to involve Jane. This is such a ridiculous soap opera romantic story, and yet it is incredible, and I loved every darned bit of it.
Supposedly, Grey wrote a sequel to this book, and I reckon that I will search through hell and high water to find the darned thing View all 10 comments. Jul 02, Lewis Weinstein rated it it was amazing Shelves: Set in , published in This story is far more than a western adventure, although it is surely that. There are deep and tender relationships among the characters, including impressive and moving portrayals of the two women who are central to the story.
There are also many matchless descriptions of the magnificent western landscape. But what is most powerful is the scathing denunciation of the vicious Mormon practices of control exercised against anyone who stands up against the leadershi Set in , published in But what is most powerful is the scathing denunciation of the vicious Mormon practices of control exercised against anyone who stands up against the leadership, particularly a woman. If these descriptions are true, and I have no reason to believe they are not, it is a truly disgusting portrait.
How long did it take the Mormons to grow past that history, or do remnants still persist? I am struck that the description of the Mormons in is like that of other "controlling" religions and cults in the past and today. View all 12 comments. Aug 02, Ted rated it it was amazing Shelves: This isn't really a review, because the only thing I remember about this book is that I read it over fifty years ago.
Probably ought to read it again, I'm sure it would be fun. I now have two other books by Grey: The Desert of Wheat and Western Union. I picked them up a couple months ago when I visited The Country Bookshop in Plainfield Vermont, just to see the place where a dear friend of mine, now passed away, had worked for many years.
The books were in a large bookcase outside This isn't really a review, because the only thing I remember about this book is that I read it over fifty years ago. The books were in a large bookcase outside the shop, on a covered porch, labelled "Free. Perhaps it wouldn't stand up to that five-star vague recollection.
A Firing Offense Next review: Ghosts of Belfast More recent review: New Hampshire Robert Frost Next library review: View all 4 comments. Lassiter is a very angry man. His sister and only living relative, disappears from her home in Texas. The only person he loves in the world Kidnapped? Who knows,but the brother will search as long as it takes ,to find her.
Similar to The Searchers film After years on the long weary road, the gunman discovers the sister, in an unmarked lonely grave, in southern Utah. The former cowboy seaks revenge, he has killed before, he will again. Complications occur when he meets Jane Withersteen , a rich l Lassiter is a very angry man. Complications occur when he meets Jane Withersteen , a rich landowner, he begins to stop hating. Lassiter reputation scares the areas small town.
It's controlled by a religious sect, that doesn't like nonmembers. The townsmen keep trying to kill him but he's hard to eliminate. Jane hires Lassiter to prevent her cattle and prize horses, from being stolen. Did I mention all the vegetation is purple in the territory! Purple here, purple there ,purple everywhere! The inevitable showdown happens,with an unique ending. Is it paradise or death for the couple? Jul 22, Judy rated it really liked it Shelves: Reading a classic Western novel was a to-do on my book bucket list. I'm not sure why because I've never had a high opinion of TV or movie westerns.
After finishing Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey I can scratch "classic Western" off my list and add another 4-star book to the "read" column. Oh yeah, there is some cheesy, over-dramatic scenes in this book, particularly at the end. There is the courageous too-good-to-be-true heroine, several men who want her, beautiful sunsets and numerous men Reading a classic Western novel was a to-do on my book bucket list.
There is the courageous too-good-to-be-true heroine, several men who want her, beautiful sunsets and numerous mentions of the beautiful purple sage, but somehow, I wouldn't change an inch of type. Perhaps, its because I listened to the audiobook with a narrator who sounded like he could have lived back then or perhaps its just because this book was everything I thought a Western should be.
I don't know but I liked it. Will I start reading Westerns? No, I don't want to press my luck and ruin my good memories of this one. Nov 23, Mike the Paladin rated it really liked it Shelves: I read a large number of Zane Grey books back in the 60s and 70s and this one is a story of almost iconic proportions. The gunman in black who seemingly rides in from nowhere, but here we fill in a lot of the usual blanks. The book is very well written a little dated, and florid in places.
My dad always said Grey could spend 2 pages describing a bush. I think I ought to mention however that the book features a rather unflattering view of Mormons. I won't make apo I read a large number of Zane Grey books back in the 60s and 70s and this one is a story of almost iconic proportions. I won't make apologies or try to explain it, the book was published in It was a different time. I just thought I ought to place a warning as I'm sure some might be offended by some of the content of the story. It's based on a time when feelings were running high and I have no idea about how Grey himself felt.
He was simply telling a story set in a time when there had been persecution and violence on both sides. Just wanted to note this. A highly romanticized and exciting story set in Zane Grey's west.
In spite of the above a well written adventure, just be aware. Sep 13, Jill rated it it was ok Shelves: Unbelievably, painfully sappy and over-the-top melodramatic, some of which I hope was deliberate. I've never known a male to write such slushy romance. The characters are exaggerated to perfection, as if there were a checklist to include every stereotype suitable for the Western genre.
Riders of the Purple Sage
His men are all "men's men" and his women are perfectly docile, beautiful, emotional idiots. Though Grey is thorough in his scathingly hate-filled portrayal of the LDS, he apparently didn't have sufficient time or Unbelievably, painfully sappy and over-the-top melodramatic, some of which I hope was deliberate. Though Grey is thorough in his scathingly hate-filled portrayal of the LDS, he apparently didn't have sufficient time or energy to research anything besides the title "bishop.
Even if Grey's portrayal were anywhere near accurate, it is almost impossible to stomach his step-by-step description of budding romance, written in such a primitive style, it seems as though he's trying to explain it to a yr-old. Vacationers at the beach; romance aficionados; Western enthusiasts. The reasons for my reading this novel are purely serendipitous. There is no shortage of scenic vistas that include long stretches of rolling wasteland marked by low-lying brush and bushes featuring subtle purple and lavender shades of color.
