24 heures de terreur

Despite the wooden acting of its stars, this film's intriguing themes and well-written dialog elevate it to something out of the ordinary. "A Day of Fury" is about the end of the Old West, embodied by the gunfighter, and its replacement by "decent folk" and their values. However, one gunfighter returns to town and exposes the hypocrisy and small-mindedness that lies beneath the veneer of civilization. This film is a must-see for those who love Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter" as it seems to have inspired that film to a large degree. (One character remarks that if Jagade is allowed to stay, "He'll turn this town into hell.") Despite the emotionless acting of its leads and the irritating, strangely pronounced name of the main character, I enjoyed this film a great deal for its cynical view of the human character and its exposure of human weakness and fear.

A masterpiece of B western, I mean a western without the Duke, Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper. Audie Murphy could have had Dale Robertson's role, easily, as a kind of NO NAME ON THE BULLET, a more than ambivalent character, bringing a brilliant chemistry between Mahoney and him. And in this scheme, I am surprised that Robertson doesn't wear dark, black clothes. This kind of topic is not totally new, though; I have no other titles in mind right now, except THE LAST CHALLENGE (starring Glenn Ford) concerning the resemblance with this one, but there are many other examples of westerns, and not only, ambiguous friendship between the good guy and the "bad" one. Of couse Robertson is excellent here. Town people hypocrisy is also shown very well, but, again, it is not new in westerns. People accept you in the first place, like you, admire you, then they suddenly change their mind for anything.... Yes, a very worth seeing western.

I really like these Universal-International colour westerns made in the 1950s. This one was very probably the movie that got Dale Robertson the starring role in "Tales Of Wells Fargo" on TV (which I loved when it first appeared).

The chief extra reason why I like this movie though is the other main star was Jock Mahoney, in his usual understated style. He, of course, had previously starred in that superbly action-packed series "The Range Rider" and later "Yancy Derringer".

It seems like a nice town: quiet and civilized. They're run the bar girls out of town and the miners go some place else for their drinking. Everything is shut on Sunday. Marshall Jock Mahoney keeps things quiet. Then gunfighter Dale Robertson rides into town and opens it up with a series of double eagles and some rowdy boys. He wants two things: Mara Corday, and revenge on Mahoney for taking her from him.

There were several movies in the 1950s about how the thin veneer of civilization was ready to crack and reveal the savagery underneath, and this looks like an attempt to apply it to the western, where there was always the possibility that a saloon entertainer would have a dress so low cut you could see the top of her bosom, or a crowd would break a prisoner out of jail and hang him. Robertson and Mahoney seem awfully calm and controlled, while everyone else seems mildly hysterical While there's some hinting at unpleasant things the respectable people in town might have done, none of it is explicit, except for preacher John Dehner losing his temper. It's very watchable all the way through, but the suspense goes on a trifle too long.

Two of television's best known cowboy heroes, Dale Robertson from Tales Of Wells Fargo and the Range Rider Jock Mahoney star in this unusual western about a town full of hypocrites. Imagine High Noon had we probed a bit deeper into the town of Hadleyville and its citizens who would not back up Gary Cooper and you have A Day Of Fury.

Notorious gunslinger Robertson arrives in the town and the townspeople are righteously aroused. They want Marshal Mahoney to just run this guy out of town. But Mahoney's life was once saved by him and with no wants or warrants out on him, Robertson is a free man until he actually commits a crime.

Which works out fine as Robertson bit by bit turns things around completely and it's the marshal these fine citizens turn on. You have to see how he does it, more I will not say. There's also the complicating factor that Mahoney's fiancé Mara Corday has history with Robertson.

A trio of standout supporting performances come from Jan Merlin as a local tough, John Dehner as the town minister, and most of all Dee Carroll as the spinster school teacher who is a repressed and tragic figure.

Mahoney and Robertson have some good chemistry in their scenes. A nice mixture of antagonism and respect goes into their dialog.

A Day Of Fury is a real sleeper of a western. Caught it by accident almost, glad I did.