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Veteran bounty-hunter Morg Hickman (Henry Fonda) is
bringing a dead outlaw into a new town where the sheriff has recently been
killed. A young inexperienced Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins) is named as a
temporary replacement, but he lacks the confidence that can only come from experience. The town's representatives contemptibility towards
Hickman demands that he depart as soon as possible, but he won't leave till the
reward money is safely in his hands. This paperwork takes a few days so he finds
room and board with a pretty blonde widow (Betsy Palmer) and her half native
Indian son, Kip, who also appear to be outcasts. Once Owens finds that Hickaman was once a sheriff, he views him as a mentor, determined to learn the skills required to maintain his new position. He won't let the townsfolk's lack of confidence and the advice of his new teacher, deter him. Morg tells him that being a sheriff is a foolish and dangerous quest, but agrees to instruct the fledgling lawman in handling people, in his view, more important in his position than handling a gun. Made in the hey-day of westerns, Anthony Mann establishes his one-dimensional characters quite early and Fonda even looks physically tired throughout the film. Important details come to fruition about Hickman's attitude and reasons why he has turned his back on society. His shared knowledge to Owens is retuned in kind with an epiphany of his own. I thought the plot built wonderfully, and Fonda can do no wrong in my eyes, but the ending appeared to drag slightly. Still a wonderful example of a primo Hollywood western from a director who is often unrecognized for his talent. A master in this genre, but this is not his best. I give it ![]() ![]() |
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Theatrical Release: October 23rd, 1957 - New York City, USA
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DVD Review: Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC
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Distribution | Paramount Studios - Region 1 - NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:32:48 | |
Video | 1.78:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.34 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) - restored, English (Dolby Digital 5.1 surround) | |
Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • None
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Comments: |
The
anamorphic image quality is very acceptable in this release. I was
impressed enough with contrast/brightness and black levels are not
relatively deep. The
sharpness is crisp enough through most of the film. I see no edge enhancement. Audio was stable and consistent.
I only listed in the restored original mono and it was good. I almost
prefer the total lack of Extras as a honest gesture rather than fill it
up with unwanted trailer advertisements. Saying this though, it should
have had something tangible and I crave an announcement for Mann's "Man
of the West", which hasn't come. A good, if bare bones, DVD.
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Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in
the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne |
The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural
History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon |
The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe |
The Western Genre by John Saunders |
Westerns: Films through History (AFI
Film Readers) by Janet Walker |
The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File
Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck |
Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in
Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin |
The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted |
Check out more in "The Library"
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Distribution | Paramount Studios - Region 1 - NTSC |