Day of the Outlaw [DVD] [1959]

Not one of the most well known,but one of the best westerns of the fifties.Set in a bleak,wintery landscape,it has stand out performances by the great Robert Ryan and Burl Ives and an excellent score by Alexander Courage.Highly recommmended.

Western Classics provide reasonably priced no frills DVDs. There are no extras, all you get is the film, and this is fine. Thankfully they have made many fine westerns available on Region 2 that would otherwise be unavailable. I think of fine films like "Man of the West" and "Warlock". They have excelled themselves once more in saving this wonderful B Western. The end of the fifties was when the B Western reached the zenith of its artistic heights. Budd Boetticher was performing small miracles on a limited budget. But hot on his heels was Andre De Toth the one eyed Hungarian émigré director. This fine director is perhaps best known for his horror film "House of Wax", but he also made many good Westerns like "The Indian Fighter" with Kirk Douglas. He also made a number with Randolph Scott including "Man in the Saddle". His work has come to be more appreciated in recent times and "Day of the Outlaw" is I feel his crowning achievement.

Robert Ryan that wonderful actor who illuminated so many films with his presence plays Blaise Starrett a ruthless, conflicted, lone cattle rancher in the small outpost of Bitters. An appropriate name as you will see! An ongoing feud with a local farmer is about to boil over. Starrett has an uneasy relationship with the residents of Bitters summed up in the following words he speaks to one of them. "You got a big mouth, farmer. You got big eyes too. You come here a year ago in your broken down wagon looking for a choice spot to settle and you think you found it. But you never stopped to think what made it such a good place......." This of course is the eternal struggle between those who pioneer new lands and those who follow in their wake. It was a sentiment also used by John Wayne as the cattle baron Thomas Dunson in Howard Hawks remarkable epic "Red River".

Enter a gang of desperados led by Jack Bruhn an ex cavalry Officer played by Burl Ives. They are on the run from the law after robbing a bank. Bruhn was wounded badly in the hold up and is dying, only he will not die peacefully. The towns civilians are held hostage and all their guns are seized. Starrett then steps in taking the road to salvation. He offers to show the outlaws who are teetering on the brink of committing atrocities, an escape route through a secret passage in the mountains. One small problem, the pass does not exist. They head out into the snowy wastes where the two protagonists head to a final confrontation.

This film presents no idealized version of frontier life. Bitters consists of a few simple buildings and ramshackle shelters surrounded by mud and snow. This is no quaint frontier town. Russell Harlan's black and white cinematography is made even bleaker by the perpetual snow cover. This harsh and austere look gives the film real finesse. Some of the location filming was made during the harsh Wyoming winter and this adds authenticity. DeToths cold direction adds embellishment to the overall effect. The film relies not on gunplay but on the increasing tension between Ryan and Ives. Both actors at their magnificent best. Ives commands the screen like a wounded grizzly bear. One is reminded of his role as the patriarchal leader of a nest of thieves in "The Big Country" where he stole most of the scenes. But in this film he vies with the equally talented Ryan and it is an epic confrontation. This a wonderful example of the B Western at its very best, with director, cinematographer and cast all at the very top of their game. Highly recommended.

Cowboys and ranchers must stick together when a gang of outlaws ride into town intent on causing trouble and abusing the town. Even tho their leader, ex army Captain, Jack Bruhn has them under some sort of control, salvation may have to come from the moody Blaise Starrett, who has his own secret agenda to deal with.

Day Of The Outlaw {poor title not befitting the quality of the film} is directed by André De Toth {Ramrod, Crime Wave & House of Wax} and stars Robert Ryan, Burl Ives & Tina Louise. Adapted from the novel written by Lee E. Wells, it's a film that is crying out to be seen by more people, especially those with an aversion to Westerns. For although grounded in Western tradition, it comes across more as a moody Noir piece, the atmosphere throughout hangs heavy like a weighted burden, with this tiny tin pot town in the snowy swept mountains photographed starkly by Russell Harlan. This is some out of the way place that nobody but its small inhabitants care about, and even those that do are probably doing so more out of ill judged loyalty to having not tasted something else before.

Robert Ryan was a terrific actor, often only mentioned when talk turns to famous pictures like The Wild Bunch & The Dirty Dozen, but it's with performances like here, or The Set-Up & Crossfire, that he really puts a depth and critical layers to his talent. Burl Ives is also great, his weary and scarred Bruhn is almost in empathy with Starrett and the townsfolk, so much so, we are never quite sure just how this picture will end. Tina Louise rounds out the leads, and apart from being an incredibly sexy woman, she does some great facial acting here, one sequence as the outlaws demand dances with the ladies is laden with a vile undercurrent, with Louise perfectly portraying the threat with acting gravitas. With astute directing and acting to match the almost sombre soaked story, Day Of The Outlaw comes highly recommended to fans of atmospheric enveloped cinema. 9/10