The Devil on Horseback: A weird, dusty mess of a kidnapping flick

Should you watch this?

Honestly, only if you’re deep into the kind of old-school cinema where the plot relies entirely on people being absolute idiots. If you enjoy snappy, cynical press agents and bandits who take things way too seriously, you might get a kick out of it. If you want something that makes logical sense, look elsewhere. 🌵

The whole setup is basically a fever dream of bad decisions. Our starlet thinks a visit to a bandit's hacienda is a fun career move, which, okay, I guess that’s one way to get press. But the press agent? He’s the real villain here. He sees an opportunity for a headline and just lies to the entire army. The way the government reacts—immediately sending out troops like it’s a full-scale invasion—is just hilarious.

There’s this one scene where the press agent is practically drooling over the potential column inches while everyone else is panicking. It felt a bit like watching a modern social media manager trying to turn a crisis into a brand collab. It’s gross, but also kind of fascinating in a slimy way.

The bandit, played with all the intensity he could muster, is weirdly charming until he’s just… not. The chemistry is non-existent, but the sheer absurdity of the situation keeps the pace moving. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Roaring Lion, where everything is dialed up to eleven for no real reason.

Ann Miller is in this, and frankly, she deserves better than this script. The dialogue feels like it was written on the back of a napkin in a busy diner. Some lines land, but most just sit there, awkward and heavy.

Random observations from my notebook:

• The hacienda set looks like it’s about to collapse if someone sneezes too hard.
• The soldiers’ uniforms are so stiff it looks like they’re walking in cardboard boxes.
• I’m pretty sure one of the extras in the background is just reading a paper.
• The ending feels like they just ran out of film and called it a day.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a movie, really. It’s more like a series of increasingly loud arguments happening in nice outfits. But there’s something about that dusty, black-and-white chaos that’s hard to look away from. It’s definitely not as sharp as Torrent, but it’s got a weird, lonely pulse to it.

I left the screen feeling like I needed a glass of water and a nap. Maybe that’s the point? I don't know. Just don't go in expecting high art and you'll be fine. 🐎