Stranger on the Run

This first-class western was made for television and directed by none other than Don Siegel who assembled a first-rate cast, (Henry Fonda, Anne Baxter, Michael Parks, Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Bernie Hamilton and Madlyn Rhue), yet not many people have seen it or even heard it. Indeed, this is the kind of film that had it been given a proper cinema release might have become something of a cult movie.

Fonda is the drunk who rolls into town in search of a girl called Alma only to meet with a wall of silence. It seems that Alma (Rhue) is the town tramp who has attracted the wrong kind of attention. It's also not the kind of town that welcomes strangers. That's just the beginning of a highly unusual plot that doesn't quite go in the direction you might expect. All the performances are excellent, (especially those of Baxter and Duryea), and while it may not be the best thing Siegel ever did, as part of the Siegel canon it has a lot to recommend it.

I was very impressed with this, and nearly gave it an 8. (I can't remember the last time I gave a film 9.)

Henry Fonda (wearing a rather obvious wig) proves again his versatility, this time as a drunk. It's not giving much away to say that he does redeem himself, but not in a super-heroical way. Dan Duryea is always excellent value, though I did wonder at his apparently wearing the same glasses (furtively)to read newsprint and for distance vision. (Usually one needs different prescriptions.)

I saw the film courtesy of Youtube, and the sound wasn't great in places, so I didn't grasp why the men that Fonda came across were so keen to ambush the railroad police (and some of them did seem rather rash in the gunfight when it came to firing in full view of the other side).

The "town" where much of the action took place looked realistic, and Anne Baxter as Valverda Johnson was reasonably attractive as a self-sufficient homesteader without having the unbelievable glamour of so many leading ladies in Westerns.

The photography was good, especially a panoramic scene of a train entering the town.

Well worth viewing.

I'd love to know more about how this made-for-TV movie came about. It's got Don Siegel for it's director and Henry Fonda leading a first rate cast -- Dan Duryea is a stand out as the older, wiser gun-hand well past his prime (although he's actual a year younger that Fonda, Duryea looks at least 15 years older, but I gather he was in ill health). Not to give too much away, Fonda is a bum who drifts into town and upsets the apple cart by inquiring about the sister of a friend. The story builds quickly and is intriguing, but it is the characterizations of the players that give the movie it's greatest appeal. Even the minor characters are given some depth and not just the stereotypical kind of depth that is generally used as a kind of short-hand. The production values are just what they should be and the photography is excellent. I would suggest you go out of your way to try to catch this little gem of a western.

Sorry, all fans of Henry Fonda, but if any, this time he might just have reached a low point. Not that he ever makes a poor performance, neither here, but this western is so uninspired that not even his iconic appearance can save it. It's quite incredible to think that he is the villain in one of the best westerns ever made just a year after this rather forgettable effort. Occasionally this might look like a Leone wannabe project, but let's call it just another western, a production made for the case of it, and a misused opportunity to play a basically superb cast.

It starts out quite well, with a fine interplay and brilliant dialogue between Fonda's and Walter Burke's character, probably improvised, but as soon as the plot gets going it all becomes highly cliché, with occasional parodically stereotypical lines and dusty stereotypes, as well as some annoying overacting, like a 1950's B-western. However, the perhaps worst part is the general cinematography, and amateurish light setting. This smells low budget and left hand production all the way to the end.

A homeless man, Ben Chamberlain (Henry Fonda), shows up in a dusty railhead town. He arrives in a little town whose population includes an obstinate marshall (Michael Parks) , several homo-erotically fixaded gunslingers and an assortment of ready-mades, like the comely widow (Anne Baxter) whose teenage son (Michael Burns) is ripe for a few life lessons. Chamberlain finds himself wrongly accused of a murder by a crazed and stubborn sheriff. The sheriff gives him a horse, some supplies, and a free hour in the wilderness before sending his hunters (Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Tom Reese, Zalman King) after him. Hot lead and fast death!.. Brand New Major Motion Picture - First Time on Any Screen!. Before he finished with this town, every gunslinger would know he was a man !.

This early and decent western telefeature (Siegel's third) is based on a story by Reginald Rose (12 angry men) and its blend of popular Freud and social consciousness, including some unexpectesd themes as the depiction of the railroad not as an emblem of progress but as a bringer of corruption and violence. Stranger on the Run(1967) contains thrills, intense drama, emotion and violence. In addition, being directed by Don Siegel, whose filmography includes several films starring Eastwood. Siegel barrels energetically through a tangle of supplots: the film was his ticket back to big-screen projects. Western television film starring Oscar winners Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond, Once upon a time in the West) and Anne Baxter (The Razor's Edge, All about Eva). Fonda gives a nice acting as a drunk in search of redemption. Michael Parks as the unstable sheriff is acceptable but sounds as though he's gone. And adding a splendid support cast, such as: Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Lloyd Bochner, Michael Burns, Tom Reese, Bernie Hamilton, Zalman King, Madlyn Rhue, Walter Burke and Anne Baxter.

The motion picture was decently directed by Donad Siegel who handles both tone and pace adequately, but not notable, being in fact inferior to other films he made. Donald got his reputation in the early and mid-'50s with a series of tightly made , expertly crafted , tough but intelligent "B" pictures , among them : The Lineup (1958), Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) , then graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s . Director Siegel brought an entirely new approach to the Sci-Fi field Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) . He made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer . Siegel directed what is generally considered to be Elvis Presley's best picture , Flamingo Star (1960). All of Eastwood's later Western and his ¨Dirty Harry¨ movies owe a considerable debt to Sergio Leone and Donald Siegel . As Donald directed Eastwood in various films , such as : ¨Coogan's bluff , The beguiled , Dirty Harry , Escape from Alcatraz and Two mules and sister Sara¨. He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Clint Eastwood , who has often said that everything he knows about filmmaking he learned from Don Siegel . Rating: 5.5/10, acceptable and passable TV Western.