When I was a kid, I went to every Audie Murphy movie that came to town. He was from Texas, and he was the most decorated soldier of WWII, a genuine hero. What more could a kid ask for?Unfortunately most of the movies aren't very good. But this one is. Murphy plays a hired gunslinger whose method is simple. He goads his target into a gunfight, which he always wins. He's never convicted of a crime because the killing is plainly self-defense.
Murphy's really menacing in this role, and it's easy to see why all the townsfolk start wondering who his target is. In fact, they all have so many guilty secrets that each of them thinks s/he might be the one. Murphy lets them stew. Things start to simmer, and then they come to a boil.
If you think Murphy couldn't act, give this movie a try. And if you'd like to read an excellent bio of Murphy, there's one by my old friend Don Graham. The title? No Name on the Bullet.
3 comments:
Audie Murphy trivia: According to Stuart Kaminsky's book on Don Siegel, Siegel toyed with the idea of casting Murphy as the Scorpio Killer in DIRTY HARRY, the role that ultimately went to Andy Robinson.
When I saw it, I thought this film would have played even better as black humor.
No Name on the Bullet has been in my Netflix Instant View queue for months, but I haven't gotten around to it. There are a *ton* of obscure '50s and '60s Westerns available. (Ditto obscure '50s and '60s crime films.) Of course, I assume most of them are obscure for a reason....
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