Pistola con doce cruces

More Dead Than Alive turns out to be a surprisingly entertaining and fairly well-acted B movie.

Clint Walker gives his typical "gentle giant" performance as Killer Cain, a convicted murderer who is released after 18 years in prison. After a senseless prison shootout in the beginning of the movie, you expert this film to be nothing more that a "shootem-up". However, once Walker's character is released from prison, the movie becomes a well-acted drama about such topics as prison reform, parole, murder, hero worship, forgiveness and the desire for fame.

More Dead Than Alive's best performance is from Horror King, Vincent Price as Dan Ruffallo, a carnival barker with a traveling gun show. It's one of Price's best latter career performances.

The kicker in More Dead Than Alive is the shocking surprise ending. So, if you're a fan of Clint Walker or Vincent Price, More Dead Than Alive is the film to see.

The title is misleading (as though it's some kind of zombie horror film), but this is definitely my kind of western. It's dark, sadistic, and action-filled. Clint Walker fans won't be disappointed, and I love the ending. Vincent Price seems to be having a great time in his role, and although Mike Henry is underused, he does a great job with his small, but important role, playing one of the villains. Hampton looks the part, but tends to overact a little (though not to the extent some have said) and ultimately he does well. I would rather have seen a tougher-looking guy in his role, such as Dean Smith, but it's not that big an issue.

In short, this is a dark, action-packed unique western, and I'm delighted that it's now on DVD in widescreen.

There are many films which the great actor Clint Walker made and a few became the foundation for the rest. In this film, which is one of his best, called " More Dead than Alive " is directed by Robert Spar and written by George Schench. It relates the unusual story of a multiple murderer, called Cain, (Clint Walker) who has paid the standard price for murdering several men, by serving nearly twenty years in prison. Now that he's out, he finds a job with Dan Ruffalo's (Vincent Price) wild west show. Earning honest money, Clain decides to capitalize on his infamous legacy while at the same time trying to go straight. Unfortunately, Cain's past is slowly creeping in on his peaceful life-style and it only a matter of time before it catches up to him. At the same time, Clain tries to teach Billy Valence an envious and arrogant reputation-seeking gun-slinger (Paul Hampton) not to make the same mistakes he made. The story is a moral one which has influence many a writer and director in the following movie years. For Walker, the least we can add is that this film has become a Classic. ****

"More Dead Than Alive" is almost a really good movie but it misses the mark for some reason. There are three or four terrific scenes in this movie. There are also a lot of stuff that doesn't work. The cheapness of the production hurts this movie. It looks like a tv movie of that era more than it looks like a theatrical film. Clint Walker has always been hit or miss with me but he delivers a very nice performance. With the exception of Vincent Price, the supported cast is kind of weak. Paul Hampton does a nice enough job but he's a least ten years older than the character is supposed to be. I watch "More Dead Than Alive" every once in a while. It's a mostly satisfying watch.

This actioner Western packs emotion , adventures, fights , crossfire , twists and turns . Famous gunslinger 'Killer' Cain (recently deceased Clint Walker) is released from prison after 18 years, he wants to settle down as a rancher in Las Rinas and never touch a gun again , as well as look for a job to carry a quite life and peace . Cain has a particular code of survival and lives in a brutal land of violence , being dogged by foes , but he is having difficulty adjusting to life back on the outside . However , nobody wants to give him a job, some nasty people also wish to pay him back. So he has to accept the offer of showman Ruffalo (Vincent Price) to perform as "Killer Cain" in his traveling shooting show and in his World Museum . As the horse-drawn carriage has a museum where exhibits various ítems : Guns from St. Louis train robbery , Cochise knife , Lincoln colt and Cain gun . As Cain participates at the sensational , phenomenal spectacle as a sharpshooter, an infamous gunman with his 12 notch colt . Meanwhile , Cain falls in love for two men , a Golden Condor Saloon girl and the painter named Monica Alton (Anne Francis) . Nevertheless , after 18 years without practice even Ruffalo's young assistant Billy (Paul Hampton) shoots better than Cain. Furthermore , Cain is being chased by a mysterious stranger and then old troubles resurface .Gunslinger Rebellion -Winner kill all! Killers in pairs... death by the dozen... They left the west... More Dead than Alive.

It is a pretty nice film , though a little bit slow-moving , that could become another western worthy of any anthology due to its offbeat , outlandish elements . The film is divided in year seasons : Winter , Spring ... and it has a twilight style in which Old West has died and the starring cannot adapt to the modern West where there are bicycles and some unpaid moral debts . Highlights of the movie are the impressive images at the beginning , when takes place a spectacular prison break-out with machine-gun included , and a lot of grisly killings . Interesting and stirring screenplay by the notorious George Schenck , still working . Clint Walker gives an acceptable acting as the ex-cold hearted , and multiple killer who he is forced to take a job with a traveling sideshow earning a living off of a past he wants no take part . Along the way Cain/Clint Walker stumbles upon an opportunity for love with the always beautiful Anne Francis . Clint had a long career , his film debut was Ten Commandments (195) , as he met actor Henry Wilcoxon, who introduced him to director Cecil B. DeMille, and Walker found himself playing the part of a Captain of the Guard . Someone from Warner Bros. saw the film , found out that Walker was under contract to producer Hal B. Wallis, bought up Walker's contract and gave him the lead in "Cheyenne" , this series was a huge hit . However, Walker was dissatisfied with the way Warners was handling his career -- they would let other contract players make films, for example, but he wasn't allowed to -- and that triggered a dispute which ended up with him taking a walk from the show. He and Warners eventually settled their disagreements . When the show ended Walker began to get supporting parts in features, his biggest and most successful one being Dirty Dozen (1967). He starred in the not-so-well received None but the brave (1965), a WWII film that was Frank Sinatra's one and only stab at directing. The tall Clint did his own stunts and performed a lot of westerns and TV series as the successful Cheyenne , Yuma, White Buffalo , Pancho Villa, The bounty man, and the well-received the Night of Grizzly (1966) by Gordon Douglas and Baker's Hawk (1976), and turned in a good performance as a villain in the TV movie Scream of the Wolf (1974) .He is accompanied by the great Vincent Price as a propietor of a World Wide Museum , the biggest little show in the territory . Along with a good support cast such as Paul Hampton , Craig Littler , Mike Henry and Emile Meyer .

The motion picture was well directed by Robert Sparr , at his best . He was an artisan who directed speciallly for TV , making several episodes from famous series as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea , Batman , Jim West , Star Trek , Bonanza , The Dakotas , Gallant men , Lassie , The outcasts , The Roaring 20's , and Cheyenne that spawned countless other western series, from Warners and other studios . And eventualy he directed for Big Screen, such as A Swingin' Summer and this More Dead Than Alive . Rating : 6/10 . Passable and acceptable .