The Day of the Outlaw
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Movie Reviews of The Day of the Outlaw
Movie Review: Ryan Rules.
Summary: 5 Stars
Superb western to just now be released on dvd. We need more of these classics for our movie libraries, but its just a shame we have to wait so long to get them.Movie Review: Robert Ryan and Burl Ives are outstanding in this bleak, austere, frigid western
Summary: 4 Stars
"Now listen," says Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives), renegade former captain in the U. S. Army, to the frightened men and women of Bitters, population about 20, four of them women. It's deep winter and Bruhn and his men have just barged into the saloon as rancher Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) was about to gun down farmer Hal Crane. "Do as you're told and you can go about your business just like we're not here, almost. But we are here so it's best you know with what you're dealing. Pace here gets pleasure out of hurting people. Tex, rile him and you're going to hear some screaming in this town today. Denver, half Cheyenne. Him hate white man. He doesn't feel half so badly about white women. Vause, bones covered with dirty skin but even half drunk he's the fastest draw in Wyoming Territory. And Shorty. We soldiered together. The young fella, well, he's a fresh recruit but he's learning fast."
For the rest of the day and through the night Bruhn by force of will is going to control his motley, dangerous gang. He'll deny them liquor, deny them the town's women, and undergo an excruciating operation by the town vet to extract a bullet from a lung. They're on the run with $40,000 in gold in their saddlebags. The U.S. Cavalry is on their trail. Bruhn is a complex man with an odd sense of honor. He was responsible for a massacre by soldiers under his command. His justice is ruthless. His authority is complete...as long as he lives. Right now he is the only one capable of keeping his gang of killers from tearing up Bitters by its roots.
And that includes Blaise Starrett, an angry rancher...angry at being rejected by Hal Crane's wife, Helen (Tina Louise), angry with Crane for the barbed wire that Crane will be putting up next to his land, angry at the farmers moving into the town and the territory that he cleaned up and made safe. That showdown with Crane that Bruhn interrupted would have been no more than murder. Crane wore a gun but couldn't use it well, and Starrett was purposely goading him. And in this complex, austere western both Starrett and Bruhn are going to find in themselves a capacity for surprising decisions. For Starrett, it will mean the realization that killing Crane won't solve anything, the realization that Helen Crane will not leave her husband for him, and the realization that the only one capable of outfoxing Bruhn is Starrett, himself...by leading Bruhn and his killers through a way out of town in the deep winter that will most likely kill them all. For Bruhn, he survives the operation. He's given a little morphine. He's back on his feet...and he's starting to cough. Let's just say Bruhn knows what's going to happen
All the while in this achingly cold western, snow is on the ground and the weather is frigid. When Starrett leads the gang out of town there is freezing white mist in the air and the snow is nearly up to the horses' bellies. The last 30 minutes of the movie are exhausting, with the horses struggling through the deep snow, with the wind blowing too hard to start a fire, and with men dying.
It's no spoiler to say that Blaise Starrett survives. It might be a spoiler to say that while he may no longer be the angry man we met at the start of the movie, he'll probably be just as lonely.
You could flip a coin to decide who holds this movie together more impressively, Robert Ryan or Burl Ives. Ryan brings all his impressive presence to his role. Ives, however, by force of acting and authenticity, makes his ability to impose his will on this gang believable. It's a first-rate performance. But, oh, if only this movie could have been made without the women. Two of the four actresses can't act, and those two are ones the story lingers on. Tina Louise as Helen Crane is completely out of her skill range. Her lack of acting ability severely undercuts the notion that a man like Blaise Starrett, especially when played by such a fine actor as Ryan, would ever carry a torch for her. Tina Louise's Helen Crane is too dull to lust after. And while all the men look like they seldom see a bar of soap more often than once a week (and in the case of Bruhn's gang, once a month, maybe), all the women look as clean and groomed as if they'd stepped out of a Sears Roebuck catalogue. Some of their tidy polish gets rubbed off, however, at one of the most ominous dances in a western. Bruhn has decided that the women will dance with his men to lower their resentment over being denied whiskey and assault. Bruhn keeps control during the dance, but these leering, groping villains take advantage of the four women every chance they get, and the women dare not do anything about it. It's a nasty, uncomfortable, well-staged scene.
