Customer Reviews

A Man Alone [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great western about a loner gunman who stands against a village for crimes he did'nt commit.It's a must see classic 50's cowboy film!!!

This was Ray Milland's first movie as a director and it's a good effort. When loner Milland comes across a carriage of murdered people in the desert he goes to the nearest town with the intention of reporting it. Only he finds the murders were arranged by the town's top people, who pin the crimes on him. Since Ray is a notorious gunslighter, he knows he doesn't have a chance. He takes refuge with Mary Murphy, who eventually falls in love with him. Murphy pulls in a good performance and she has one tiny waist. Raymond Burr plays the bad guy and it's nice to see he could play more than the good guy.

Republic Pictures presents "A MAN ALONE" (1955) - (96 min/Color) -- Starring: Ray Milland, Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Arthur Space & Lee Van Cleef

Directed Ray Milland

Fugitive gunslinger Wes Steele (Ray Milland), while escaping a lynch mob, stumbles onto an Arizona ranch that has been quarantined due to Yellow Fever. During his enforced stay, he falls in love with sheriff's daughter Nadine Corrigan (Mary Murphy), who is as much a "lost soul" as Steele. The only hope the lovers have for a happy future is Steele's exoneration, but this won't happen so long as crooked town banker Stanley (Raymond Burr) holds all the cards.

Special footnote: -- Ray Milland made his directorial debut with this Republic western and it did well enough to encourage future directorial efforts - which included the well-paced espionages Lisbon (1956) & The Safecracker (1958) and the above average sci-fi exercise Panic in the Year Zero! (1962)

BIOS:

1. Ray Milland Director)

Date of Birth: 3 January 1905 - Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Date of Death: 10 March 1986 - Torrance, California

2. Mary Murphy

Date of Birth: 26 January 1931 - Washington, District of Columbia

Date of Death: 4 May 2011 - Beverly Hills, California

3. Ward Bond [aka: Wardell E. Bond]

Date of Birth: 9 April 1903 - Benkelman, Nebraska

Date of Death: 5 November 1960 - Dallas, Texas

4. Raymond Burr

Date of Birth: 21 May 1917 - New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Date of Death: 12 September 1993 - Sonoma, California

5. Arthur Space

Date of Birth: 12 October 1908 - New Brunswick, New Jersey

Date of Death: 13 January 1983 - Hollywood, California

6. Lee Van Cleef

Date of Birth: 9 January 1925 - Somerville, New Jersey

Date of Death: 16 December 1989 - Oxnard, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:

Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars

Performance: 4 Stars

Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars

Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 96 min on DVD/VHS ~ Republic Pictures ~ (January 1, 1998)

A Man Alone doesn't break any new ground, but Ray Milland's first movie as a director is a decently entertaining western. Milland plays Wes Steele, an infamous gunfighter who wanders into the wrong town and is promptly framed for murder. The murder is committed by Raymond Burr, thought to be the town's most honorable citizen, but who also runs all of the crooked goings on in the town.

Mary Murphy plays the town sheriff's daughter, who takes Steele in and hides him out. Steele ends up helping her nurse her father, played by the legendary Ward Bond, back to health. Eventually, Steele is discovered, and the inevitable showdown takes place.

Everyone gives it a good effort, and the writing is pretty good. A Man Alone is a pretty pleasant way to pass the time if you're a Western fan.

This movie was made from a story by noted screen and TV writer Morton 'Mort' Briskin, possibly better known as the creator of the TV series, Sheriff of Cochise, that ran on TV 1956-1958.

Starring in the movie and its director as well is the legendary Oscar winning actor, Ray Milland, an actor of many faces and many roles. Ray probably felt right at home with a gun in his hand, as he was just as much an accurate shot as Wes Steele, the gunman or shootist he portrays in the film. Years back when Milland (whose real name was Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones, Welsh born) had served in the Household Cavalry he was not only an expert shot but served on the company's rifle team, helping to win many competitions.

This movie is not a 'cowboy' film nor really a western, due to the universality of the story and its depth, it becomes more a look into a bad town having bad people in control. From a human standpoint most of the people are good yet they look to and obey a few bad leaders. In the case of 'bad' we have good ole Raymond Burr once again playing the heavy, a man who owns the bank yet has recently not only stolen $63,000.00 by being involved in a stage robbery but also murdering the passengers and driver. One of the passengers is a very young girl. To top it off Burr then cuts his future losses by shooting his partner in the back. The focus of blame is then foisted on Wes Steele, innocent but very handy as the stranger in town. The character of Steele as an aging gunman who is running out of towns and direction is only passing through to who knows where, but fate steps in to forever change his direction and life. A gritty story with a very believable plot line.

Wes is not 'a man alone' as he is aided and eventually loved by Nadine Corrigan (very well portrayed by Mary Murphy) and eventually Nadine's father, Gil Corrigan, the town sheriff. Many of the characters have secrets they don't want devulged, yet at story's end everything is out and wedding bells will no doubt ring.

Again, this is a very interesting story that keeps the viewer watching, and though as some have said, there is nothing new in the plot line, the pace and movement of the story should please most watchers. Not so much a western as a universal story of the sad human condition where crime and coverup is involved.

The movie is showing on Encore Westerns this month and will probably do so again in ensuing months. Should it come your way, you might want to give it 96 minutes of your viewing time, as the picture still garners near 6.5 stars from the average viewer.

The movie was shot in Trucolor at Snow Canyon, Utah. Released by Republic Pictures on 17 October 1955.

Additional actors among others are:

Ward Bond-Sheriff Corrigan

Raymond Burr-Stanley, Bank of Mesa

Arthur Space-Doctor Mason

Lee Van Clef-Clanton (Stanley's henchman)

Alan Hale Jr.-Acting Sheriff Jim Anderson

Douglas Spencer-Henry Slocum Undertaker

Grandon Rhodes-Luke Joiner-Stanley's partner

Semper Fi.

Good. Ward Bond and Raymond Burr were very good, so was Lee van Cleef. It's worth your time if you like westerns.

Ray Milland not only starred in this movie but made his debut in the director's chair with it .He plays a noted gunman ,Wes Steele,a man unjustly accused of murder when he witnesses a robbery and killing in the local bank .The robbery and murder are the work of Raymond Burr and other outwardly respectable businessmen who are using their position as a front for criminal activity .He escapes and takes refuge in the basement of a nearby house which just happens to belong to the town sheriff (Ward Bond)a man in league with the killers

He enlists the aid of the sheriff's daughter (Mary Murphy) and the two set out to prove his innocence of the crime even though this means implicating her own father

I have called this a slightly bleak Western .I say this because the sharp script by John Tucker Battlle includes some downbeat moments .One comes when the sheriff ,in defence of his actions,compares the hopes that the West represented to settlers to the reality of daily life on the frontier -its hardships and compromises .Coming from the mouth of a man who often played men embodying the Western ideals these are quite thought provoking words .The other comes when Milland states why he wishes to settle down in the town -not because of its positive virtues but because the next one will be "just as bad"

Westerns are often marked by sweeping vistas of wide open spaces but A Man Alone is a townbound movie and mostly takes place indoors .This gives it a slightly claustrophobic feel that is apropriate to its subject and is reflected nicely in Milland's s direction .Acting is good with two splendid villains in Lee Van Cleef and Raymond Burr and a standout performance by Bond as a weak but not evil man in need of redemption

A good movie this and it should be more widely known