A small settlement in wintery Wyoming, riven by the conflict between a rancher and the newly arrived farmers, is occupied by a troop of outlaws who threaten to wreak havoc if not kept happy. 'Day of the Outlaw' is an all in all quite well-made B-western that offers a lot of suspense and very good acting from actors most of which are relatively little known. It has also been beautifully filmed: Black and white suits the wintry landscapes just as well as the bleak and somewhat claustrophibic interiors where most of the action takes place. The central weakness of the film that kept me from rating it higher than 7 stars is the plot. The film takes what seems an eternity (actually about 20 minutes) to set the scene for the conflict between the rancher Blaise Starrett (excellently played by Robert Ryan) and the farmers, who are led by Hal Crane (Alan Marshal). Crane buys that periennial symbol of this kind of 'war' (barbed wire), Starrat has his forman buy petroleum to burn the wagon where the wire is being stored. Then there is the back story of Starrat's unrequited love for Crane's wife Helen (Tina Louise). All this material for conflict and suspense is discarded without compunction when the outlaws arrive. The film changes tack and never returns to its original theme. From now on, the only issues are how the keep the outlaws from ripping apart the settlement, and eventually how to get rid of them. Strange. But as I said, in all other respects 'Day of the Outlaw' is very good and eminently watchable.
Review of Day of the Outlaw
