Firstly, things I loved: The idea of a mystery / western movie. How most of the cast did their roles fairly. The music while Yaphet Kotto's death, which was a variation on Maurice Jarre's theme music, as joyful as the background's atmosphere, yet with a smart tense twist. A number of lines: "There's only one thing worse than a crook, that's a clumsy crook", "Somebody gave Stoney a new string tie. Only it was made of barbed wire, and a little tight", "Sometimes the truth is actions, not words". And the theme song which was the top of this movie for me.
Then, things I didn't love: Oh, dear. Take a list: Dean Martin was too indifferent; like it's "I'll say the lines, do the moves, then give me the money please". And while he was 51 year old, he seemed older, with run-down, if not sick, features. For instance, during his scene in the cemetery, he was too pale as if he was the one to be buried!
Director Henry Hathaway didn't do anything dazzling along the way, or maybe didn't want to. Actually, more than one point tells you that not much effort was exerted. In one moment, when Martin punches Roddy McDowall in front of the latter's sister, you'll notice that there wasn't a proper sound effect for the punch. And in another, when the same 2 clash in the cemetery, their fight was weak, childish, and shot while both of them were wearing the same color and outfit (so you couldn't tell who's who!). Let alone that the few action scenes were done routinely. That's why I felt TV-ish western for all the time.
The romantic part wasn't taken care of seriously. I mean the young girl loves the lead, and he loves the older woman; so why is that? Does the girl related to issues like land and stability, and the lead is always a traveling gambler, so that's why he preferred the barbershop's owner? Is that woman more experienced, so she's more suitable for him? Well, the movie itself doesn't give a hoot, and the whole romantic scenes seemed eventually irrelevant.
Speaking about the writing, the matter of Robert Mitchum saying a line that ends a scene, while he walks away from the people, repeated dully. I thought that Mitchum didn't have to turn the chair over the card table to assure for Martin that he's the killer. And I didn't get the constant talk about the coming development with Ruth Springford as Mama Malone; that wasn't a relief, or part of the drama, or sort of satire which serves some purposed substance?? Was there any use out of this, other than filling the blanks between the scenes of the main "loose unknown killer" plot??
Roddy McDowall can be a lot of characters, but the violent psychopath killer isn't one of them. He tried his best, and did well, but he wasn't the character for me, and the "very well" rank could have been given for another actor in that role. While Jarre's music is nothing but one theme and variations for it, it did bore sometimes, and - worse than that - sounded sarcastic in the wrong place; like the first sequence.
Then, that awful climax. OK, I can't describe it as a climax in the first place. It's all about talking endlessly, then one fast bullet form the protagonist to kill the antagonist?? Nobody ever bothered themselves to make something more big and satisfying?? This is not a way to end a movie, and not a way to kill a proficient gunslinger like Mitchum's character. They didn't have the time, the money, the energy?? I really don't know. But what I do know is that when this lazy executive spirit dominated, the movie got cold, and it turned out to be that Dean Martin wasn't the only indifferent around!
They even gave the mystery's solution away in the original poster (s); which's a proof for how uninterested most of this movie's makers were. Now it could be a fact that an uninterested movie equals an uninteresting movie!
Then, things I didn't love: Oh, dear. Take a list: Dean Martin was too indifferent; like it's "I'll say the lines, do the moves, then give me the money please". And while he was 51 year old, he seemed older, with run-down, if not sick, features. For instance, during his scene in the cemetery, he was too pale as if he was the one to be buried!
Director Henry Hathaway didn't do anything dazzling along the way, or maybe didn't want to. Actually, more than one point tells you that not much effort was exerted. In one moment, when Martin punches Roddy McDowall in front of the latter's sister, you'll notice that there wasn't a proper sound effect for the punch. And in another, when the same 2 clash in the cemetery, their fight was weak, childish, and shot while both of them were wearing the same color and outfit (so you couldn't tell who's who!). Let alone that the few action scenes were done routinely. That's why I felt TV-ish western for all the time.
The romantic part wasn't taken care of seriously. I mean the young girl loves the lead, and he loves the older woman; so why is that? Does the girl related to issues like land and stability, and the lead is always a traveling gambler, so that's why he preferred the barbershop's owner? Is that woman more experienced, so she's more suitable for him? Well, the movie itself doesn't give a hoot, and the whole romantic scenes seemed eventually irrelevant.
Speaking about the writing, the matter of Robert Mitchum saying a line that ends a scene, while he walks away from the people, repeated dully. I thought that Mitchum didn't have to turn the chair over the card table to assure for Martin that he's the killer. And I didn't get the constant talk about the coming development with Ruth Springford as Mama Malone; that wasn't a relief, or part of the drama, or sort of satire which serves some purposed substance?? Was there any use out of this, other than filling the blanks between the scenes of the main "loose unknown killer" plot??
Roddy McDowall can be a lot of characters, but the violent psychopath killer isn't one of them. He tried his best, and did well, but he wasn't the character for me, and the "very well" rank could have been given for another actor in that role. While Jarre's music is nothing but one theme and variations for it, it did bore sometimes, and - worse than that - sounded sarcastic in the wrong place; like the first sequence.
Then, that awful climax. OK, I can't describe it as a climax in the first place. It's all about talking endlessly, then one fast bullet form the protagonist to kill the antagonist?? Nobody ever bothered themselves to make something more big and satisfying?? This is not a way to end a movie, and not a way to kill a proficient gunslinger like Mitchum's character. They didn't have the time, the money, the energy?? I really don't know. But what I do know is that when this lazy executive spirit dominated, the movie got cold, and it turned out to be that Dean Martin wasn't the only indifferent around!
They even gave the mystery's solution away in the original poster (s); which's a proof for how uninterested most of this movie's makers were. Now it could be a fact that an uninterested movie equals an uninteresting movie!