5000 dollars mort ou vif

One of those movies where you get the impression you would have been better off reading the (Louis L'Amour) book. Shoot a gun, the horse throws his rider. Crack shots from people firing a revolver. Often while riding a horse. I watched it because I was reading David Carradine's Endless Highway autobiography, and it's his first film. He looks sufficiently evil, so I did enjoy parts.

Tony Young's family is killed and his cattle stampeded by Emile Meyer, Young gets him in a fair fight, but since he's the villain, he doesn't care about the niceties. He offers gabby gunslinger Dan Duryea a lot of money to kill Young, driving him into the desert and Apache attack.

Although Young is top-billed, it's Duryea who commands the audience's excellent attention. This late Shaky A western is well directed by R. G. Springsteen, with some great Technicolor camerawork by Wiliam Margulies. It's the penultimate film for former B heart throb Dick Foran, and the first for David Carradine.

Kent Taggart's family, with their cattle stampeded, are killed by those who started it. In a fair gunfight, he kills the man's son responsible for it all and is on the run. Before the rancher dies he hires three bounty hunters headed by Dan Duryea to avenge him with the promise of $5000 as a reward. Taggart must flee into Apache territory to escape the wrath of the trio of hired killers.

Based on a Louis L'amour novel, this western moves at a steady clip, getting into one perilous situation to the next - it has the right modicum of action and drama. There's some decent performances from Dan Duryea as the hired gunslinger out to kill the hero Tony Young. Dan is at his usual manic self, oozing with reptilian glee and saying dry one liners. Dick Foran as a miner and Elsa Cardenas as his opportunistic wife also turn in decent performances. Yes there's some mismatched stock footage during the action sequences, but it isn't too bad. Overall a solid western with some fine twists.

The original L'Amour novel -- good. (I've read it -- you should to.)

This screen play -- sketchy; the performance, story line not much better.

I'm amazed this saw the light of the projection booth -- even in the mid-60's.

Good character actors & D. Duryea turned in his patented wise-ass villain performance.

If you're storm-stayed somewhere, trapped in your iron lung or otherwise immobilized -- it's better than infomercials (just).

Otherwise, get a library card.

This violent revenge western directed by perennial action workhorse R. G. Springsteen benefits from the handsome colour production you'd expect from Universal in the fifties and sixties, reflected in the sixties glamour of the female contingent; which includes Elsa Cardenas, who five years later got the Peckinpah treatment in 'The Wild Bunch'.

Originating in a novel by Louis L'Amour, the meaner, uglier westerns that were soon to follow are anticipated by the trio of heavies led by Dan Duryea flanked by Tom Reese and a young David Carradine, the latter making his screen debut.

It doesn't make a lot of sense but you keep watching.