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Sam Elliott has appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his career, but one of his lesser-known performances is getting renewed attention decades after its release.
In a retrospective, Collider called 1982's The Shadow Riders an "underrated gem," praising the made-for-TV Western for pairing Elliott with fellow Western icon Tom Selleck in what it described as "a team-up adventure."
'The Shadow Riders' Starred Sam Elliott Alongside Tom Selleck
Based on the Louis L'Amour novel of the same name, The Shadow Riders follows brothers Dal Traven (Elliott) and Mac Traven (Selleck), who return home after fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War. Their reunion is cut short when members of their family are kidnapped by a band of Comancheros, sending the brothers on a dangerous rescue mission across the frontier.
Part of what has helped the film endure is the chemistry between its two leads. Rather than centering on a lone gunslinger, The Shadow Riders builds its story around two brothers with very different personalities who are forced to work together despite their complicated past.
Collider also argued that the film "may have been ahead of its time," noting that television has since become a home for acclaimed Westerns like Yellowstone, 1883, Justified, and Godless. Looking back, The Shadow Riders feels like an early example of the kind of character-driven Western storytelling that would later flourish on the small screen.
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the film also stars Katharine Ross, Ben Johnson, Geoffrey Lewis, and Jeff Osterhage.
The Shadow Riders is currently streaming free on Tubi.
