Just another in a long line of overrated Westerns

Yes, you want to keep the oakydoke to a minimum.

gritty

If you think Hombre and Lawman are better than High Noon, The Searchers and the other titles you mention, then your critical faculties are seriously amiss.

Western movies since the late sixties have been nothing but gritty, grim and joyless. It's getting tiresome.

Take me back to the fun, escapist westerns of the forties and fifties.

I do give it credit for being a very good movie overall, and for defying a lot of the Western movie clichés of the era.

Watch other Westers of the mid-century and you'd think that every man in the old west carried a gun and either spent his afternoons joining posses, at face-off gunfights, or just shooting at nameless outlaws or injuns. (Or singing cowboy songs, while backed by an invisible orchestra). This showed a much more realistic version of life in the old West, where people were actually afraid of guns, and reacted to danger like real people who had something to lose.

I thought it was great. The ticking clock is like a time-bomb and the tension constantly builds. A couple elements might have gotten dated, but the way it keeps pressurizing everything is masterfully done. Some of the camerawork is really fine, too (Kane watches the judge leave while "Judge Mettrick presiding" sits on the sign just past his gaze, for instance).

there is a lot of buzz on this board about the movie being overrated, i sort of agree and was surprised at the very high rating, and critics love it, but critics and regular viewers often don't agree, i don't see what the big deal was, though how unexpected to see grace kelly in a western, before checking the credits i thought it was just someone looking like some actress i've seen in major movies, she looks so good in this black and white western setting, i can't believe she shot a guy, how cool was that, then, spoiler, she saves the lead in the end by scratching the bad guy in the face, i was surprised how limited her screen time was though, also there is horror movie actor lon chaney jr, credited without jr as often is the case, he looks so different in this role, i enjoyed his acting the most, again, too little screen time, the modern colourized logo i got at the end looked weird on a black and white 1952 movie, and i've never read "based on the magazine story" before as it says in the opening, it all looks a bit clean and polished for a western movie, and i agree with others on this board about some of the music not fitting, but neat how small the setting seem, like an old tv episode, it's like the whole movie takes place on a street. i just found out this has got a tv movie sequel made in 1980 starring lee majors with fairly good rating as well as some remake, modern westerns look weird since today's actors aren't exactly of the charles bronson calibre, i'm guessing i'll never come across the sequel unless i order it. there are like two women in this entire movie. have lee van cleef ever played a good guy.



🤠




quiet supper in cabin at easter holiday,
through deep woods strolled ryanne and madeleine,
as they entered in,
my chimney started steam,
as ryanne laid on an arabian meal,
in my grey honky life fire in her mystic eyes,
madeleine joined in on the side cooking me alive,
as they began placing lipstick on my head,
painting me like an easter egg.