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When hired killer Audie Murphy rides into town, everyone gets nervous. Not so much because he's a killer, but because they all have something to hide. This is a wonderfully suspenseful, very low budget western, directed by Jack Arnold, from near the end of Murphy's period as Universal-International's resident cowboy star. His filmography may not be so distinguished as that of Gary Cooper or John Wayne, but it's an awful lot better than many have made it out to be. This fine-tuned gem is a heck of a lot better than North To Alaska.

No Name on the Bullet is possibly Audie Murphy's best western. Only Destry is on a par with it. These two films demonstrate clearly that Murphy could give a creditable performance on the rare occasions when he was given a good script, cast, and director to work with. In this film Murphy plays John Gant, an apparently easy going man who, in fact, is a hired killer with a deadly reputation. When he comes to town many apparently-respectable citizens with concealed guilt become panicked, each thinking that he is the one whom Gant is in town to kill. If you think you don't like Audie Murphy westerns, give this one a try. It will probably surprise -- and impress -- you.

"No Name On the Bullet" marks a role reversal for star Audie Murphy. Normally the soft spoken hero, this time out he is a cold blooded hired killer with little or no redeeming qualities.

John Gant (Murphy) a hired killer, rides into town one day and is soon recognized by the towns people. His modus operandi has preceded him. It seems that he rides into a town, checks into a hotel and then just sits around for days taking stock of the situation and sizing up his next victim, who is known only to him. He then goads his victim into a fight and shoots him down in self defence.

With Gant's arrival several townsfolk begin to get nervous, each believing that they are his intended victim. It seems many of the good citizens have skeletons in their respective closets. Is it the respected town doctor, Luke Canfield (Charles Drake), his father Asa the blacksmith (R. G. Armstrong), gambler Reeger (Simon Scott), "respected businessmen" Stricker (Karl Swenson) and Pierce (Whit Bissell), miner Ben Chafee (John Alderson) or Lou Fraden (Warren Stevens), who has run off with another man's wife (Virginia Grey)?

Well, each begins to think that the other is trying to have him/her killed and they begin to fight among themselves. Only the sheriff (Willis Bouchey) has the courage to stand up to Gant, but Gant shoots his gun hand in a showdown. Through it all Dr. Canfield along with his fiance Anne Benson (Joan Evans) and her terminally ill and crippled father, retired Judge Benson (Edgar Stehlt) try to make sense of it all. Canfield comes to earn Gant's respect for his courage in trying to prevent any violence. The suspense builds, some die until we learn that Gant's victim is........

Normally when you watch an Audie Murphy western, you would expect him to abandon his intended victim and ride away. Not so here. The cold and calculated manner in which he goads his victim into a fight leaves no question that Gant is all bad. Murphy pulls it off. He was gradually becoming a better actor with each film. His performance as Gant is downright chilling. He would follow that up with another good performance in "Unforgiven" a big budget western with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn the following year.

Universal always populated the Murphy westerns with a cast of seasoned veterans. This film is no exception. Drake appeared in many of Murphy's films on both sides of the law. He gets to be the hero in this one. Stevens as the gutless wife stealer stands out as does Grey as his distraught wife who sees that she has made a big mistake. The ever reliable Bouchey is excellent as the sheriff who is powerless to stop Gant. Stehlt is good as the terminally ill judge and Evans makes an attractive heroine. In fact, there's not a single weakness in the entire cast. Sharp eyed western lovers will spot Bob Steele (mostly from the back) in the card playing sequence.

Great stuff.