Day of the Outlaw is a corny title, but even with its flaws the movie is engrossing. I almost put on a sweater while I watched it. It's one of the bleakest, coldest looking movies I've ever seen.
The DVD transfer looks fine. There are no extras.
Movie Review: UNIQUE, COMPELLING WESTERN SLEEPER IS WORTH A GOOD LOOK
Summary: 4 Stars
Surprisingly well-crafted, brooding and atmospheric Western. And different, too, with talk instead of gunfights, a middle-of-nowhere outpost with a population of 20 instead of a big cattletown, running instead of chasing, snow-ridden wilderness instead of resplendent prairies, and no drinking! Veteran actor Robert Ryan, perpetually beleaguered face and all, stars as a rancher [Blaise Starret] having a tiff with locals over land. Their confrontation is interrupted by the arrival of a gang of thieving and truculent renegades who are being chased by the US calvary. They carry stolen cash that they plan to divvy up once they are clear. They are tired, thirsty and bored. They are led by Burl Ives [Oscar winner the year before for a GREAT performance in THE BIG COUNTRY, 1958] as Jack Bruhn, a corpulent geezer carrying a bullet that, unbeknownst to him, is slowly killing him. Bruhn's introduction of each member of his gang to the hostages conveys a cautious respect and an awareness of the potential for dissolution should things get out of hand. The imperious and teak-tough Bruhn, realizing there are 4 women and a boy there and knowing his boys more than anybody, allows his clan food and rest but no dames or drink. Wants his chances of staying ahead of the calvary and escape maximized and the possibility of hazardous delays and inefficiency not an issue. Knows his boys are ravenous---and not just for food. Nice tension development as we repeatedly see them contest their injured boss' restrictions and we sense that Bruhn's hold on his boys is becoming more tenuous with time. After the town Doc tells Starrett that Bruhn is slowly dying he realizes that once Bruhn is dead his degenerates will have their way with their women and pillage then destroy the 'town'. Thus, Starrett offers to escort Bruhn and his gang to safe environs through a hidden snow-covered trail that even the calvary doesn't know about. The savvy Bruhn feels this is a ruse and confronts Starrett who admits this and elucidates his concern: should Bruhn die there his crew will surely kill everyone and destroy everything. Bruhn, always seeming to have a veiled sympathy for the women and boy, goes along with the subterfuge. Starrett leads them on their endless trek through the austere, snow-racked wilderness---I have never seen horses struggle in the snow as in this film. When Bruhn's closest aide, a young man who is not all bad, loses his horse the boss orders him to walk knowing this may be his only chance of survival once he expires. Bruhn eventually sucuumbs to his wound. Two members of the gang are subsequently murdered by their comrades so that there would be a greater share of the cash to be divided. They trudge on and on, horses having to be put to sleep, until eventually they get to the end of nowhere and the last two scoundrels freeze to death, Starrett the only survivor. Kudos to director Andre De Toth for such a singular film done with noteworthy skill. His use of long-distance filming with concomitant hard-to-hear conversations allowing the stark, bleak black & white environs do the talking was marvelous. And how about the masterful and mesmerizing so-called 'Saturday night dance' scene. Here Bruhn relents and allows his animals one night with the women for dancing---still no drink or hanky panky. The dance is harsh, disturbing and sexually frenetic with Tina Louise's [Ginger from Gilligan's Island] hair unfolding and splaying while being circled---her stilted, stiffened posture symbolic of both the women's repulsion and their partner's repressed carnal state---a vicarious rape of the women. Hurried conclusion minor beef. As for actor Robert Ryan [can't forget his UNFORGETTABLE diatribe against the King's wife as John The Baptist in KING OF KINGS, 1960]---we gotta get that face up on Mount Rushmore!Movie Review: Western Noir worthy of rediscovery
Summary: 4 Stars
Andre De Toth's "Day of the Outlaw(1959)" is one of the grimmest and most tense Westerns of the 1950s. The genre had really come of age that decade with a much stronger emphasis on adult themes and the lines between hero and villain starting to become blurred for all time. This film may include a B-movie title but does not properly convey what is a suspense classic with a high level of intelligence.
