Customer Reviews

Man Without a Star [VHS]

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

 

 

This is probably my favorite Kirk Douglas western. Although it has plenty of action this is not just another action western. Rather it deals with the implacable transition of the west from open range available to all to individually-controlled patches of range that are fenced off with barbed wire. Dempsey Rae (Douglas' character) loves open range and keeps drifting north to avoid the barbed wire which destroys it. Finally, however, he realizes that the small ranchers must fence off the range to protect themselves from the massive herds of a greedy rancher and her ruthless foreman and helps string and protect the wire that he hates so thoroughly. I love this under-rated western.

Directed by King Vidor, "Man Without A Star"(1955) is a Western lover's Western. Kirk Douglas stars, as a drifter with no particular star to follow. He moseys into town, after saving the life of a young cow-poke wannabe, and we are treated to his fun side and lots of smiles as he whoops it up with saloon gal-pal Claire Trevor.

After landing a job on the biggest spread around,10,000 head to be exact, he discovers his boss, a tough beauty from the East(Jeanne Crain), will be adding another 5,000 head of cattle to her ranch and plans to ignore the friendly understanding the ranchers have. After all it's "open range" and she's entitled to use whatever she wants. The lady boss, is quite smitten with our guy Kirk, and he must decide between the land-grubbin beauty or barbed wire..which is the lesser of the two evils?

Kirk is wonderful in this role. His charm keeps you both smiling, and rooting for the good guys, throughout the film. He's funny but also tough and heroic as he goes up against the likes of some bad hombres, headed up by Richard Boone, who is always so good at being so bad. Claire Trevor adds her charms and William Campbell is fun as Kirk's new sidekick.Also look for Jay C. Flippen in a great role as foreman. The photography is wonderful in technicolor, and the songs(Frankie Laine on vocals), have the perfect Western feel about them.

The film defines the Western of the 50's and is Kirk Douglas in top form.
Saddle Up and Happy Trails.....Laurie

Also recommended:
Kirk Douglas The Ragman's Son An Autobiography- a must read for Kirk Douglas fans - one of the best memoirs I ever read.

The Woman of the Town - for Claire Trevor fans
American Empire (Audio Described) [VHS] - great western fare
Diamonds - excellent for Father's Day

A drifter (Kirk Douglas) hooks up with a young cowpoke (William Campbell, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY) while riding the rails. When they both get hired as cattle ranch hands, trouble brews when the new and ruthless ranch owner (Jeanne Crain) decides to usurp the grazing lands for herself. This nifty western directed by King Vidor (DUEL IN THE SUN) is a superior effort that needs a wider audience to solidify its reputation. This was Vidor's first wide screen film and he was lucky to have that wizard Russell Metty (WRITTEN ON THE WIND) behind the camera. The film foreshadows the westerns that were to come (particularly in the 1960s) dealing with the transition of the Old West and how emerging civilization would change it forever. The casting of Crain, usually the sweet natured ingenue, as the hard and calculating ranch owner was inspired. With Claire Trevor, Richard Boone as the villain, Jay C. Flippen, Mara Corday, Sheb Wooley, Myrna Hansen, Jack Elam and Malcolm Atterbury.

The Umbrella DVD courtesy of Australia (it's not available in the U.S. at this time) is vivid wide screen transfer with an aspect ratio of 1.85 though it should have been closer to 2 to 1.

As the other reviewers indicate-an excellent Kirk Douglas Western! It's time to get this
onto a DVD. Combining it with Along the Great Divide and/or the Big Sky would
make a great package

One of the best performances of Kirk Douglas in a masterpiece directed by King Vidor. Jeanne Crain and Richard Boone as the villain also give praiseworthy performances. MAN WITHOUT A STAR can be found now in a superb DVD zone 2 release with remastered images and sound at Amazon.fr.

ONE OF THE BEST WESTERNS OF OUR TIME, KIRK DOUGLAS REALLY SHOWS HIS ACTING RAGE HERE. ALOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS FILM BECAUSE IT DEALS WITH ISSUIES LIKE WHAT IT REALLY TAKES TO BE A MAN, OR GUN OR TWO FISTS. FRIENDSHIP, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MAN A WOMAN. DRIFTER WHY HE DRIFTS TOWN TO TOWN. AND LAST HONOR. I WISH HOLLYWOOD WOULD WAKE AND SMELL THE COFFEE AND PROCLAIM THIS FILM OF ONE OF THE FINEST OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!

I thought this was a good movie with alot of substance towards its story. It stars Jeanne Crain as a young, unmarried girl without much experiance in the world. I reccmommend it only if you don't mind the overacting thats seen alot in old, dramatic movies.