The novel takes place in Utah, which apparently has these same or similar purple shrubberies. My father had also mentioned to me years ago that he had read many of the novels of Zane Grey, who was indeed a popular author in the early twentieth century. As a work of fiction, I know that the depiction may not be accurate or fair — Mormon men are uniformly portrayed as tyrannical and domineering in their relations with women — and considering that the novel was written in , this aspect of the book surely must have caused some controversy.
The story is also somewhat complex, with several plots unfolding that eventually come together at the end of the story, and conveniently leave open the certainty of a sequel. Plausibility is at times stretched thin, and the characters often behave with a one dimensional consistency and predictability. But in defense of Grey, as I had experienced in South Dakota, the purple variations of color are ubiquitous in some western locales. The novel has a bunch of treatments and sub-plots that keep the reader interested and fascinated: There are also some shocking surprises such as the sudden and senseless and misguided murder of a rustler.
Zane Grey has created a host of imperfect characters and might-be heroes braided into a readable and fast-moving story. The reader finds that sometimes you like certain characters, and other times they are repugnant or they fail you.
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By design, Grey imposes a feeling of uncertainty and uneasiness about these characters, their intentions and their actions, and casts into doubt their moral stature. Just like people in real life. This read comes under the heading of Auld Lang Syne. Revisiting beloved books after many, many years is not always a good thing. I discovered, this time around, with the help of Wikipaedia, that ZG was a prolific writer - author of more than 90 books!!
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He is credited with 'inventing' the genre of the Old West - sanitized and moralized. What I enjoyed during my re-read were his descriptions of the magnificent landscape and the splendid horses. He doesn't do so well with people - stereotypical, and his baby-talk from the lips of a four-year old is downright embarrassing to the modern eye.
But if you want rugged tales of men who were men, and women who were glad about that: View all 3 comments. Jul 05, Lisa Harmonybites rated it did not like it Recommends it for: Recommended to Lisa Harmonybites by: Set in the Utah of , it deals with a Mormon woman, heir to a ranch, resisting pressures to become a junior wife of a Mormon elder. This is Zane Grey's most famous novel, supposedly one that set the mold for the Western genre and published way back in which doesn't make this a classic.
Indeed, I'm afraid the "purple" in the title is sadly apt. Here's a snippet of the the puerile writing: What do you call ruin? A year ago I was a rider. I had horses and cattle of my own. I had a good name in Cottonwoods. And now when I come into the village to see this woman you set your men on me. You trail me as if I were a rustler. I've no more to lose—except my life. I know," went on Venters, tauntingly, "it galls you, the idea of beautiful Jane Withersteen being friendly to a poor Gentile. You want her all yourself. You're a wiving Mormon.
You have use for her—and Withersteen House and Amber Spring and seven thousand head of cattle! Really, the whole thing comes across as eye-rolling. And though I'm not enamored of the doctrine and practice of the Latter-Day-Saints, past or present, the way Mormons are presented here is just a bit much. They might as well all be twirling mustaches.
Despite the fame of the novel, not I think worth the read. The best I can say for it is that it's beyond the bounds of copyright, and so can be tried for free online on Project Gutenberg. The plot is obvious and the writing repetitive. Sentimental, though many of the sentiments are foreign today. Fortunately, it ends strong. Jane was a stereotype which modern writers and readers eschew, though she finally opens her eyes.
Not to mention her fainting spells. We get it; enough. Sage blossoms are closer to mauve or lavender, but Grey sought a different image. Because this book was written over a hundred years ago and only forty years after its setting, one might assume it close to historical fiction. Most of it is imagined.
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The West was a favored fantasy setting of that era. In Utah was embroiled in the Black Hawk War, yet the only mention of natives was the discovery of ancient cliff dwellings. Some practices and attitudes he vilified in still appear in contemporary headlines. Further, Grey seems to blame Mormons and religion in general for ruining the west. In a way they did, depending on how you define "ruin" and "west.
The West was won—or lost, depending on your perspective—by families who came to make it home. Sage only blooms for a week or two, yet this story goes on for month, and Grey continues to refer to the purple sage to the end. Many of the big action scenes take place off stage with some witness describing them after the fact. The horse race was well set up and executed. The climax redeems the whole book and earns it an additional star Sep 03, Mac rated it liked it. Riders of the Purple Sage has so much going for it--a dangerous gunslinger, a mysterious "Masked Rider" who later presents a big surprise, polygamy and multiple romances, religious conflict, stunning landscapes, cattle rustlers, chase scenes with good guy-bad guy confrontations, callow youths maturing right before our eyes, truth telling and lies, all woven into a clever, complex plot that ties everything together too neatly in the end.
Of course, with all this, the novel is over-the-top, but Riders of the Purple Sage has so much going for it--a dangerous gunslinger, a mysterious "Masked Rider" who later presents a big surprise, polygamy and multiple romances, religious conflict, stunning landscapes, cattle rustlers, chase scenes with good guy-bad guy confrontations, callow youths maturing right before our eyes, truth telling and lies, all woven into a clever, complex plot that ties everything together too neatly in the end. Of course, with all this, the novel is over-the-top, but there's a lot to like; and I did enjoy the story as long as I was willing to overlook the coincidences and contrivances.
That said, Grey's language was a constant impediment. His narration is so flowery and so excessive, I could never settle back and enjoy the story. When characters are threatened or just fall in love, they talk in a-breathless-style-that-does-nothing-but-slow-you-down. These characters don't just say something, they whisper haltingly, declare indignantly, or even ejaculate. And all this exclaiming is surrounded by elaborate, overblown prose.