Kampf ohne Gnade

During his movie career, Audie Murphy made 45 films...and nearly all of them were westerns. A few of them were really, really good...such as "Drums Along the River" and "Apache Rifles". Many were just ordinary programmers....westerns with little to distinguish them. Sadly, "Cast a Long Shadow" isn't one of the better westerns...mostly due to the way his character was written.

When the story begins, Chip Donahue (John Dehner) finds Matt Brown (Murphy) doing what he loves to do these days...hanging out in a saloon, drink and gambling. Brown is pretty much a bum...which makes Donahue's visit an important one. It seems that Chip doesn't realize it, but he's the heir to a large cattle ranch and Donahue wants to buy it from him now that the owner has died and left it to Brown.

Brown agrees to sell the ranch but soon after arriving at the place, he realizes that it would provide him with something important...and he decides to keep it for himself. However, there's a mortgage overdue on the place and unless he drives a mess of cattle to market as soon as possible, he'll lose the place.

But there is a HUGE problem with this plan.... Brown is a nasty jerk and he's excellent at driving away people around him. Soon, it appears he'll practically have to do the cattle drive himself since he's now such a hated man...and rightfully so.

The surliness of Murphy's character is THE major problem with the film. Had he evolved into a better person through the course of the story (as in the two excellent films I mentioned above), it might have worked. Here, on the other hand, he just seems like a jerk with severe constipation or migraine! It does abate a bit through the course of the story...just not enough to make you care about him and his ranch.

Back in those days of the 19th century the polite phrase in describing Audie Murphy's illegitimate birth was to say he was born on the left side of the blanket. I think this story came from the left side of the blanket.

Cast A Long Shadow has Murphy as the illegitimate son of the owner of the local Ponderosa who lives a wastrel life. As the film opens the foreman of said Ponderosa John Dehner pulls a drunk Murphy out of the saloon and tells him his father died and as he had no other family the whole thing is left to him.

Dehner was hoping it be left to him, but since it wasn't and Murphy just wants to keep on with his wastrel life, Dehner has built up a syndicate of sorts from the locals to purchase the place and keep Murphy in booze for a very long time.

What happens afterward, the way Murphy is treated by the townspeople no matter how their 19th century blue noses felt for a man who was to be their benefactor is just ridiculous. Only Terry Moore who Murphy once courted treats him well.

All Dehner's and the rest's plans go up in smoke for the unbridled contempt they hold him in and for another little joker in the deck that gets sprung on everyone. How it all is resolved is for you to see Cast A Long Shadow.

Try as I may I really could not accept people acting against their own rational self interest the way these people do when it comes to Murphy. Cast A Long Shadow will not be rated as one of Audie's better westerns.

At this Point in His Career Audie Murphy began to Show Personal Problems and Uneasiness with Films and Productions Available.

The Off-Screen Personal Problems, such as Gambling Debts and a Disgruntled Attitude Started to Manifest On-Set and On-Screen.

In this "Red River" (1948) Retread He seems Miscast as a Bully.

The Movie even Cribbed Scenes from the Aforementioned Cattle-Drive and Murph Thought the Script was Sub-Par.

Filmed in B&W, another Irritation that Didn't Sit Well.

Co-Star Terry Moore Encouraged Him to "Bite the Bullet" and Give it His All when Murph didn't even want to Rehearse.

That Helped a Little, but His Performance came Across as Below His Usual Standard.

John Dehner does a Good Job and the Rest of the Cast are OK.

But Thomas Carr's Lackluster Direction Didn't Help the Movie to Rise Above Average.

Overall, it's Not a Bad Movie, but Audie Murphy Fans may be Disappointed.

The 60's were Not Kind to the Former Super-Star and this one could be Seen as the Start of the Decline.

The Western Movie was also Suffering from Over-Exposure on the Big and Small Screen and would Soon be Out of Favor.

The End of the Decade Long Run was around 1962.

But After All this Being Said, its Still...

Worth a Watch.

I won't say the worst, because this is not that junk, garbage film, but it is easily forgettable, run of the mill western. It is outrageous to compare it with NO NAME ON THE BULLET, also with Audie Murphy, for instance. Only John Dehner, more than Murphy, brings some thing in this tepid film. It is only a bit touching because of the atmosphere and little music. I hardly watched it till the end of those eighty minutes. Yes, if you want to find something nearly worth the watch, search in the smooth, I would say oater, side of this film directed by a western maker. Don't lose you time with this one if you want to discover Audie Murphy in a good role.

Maybe the most unknown picture that Audie Murphy offerings to us, a bad temper guy wanderer which is running from is rough father, his name is Matt, until be found by the loyal foreman (Dehner) that his father already has dead and surprisingly he left to him the big farm, the young drunkard don't want to be rancher again, The foreman has a fair proposition, many employers has 20.000 dollars to offer to all lands, Matt accept at once, but has to go back to sign the papers, there he was seen with sneering by so many people, just a useless booze, in such atmosphere he refused to sell their lands anymore, meanwhile his father left a bank's debit a large sum of money that must to pay in few days, the answer will be sell all cattle at Santa Fé, Matt becomes in few days likes his father, cruel, bossy and has no feelings concerning those employers, who work so hard for countless years, this picture has an contradiction, the sudden changing in just few days of a man, sounds weird in such behavior, the major fact will be reveal in the cattle's journey, a minor picture of Murphy, but still interesting due such greatness of this charismatic cowboy, pay attention on John Dehner, he was a key of the all things!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7