The film tells the story of a rancher(Robert Ryan) who is one conflicted dude. He is being forced out of town by the very people he had protected, getting his land stomped upon and is bitter that one of the town's lead ranchers has married the love of his life(Tina Louise). He is about to duel the husband and two other men when a gang of outlaws arrive in town led by Burl Ives. He is a former cavalery Captain who now leads a group of bank robbers who are making off with a load of stolen gold with Cavalery on there trail. Ive's men are homicidal maniacs and lay siege to the small town. They listen to Ives but he is dying from a gunshot wound and it's only a matter of time before the outlaws tear the town apart.
The film is highly tense with wonderful Black and White cinematography that combine a sense of naturalistic beauty with the snow and wilderness and a high sense of dread. The segment where all the girls in the town are forced to dance with the outlaws is one of the more tense and disturbing filmed in a Western.Beautiful Tina Louise particularly stands out as the camera stays on her being flung from man to man her tied up hair loosening with each swing until it hangs free and she becomes increasingly disheaveled and sexy as her classy refined demeanor is stripped away in real time as she dances about the room. It's incredibly well done.
The conclusion is a surprise and shocking, certainly one of the most unique ever seen in a Western and adding truth to an inevitable that Robert Ryan's character knows to be the entire time as the outlaws meet there fate in the snowy wilderness.
The performances are all sharp led by Robert Ryan, a great underused actor, who delivers a world weariness more effectively than about any other actor this side of Robert Mitchum. He isn't just mean and tough but human and flawed. His level of intelligence and strength and the demons that drive him make him a interesting and complex Western hero.
Burl Ives equals him as the outlaw's leader bringing a gruffness and toughness that fits well but also a sense of dignity and righteousness as a soldier who hides a bitter secret. Ives is able to evoke sympathy for his Captain turned bandit and it's probally the anchor to the picture.
Tina Louise is gorgeous in Black and White and it's difficult to remember that she'll be most famous on the silly sitcom, "Gilligan's Island" and proves that she was an adept Dramatic actress as well as being gorgeous. Her character offers alot of complexities as well even if her and Ryan's relationship is underutilized and not as explored as it should have been.
This DVD looks great with a stunning Widescreen transfer and a decent price. Western and Noir fans should check this out if they are interested in the dramatic aspects of Western filmmaking. This film deserves a wider audience.
Movie Review: Quality psychological western in unique setting
Summary: 4 Stars
In the 1950s, westerns took a turn to the more intellectual with less reliance on mindless action, Day of the Outlaw is one of those psychological westerns. Rancher Blaise Starrett (what a cool western name) owns a spread in the mountains of Wyoming, but he's having trouble with the local farmers who want to fence off the area. But just when the confrontation is coming to a full boil, a gang of vicious renegades on the run ride into town to rest up after being chased by the cavalry for robbing an Army payroll. Now Blaise and the townfolk must band together if they hope to survive against these ruthless killers. Being a psychological western, there isn't a ton of action here, but when it comes it's surprising and meant to catch you off guard. Not many westerns filmed in winter settings, but the snowy locations add to the dark, cynical feel of the movie and the use of black and white really adds to the effect. Take advantage of this new DVD, the movie's well worth a watch.
The always reliable Robert Ryan leads a strong cast as Blaise Starrett, the Wyoming rancher who's always been interested in his own problems but now finds himself having to look out for the well-being of others. Starrett makes a noble transformation by the end of the movie, something you actually believe in because it's Robert Ryan. Singer Burl Ives gives a startling performance as Captain Jack Bruhn, a cavalry officer with a checkered past now leading a band of ruthless renegades. Bruhn is not like his men and single-handedly keeps them behaved. A pre-Gilligan's Island Tina Louise shows what a good actress she is as Helen Crane, a farmer's wife who has feelings for Starrett but neither of them know what to do if they want to be together. Jack Lambert and Lance Fuller are very good as Tex and Pace, two of Bruhn's gang and maybe the most dangerous of them all. Other recognizable western faces here include Nehemiah Persoff, Elisha Cook, Dabbs Greer, Alan Marshal, and David Nelson.
The DVD has a widescreen presentation of the movie in its original black and white format. The Andre De Toth directed movie looks great with all the snowy locations, but unfortunately there's no special features here. The movie's a good one though, especially Robert Ryan and Burl Ives, so give Day of the Outlaw a try!