User Reviews

This is a better western than some made in the 50's. Guy Madison is good as the reluctant fast gun. Lorne Greene (pre-Bonanza) is excellent as a thoroughly ruthless land baron. Valerie French is pretty. Myron Healy who has been in countless pictures is not even credited but is the reason for Guy Madison to go to the town where Lorne Greene is the boss. Madison does a good job of showing how a lawman can sometimes be as ruthless as the outlaws if not careful. He is forced to kill his friend and then finds out the friend may have been framed as a killer. He rides to the town where his friend committed the crime and runs into a lot of road blocks (most notably Lorne Greene's character) as well as a beautiful woman that he is not sure of.

While The Hard Man (1957), isn't the best western film, it isn't that awful.

Most of the action takes place in town, so that may put off some of the audience. Guy Madison is a bit of a square-jawed, tough guy here, who is used by the law to hunt for murderous outlaws. He shoots one of his old cowpoke friends in self-defense, and the guy claimed he was innocent. Guy Madison gets picked up by an elderly sheriff to be his side man and use his gun if he has to. That puts him at odds with Lorne Greene, who continues his "bad guy streak" (Tight Spot (1955)). He isn't half bad. Guy Madison finds out that Lorne Greene was behind his cowpoke friend's setup.

There's a love interest in the form of Valerie French (from Jubal (1956)), and she is lovely to look at. I think they should have had more bad guys that were formidable instead of being cartoon rogues.

The film is a barely above the average, and although it's not that exciting, it wasn't a bad view for an American western film.

Also recommended: Jubal (1956) Hour of the Gun (1967) A Man Called Gannon (1968) The Last Hard Men (1976)

Guy Madison made this picture near the end of his series run in "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok". I'm currently watching "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" running on Encore Westerns, and trying to decide who the better looking lawman was, Madison as Hickok or Hugh O'Brian as Earp. I guess it could be a toss up, so I bring it up for the reader to decide.

Now if Michael Landon appeared here, it might have been a three way contest. Instead, his 'Bonanza' Dad Lorne Green played the quintessential bad guy/town boss who didn't like to get his own hands dirty, so he hired out gunslingers to do his nasty work. None of them proved to be a match for Madison's character, Steve Burden, who outdrew and out fought every henchman Rice Martin (Green) threw up against him. That included his wife Fern Martin (Valerie French), who had no problem using up men like paper towels and throwing them on the scrap heap.

The story plays out rather formulaic, but what bothered me were the couple of times Steve Burden allowed himself to get up close and personal with the shrewish Fern Martin (French). I guess if part of his plan was to draw her out to expose her husband's rustling operation and implication in a friend's death at the beginning of the story, then it worked. But even if it hadn't, Fern made the same fatal mistake a lot of outlaws do when she shot her husband with three witnesses present. Losing one's head like that is always a bad career move.

Since I brought up the Wyatt Earp TV series earlier, keep a sharp eye out for a couple of that show's regulars in the cast. Myron Healey doesn't last long in this story when he's shot by Burden to open the picture; he portrayed Doc Holliday for a couple of seasons along side O'Brian. Also on hand was that show's Old Man Clanton, Trevor Bardette, here playing an opportunistic weasel by the name of Willis, picking up stray jobs and booze for pay from Rice Martin. He's the guy shot off the roof by El Solito town sheriff Harker (Robert Burton), in a move described by Burden as 'the best shot he's ever seen'.

Steve is the Hard Man...he represents the law and he kills most of the bad guys he chases. When he kills a bad guy who turns out to most probably be innocent, Steve goes after the truth, and along the way he must deal with Lorne Greene playing Rice Martin, Rice's flirty wife, Fern, and his own conscience. After some nifty gun play and even some sentiment when Steve comes to the aid of an orphan boy, Fern gets found out for what she is. She framed the innocent man causing Steve to kill him and now she must stand trial for her sins. It all comes out nice and the journey along the way is at least average TV viewing for us Western lovers. They make them a whole lot better than this, but "The Hard Man" will do as passing entertainment. Lorne Greene does a bad job acting, but then again, he has very little to work with. Plenty of good character parts help keep things interesting. Rudy Bond plays a bad guy and you will recognize his snout from his role in the Godfather, Streetcar Named Desire and many, many more Hollywood big shows. Maybe C++ would be a good grade for this film, but if you are a Western fan, that's a good enough excuse to watch.

Steve Burden(Guy Madison)usually brings them in dead, maybe being easier than bringing the bad guy in alive. He actually loses his job for being too quick on the draw. The last man he was forced to kill was a friend from his past, who may have actually been framed for murder. The Sheriff of El Solito hires Burden to be his Deputy and he begins searching for the man who framed his friend. He thinks he has found that man...Rice Martin(Lorne Greene),who seems to have the town under his thumb. Martin's attractive wife Fern(Valeri French)warns Burden that her husband has hired gunmen to put him down.

Madison seems to be a run-of-the-mill good guy. Greene(better known as Ben Cartwright, the Bonanza patriarch)makes for an overbearing villain. Also in the cast: Barry Atwater, Rudy Bond and Robert Burton. THE HARD MAN is no great shakes, but good enough to hold your attention.