A Time for Dying

Cass Dunning (Richard Lapp) has just arrived in Silver City, a place where corruption and chaos reign. The naive farm boy Cass and newcomer saloon girl Nellie (Anne Randall) are married by Judge Roy Bean (Victor Jory) in a shotgun wedding but their honeymoon is marred by outlaws. The outlaws as Jesse James (Audie Murphy) roam freely here and there, so Cass will have to be alert to the dangers that lie in wait for him. But an enemy is obsessed with revenge, stalking his prey for a final confrontation. Only he knew it was...a time for dying. A Classic Western Film of a Kind That Grew Up Too Fast...

This is an ordinary western in which actors fail to give their roles any credibility, a mediocrely-done example of a B movie with so-so interpretations, poor production design, glimmering photography and enjoyable outdoors. Budd Boetticher's last Western -after a long gap filled with his work on a bullfighting project- is a sad affair, far removed from his precision and resonance of the Randolph Scott films and with no the usual arid, stark, rocky landscapes of their 50s classic movies. Produced by actor Audie Murphy himself who takes a bit part as Jesse James, the movie looks at the life of an aspiring gunfighter who meets his end through foolish bravado. Although not much bravado is visible on-screen, however, as the production values are strictly TV: flat lighting, crummy sets and low-cost scenarios. Disappointing, despite good director, nice camerawork and decent support cast. Special mention mention for veteran secondary Victor Jory who steals the show as the drunkard Judge Roy Bean.

It contains a colorful and shimmering cinematography by prestigious Lucien Ballard, the notorious cameraman who photographed Sam Peckinpah's various films: ¨The Ballad of Cable Hogue¨, ¨The Getaway¨, ¨Wild Bunch¨, ¨Junior Bonner¨ and other Westerns as ¨Will Penny¨, ¨Hour of gun¨, ¨True Grit¨, The Sons of Katie Elder¨, ¨An Eye for an Eye¨, ¨Will Penny¨, ¨Nevada Smith¨, ¨Nevada Express¨. As well as an evocative and thrilling musical score. Audie Murphy and Budd Boetticher, whose careers were in decline at the time, formed their own company, Fipco, to make films such as this one. The motion picture was averagely directed by Budd Boetticher in a weak style without his ordinary trademarks . He directed a lot of Westerns, most of them written by Burt Kennedy, being exhibited by Columbia Pictures . Along with Randolph Scott and Harry Joe Brown formed a production company ,Ranown, financing several Westerns. At the beginning Budd worked for Universal International directing Westerns as ¨Wolf hunters¨, ¨Cimarron kid¨, ¨Bronco Buster¨, ¨Horizons West¨, ¨Seminole¨, ¨The man from the Alamo¨, ¨Wings of the hawk¨ . In 1956 he directed a B production for Batjac titled ¨7 men from now¨. In 1957 made ¨The Tall T¨with his production company, following ¨Decision at sundown¨, ¨Buchanan rides alone¨, ¨Ride lonesome¨, ¨Comanche station¨, ¨Westbound¨. Finally, Budd wrote the script of ¨Two mules for Sister Sara¨ by Donal Siegel and directed his last Western in 1969 ¨A time of dying¨ produced/starred by Audie Murphy. Rating: average, 5 out of 10. A routine western in low budget and nothing special. Only for completists for Budd's film career and Western's hardcore lovers.

I'm an Audie Murphy and have been steadily working my way through his movies. I'd heard of this, his last film, and not favorably - low production values, bad acting, Audie looking fat and old.

Well I have to agree with the first two criticisms. I can't understand how this film has been given 7 stars, but the part about Audie is wrong, wrong, wrong. When he comes onto the scene,he simply towers over the other actors, the whole movie. He's so good, and it's a real shame that he didn't live longer.

It would have been interesting if he had taken some of the other roles he was offered, such as the villain in DIRTY HARRY. It would have been a whole new direction for him, but then contemporary movies were never his thing. His whole style may have been best suited for Westerns.

Due to financial constraints this movie was shorter than planned. Thank goodness. A sad finale for both producer and director.

A Time For Dying marksa farewell for both producer Audie Murphy and director Budd Boettticher. Both of them did some really good westerns and sad they went out on this badly acted and disjointed tale.

The two leads Richard Lapp and Anne Randall give some truly insipid peformances and villain Bob Random overacts out of proportion to his role. Not that he's the only one overacting. Victor Jory playing Judge Roy Bean and he really goes to town in a part that calls for it. In a turkey you gobble vigorously and Jory is the best in the film.

Audie Murphy plays Jesse Jamesrepeating a role he did in Kansas Raiders years earlier. He's an older and wiser Jesse now and offers some sage advice to a[[ who is too dumb to take it.

A sad mediocre film way beneath the talents of drector and prodcuer.

I of course speak of both Budd Boetticher the director and Audie Murphy, the most decorated World War 2 soldier and a famous western player in the fifties and sixties. Both offer us here their very last film; however I think Boetticher will make ARRUZA after this one. That said, this is a purely late sixties western, downbeat, gloomy, very badly done for a veteran and talented film maker such as Budd Boetticher. And that's also the second time in his career that Audie Murphy played Jesse James, the first one being KANSAS RAIDERS, directed by Ray Enright. When you have admired both actor and director, you can feel some diziness watching this one. But I feel tenderness for this lame film. I don't know why.