Dan Blocker was the perfect reason to stay home and watch TV. He didn't look like the heartthrobs of the day, but he was amiable and heartfelt. In this upbeat TV-made western, practically no one in a one-horse town supports the big guy after his plan to start a community around the railroad falls through, all except one woman (she's obviously a smart cookie). Blocker's heroic John Killibrew thinks a submerged steam engine can save the town, and hopefully redeem himself with the townsfolk, but first he has to persuade the locals, an Indian tribe, and Susan Clark, who just wants to be Mrs. Killibrew. Clark has a likably spunky nature and gets a terrific scene near the end where she chastises the town for not believing in her man, but the low-budget film is only middling, with day-for-night shots that are an eyesore and a cartoonish score by Jack Marshall that telegraphs every emotion ahead of time. Don Taylor's direction is pedestrian, with sensitive scenes nearly undercut by slapstick nonsense and overacting by several supporting players, especially Tom Nolan as the town crier (he's ridiculously over-the-top). But Dan Blocker had a great way of bringing us right up-close to him (you can almost feel his warmth) and that's what makes a star. He's the reason this movie is worth finding, and he makes it an ingratiating vehicle for his rough-but-gentle persona.
Review of Something for a Lonely Man
