Step back into the dusty streets of the Wild West! Our latest CineRecap dives into the iconic world of A Fistful of Dollars, where Clint Eastwood’s unforgettable character reshapes the Western genre. Discover the intense showdowns, the mystery, and the game-changing moments that made this classic a cinematic legend.

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The Violent Men (1955) was directed by Rudolph Maté and stars Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Dianne Foster, Brian Keith, and May Wynn.

Ford plays an ex army officer turned ranch owner who comes into conflict with another rancher (Robinson) who is trying to secure ownership of all the land in the surrounding valley for his wife (Stanwyck) with the help of his henchmen brother (Keith) by any means necessary.

This was better than average film with lots of action and a surprising amount of drama built into the characters relationships. This is the kind of familiar, yet fun, western fair that Ford really shines in.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?

The Badlanders (1958) was directed by Delmer Daves and stars Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine. Based on the 1949 novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett, the story was given an 1898 setting by screenwriter Richard Collins.

Peter Van Hoek (Alan Ladd) emerges from jail with a plan to rob a gold mine and take revenge on the mine owner, the townspeople and the corrupt deputy (Adam Williams) who framed him for theft. Teaming up with John McBain (Ernest Borgnine), who owned the mine before being cheated out of it, Peter returns to the Arizona town where he was arrested. After meeting with mine owner Cyril (Kent Smith), he assembles a team to steal gold from Cyril's mine and then sell it back to him.

This film has the misfortune of sharing the source material with a much better film, “The Asphalt Jungle”.
As such, it will always be compared to it, and it will always fall short of the far superior film. Despite this, the film enjoyable enough, with Ladd and Borgnine playing their parts well.

Have you seen this film? What did you think of it?

Saskatchewan (1954) was directed by Raoul Walsh and stars Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters, J. Carrol Naish, and J Silverheels.

Canadian Mountie O'Rourke (Alan Ladd) and his Cree companion, Cajou (Jay Silverheels), come upon the scorched remains of a wagon train and find beautiful lone survivor Grace (Shelley Winters), who claims the attack was carried out by American Indians. Realizing the attack is only the beginning, the men fear war between the American Sioux, the Canadian Cree and the whites. O'Rourke must now protect his troops from further attack and save Grace from being extradited to Montana on a murder charge.

This film has a fairly straightforward western premise, the white mans army is caught between two Native Tribes - one friendly, one marauding. This time, with a Canadian twist. The scenery is beautiful, with Walsh filling the screen with the Canadian Rockies every chance he gets.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?

A Man Alone (1955) was directed by Ray Milland and stars Milland, Mary Murphy, Raymond Burr, Ward Bond, Lee Van Cleef, and Alan Hale.

Stranded in the desert, a gunfighter (Ray Milland) comes across the gory aftermath of a stagecoach robbery in which all the victims were murdered in cold blood. Taking one of the stagecoach's horses to ride into the next town, the gunfighter finds himself accused of the robbery by the hotheaded sheriff's deputy (Alan Hale) while the sheriff (Ward Bond) is ill with yellow fever. With the help of the sheriff's daughter (Mary Murphy), the gunfighter fights to clear his name.

This was a good western story with enough twists to keep things interesting throughout. The direction, especially the first 20 minutes or so, was very good with Milland turning the films gritty setup into a veritable silent film.

Have you seen this film? What did you think of it?

Dakota (1945) was directed by Joseph Kane, and stars John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, and Mike Mazurki.

This is a fast paced B western that follows a professional gambler (Wayne) who marries the daughter (Ralston) of railroad tycoon and flees to Fargo in Dakota Territory, so they can cash in on a land boom. As might be expected, things don’t go quite as planned. There is swindling, double crosses, and even a murder.

This was a fun but messy film, worth seeing but easily forgettable.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?

A few weeks ago I posted this in a thread about least favorite TV western stars:

Robert Culp - Trackdown

I like Culp as a Columbo killer or on I Spy, & he did a classic cameo on Get Smart spoofing the latter.

But he's totally out of place out West. His icy manner, as if he's bored just being there, makes him seem like a MadAve Jr exec instead of a TX Ranger. His relentlessly groomed hair doesn't help. He never seemed right on Bonanza or Rifleman either.

Compare him to Gene Barry or Richard Long, who also began as debonair men about town & successfully adapted that persona to the West on Bat Masterson & The Big Valley, respectively.

I've watched a few more episodes since then. I admit, Culp does loosen up a bit in the 2nd season. His body language is a bit more relaxed, he smiles more (instead of looking grimly determined)_ & he uses less of his patented "pause for a deep breath" technique (which he was still using in the '70s - watch the killing scene in "Death Lends A Hand").

There are two other improvements in the 2nd season. The Dragnet narration is mostly dropped (part Culp, the show was sold as a western Dragnet). And a new character is added, a Maverickesque gambler played NY Peter Leeds. PL steals almost all his scenes, which can't have made Culp happy. I presume a middle-aged, average looking actor was chosen so as not to challenge Culp as the matinee idol.

There ate some interesting episodes, which I may post in the future. One deals w/women's suffrage, another had a mad bomber a plot seldom seen in westerns). One episode has Culp return to his hometown, where he meets his old gf (played by Culps then-wife).

I still font think Culp was ever really comfortable in westerns. But I admit Trackdown did improve in its 2nd season. Watch & judge for yourself.

Rawhide (1951) was directed by Henry Hathaway and stars Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger, Edgar Buchanan, Jack Elam, and George Tobias.

In the Wild West, the Rawhide way station becomes the center of a hostage situation when four murderous fugitives (Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger, Jack Elam, George Tobias) take it over in a heist scheme. After killing the stationmaster (Tyrone Power), the criminals keep the only other employee, Sam Todd (Edgar Buchanan), alive to avoid outside suspicion by maintaining a front of normalcy. But Todd and the other hostages, Vinnie Holt (Susan Hayward) and her young niece, plot to make an escape.

Night Passage (1957) was directed by James Neilson and stars James Stewart and Audie Murphy.

Stewart plays a former railroad worker hired to transport the railroad's payroll that has already been stolen multiple times by a group of outlaws. Things get complicated when he loses the money and finds out that one of the robbers is his younger brother (Murphy). Can he get the money back? Can he somehow redeem his brother?

This is a fun western with Stewart adding gravitas to the slight script.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?

Heaven with a Gun (1969) was directed by Lee H. Katzin and stars Glenn Ford, Carolyn Jones, Barbara Hershey, John Anderson, and David Carradine.

Ford plays a gunfighter turned preacher who comes to town to start a new life. His attempts to stop a range war between cattlemen (Anderson and Carradine) and a group of sheepherders is complicated when his criminal past is discovered.

It’s a fun film with a classic plot of fighting over grazing rights and access to a watering hole. Will the town follow the bullying cattlemen or the newly arrived preacher hoping to change his ways.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?