Un pie al infierno

What ostensibly starts as a formula Western of a man who encounters tragedy on the frontier and rises above it quickly takes a darker turn in this noirish 1960 MGM release. Alan Ladd is an ex-Confederate who encounters a rude reception from townspeople when arriving in the middle of the night with a sickly pregnant wife; delays in getting a bottle of inexpensive medicine to her result in her death. The local merchants are remorseful and try to bring Ladd into the community by making him a lawman, but he instead embarks on a sociopath's trail of revenge.

By sad coincidence the role of a nihilistic man who has seen his world destroyed and is now fully detached from moral constraint is well suited to Ladd in the last few years of life; childhood trauma, alcoholism, and a suicide attempt indicate a life which demanded heavy tolls for whatever success he achieved. Made in an era partial to sunnier Westerns, the Peyton Place-atmosphere of OFIH stands out in stark contrast. The cold-blooded killing of a lawman, back-shooting betrayal. And a lethal gunfight played out solely for betting are all present in a script that seems more appropriate to a 1970's Clint Eastwood outing. Black and white filming would have added a special patina to the story.

This being the twilight of the 1950's, studio pressures might have compelled writer Aaron Spelling (yes, he of 1980's prime time soap fluff!) to shift some emphasis to the more redeemable characters played by Dolores Michaels and Barry Coe. And just for a moment, I wondered if Michaels might have been Lauren Bacall appearing under a stage name.

Western watchers might pay special attention to the covered buckboard that appears throughout; the canvas appears to have transparent plastic windows, and the late 1860's is much too early for that.

As Mitch Barret : Alan Ladd exacts a merciless vendetta on small town inhabitants by becoming a sheriff. As Mitch manages to turn an implacable sheriff . Along the way , he joins forces with other people : Don Murray , Dan O'Herlihy , Barry Coe , Dolores Michaels to carry out a twisted plan. One Foot in Hell one Hand on a Gun one day a town would never forget . One Foot in Hell is one whale of a Motion Picture ! It is one of the most exciting , one of the most powerful human epics in the story of the West !

This is the thrilling story of the day hell came to town wearing a badge well starred by Alan Ladd , being one of the last movies , actually the last was The Carpetbaggers 1964 and subsequently dying of alcoholism. Alan Ladd starred some notorious Westerns as Branded , Drum Beat , The Proud Rebel , The Iron Mistress , Badlanders and his big hit : Shane . Based on a Playhouse story , called The last man with interesting script from Aaron Spelling and Sydney Bohem who produced , too . There is a good studio character , including a large plethora the roles with especial peculiarities , such as a drifter , a pickpocket , a Saloon girl and a drunkyard . Along with Ladd there appears a lot of familiar secondaries providing nice interpretations such as : George Coe , Dan O'Herlihy , Don Murray Larry Gates , John Alexander , Robert Adler , Karl Swenson , among others.

It displays colorful and glimmer cinematography by William C Mellor . As well as evocative and stirring musical score by Dominic Frontiere . The picture was well directed by James B Clark . This good filmmaker was an artisan who usually shot episodes for popular TV series as Batman, High Chaparral, Lassie , Daniel Boone The Monroe , Voyage to the bottom of the Sea , Firehouse , Loner and occassionally making feature films as A Dog of Flanders , Villa ! , Sierra Baron , Under Fire , Misty and My side of the Mountain. One Foot in Hell rating : 6,5/10 . Notable . The flick will appeal to Alan Ladd fans . Well worth watching .

Alan Ladd plays Mitch Barrett, who after having his home and lands in Atlanta destroyed during the civil war heads with his pregnant wife west for a fresh start. The two make it to a western town where Mrs. Barrett and the baby die for want of medicine that cost $1.87. Simmering with hatred, Mitch never forgives the town...particularly the sheriff, general store owner and hotel owner. The three of whom he holds personally responsible for his wife's untimely death.

Cold and meticulous he plans his revenge, amassing four partners to help him with his plan. I appreciated the end...but overall thought Alan Ladd's acting lacked interest or emotion. He was so flat it made the revenge theme hard to follow. The story and plot were interesting...but Alan Ladd's flat performance ruined the film for me.

Definitely agree with the many IMDBers below who feel that the most notable thing, by far, about this psychological western is Alan Ladd's descent into darkness. Pretty sure I've never seen Ladd be this rotten. That it works is tribute to Ladd's skill as an actor, a talent often buried beneath a ton of bad to mediocre movies. Every so often, as in "Shane", "Blue Dahlia" or "Glass Key", it would rise to the surface and it's interesting that those three films also feature Ladd in a shadier hue than usual, although nothing compared to his portrayal of vengeance driven evil here. With his ridiculous derby hat and dead voice and deader eyes his character is truly creepy.

Dragging the film down is a clunky script by Aaron Spelling (yes, THAT Aaron Spelling) and Sydney Boehm that asks you to buy that a town can turn from moral corruption to redemption on a dime, based on a scolding from Larry Gates' saintly doc. And the love scenes between Don Murray and Dolores Michaels start at cloying and work their way down from there. Also, in a sure sign of bad writing, potentially interesting subsidiary characters, like Dan O'Herlihy's articulate killer and Barry Coe's sadistic killer, remain potential rather than fully developed. There is a scene that suggests these two have a shared past but, unless I missed something, we never find out what it is. (That's called a story hole, in case you're wondering).

Ladd sure lingers in the mind, though. Enough to give this film a B minus.

Alan Ladd wasn't much of an actor. If you don't believe me just take a look at his mediocre performance in the very mediocre western "One Foot in Hell" which was directed by the little known James B Clark and also featured Don Murray, (terrible), and Dan O'Herlihy (slightly less terrible), in prominent roles. The only thing it has going for it is a plot that differs somewhat from other run-of-the-mill westerns. (It's more akin to a gangster picture). Ladd is the sheriff who plans to take revenge on the town that let his pregnant wife die, by robbing the bank. Handsomely shot in Cinemascope by William C Mellor it passes a couple of hours painlessly enough but you're not likely to remember it ten minutes after seeing it.