When John Gant , a softy-spoken, baby-faced Audie Murphy , rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies seeking revenge , only none of the citizens know who the intented victim is . As the notorious hired gun whose arrival in town means a mission to kill , but who ?. While a honest doctor : Charles Drake , and a humble sheriff : Willis Bouchey , hope to halt potential bloodshed , but is neighbour's guilty secrets suggest no shortage of possible targets . Meantime , they wait for him to make his move, and John Gant behaves easily . But there are inhabitants capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal vendetta. The strangest killer who ever stalked the West ! Everyone in Town Had a Guilty Secret That Marked Him for Death! Twenty-four "victims" had died before his lightning draw...until he came to the quiet town that had marked him for death! Everyone has enemies, and maybe Gant is in town for them. ... AUDIE...in the most unusual role of his exciting career!

Entertaining B-picture model , including action , thrills , fights , shoot'em up and packing some surprises . An intriguing , twisted story about a professional killer who arrives in a little town , then paranoia starts taking over and although no one knows who he is there to murder , they are all worried . Given the escalating paranoia , you might assume a McCarthyte parable about corruption lurking the community , yet the clever storyline points provocatively at establishment wrong doing. And including a stirring final stand-off that results to be thrilling , charged and riveting with the hired killer taking off surprising contenders using a hammer , too . The story is interesting and mysterious , a strong confrontation with a intrigue behind , including an enjoyable deneoument with twists and turns . An agreeable and slight tale well written by Gene L. Coon , and very interesting , containing some cliches , though paced in fits and starts , at times . Audie Murphy gives a pretty good acting as the cool, cultured gunman , this is undoubtedly Murphy's strongest showing on the saddle , too . Audie is well accompanied by a good support cast such as : Charles Drake , R.G. Armstrong , Joan Evans, Virginia Grey, Warren Stevens , Willis Bouchey , Edgar Stehli , Karl Swenson , Simon Scott , Whit Bissell , Jerry Paris , among others

Being colorfully photographed in Spectacular Technicolor by Harold Lipstein . As well as moving and thrilling musical score by Herman Stein and Irving Gertz though uncredited .This well-edited , compact motion picture was nicely produced by Howard Christie for Universal Pictures and compellingly directed by Jack Arnold in his best foray into the Western genre . Although he is indelibly associated with classy Sci-Fi , this is the fourth and finest effort in his 50s Westerns. Unfortunately , Arnold's final film of genuine worth before a further two decades of TV series , episodes and other minor assgnments . He reigns supreme as one of the greatest filmmakers of 50s science , achieving an important cult popularity with classics as ¨The Incredible Shrinking Man¨, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," and its follow-up titled "Revenge of the Creature" that was a nice sequel . "Tarantula" was likewise a lot of amusement . This "The Incredible Shrinking Man" attained his greatest enduring cult popularity , it's a thought-provoking and impressive classic that's lost none of its power throughout the years . Arnold's final two genre entries were the interesting "Monster on the Campus" and the outlandish "The Space Children¨ . Rating : 7/10 . Decent and acceptable Western . Well catching for Western buffs .

Movies like No Name on the Bullet uncover the depth of talent in Hollywood. The roles are filled almost exclusively by familiar faces with unfamiliar names - R. G. Armstrong, Willis Bouchey, Edgar Stehli - with the result that one can concentrate on the story characters rather than being distracted by "star presence".

Without a top-heavy cast, the story itself also gains focus, and I think the story of No Name on the Bullet is fascinating. What happens when a notorious contract killer rides into town and...does absolutely nothing?

The one star of the movie, Audie Murphy, plays the gunman. I love Murphy, one of Hollywood's misspent talents. Does this also apply to the the character actors I refer to above? Not really.

Character players, though quite talented, rarely attain stardom - Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Claude Rains are notable exceptions - not through neglect or misuse but by some limitation of range or persona. Audie Murphy's talent was misspent because, though obvious, it was never developed, either by studios, who, myopically, only wanted to exploit his war hero status as a box office draw, or directors who, in Murphy's career, were usually "line directors," good for getting a movie in the can on time and on budget rather than for getting great performances out their players.

Which brings me to director Jack Arnold, who does a journeyman's job, but who I believe is the cause for what another reviewer wrongheadedly calls Murphy's shortcomings. Stilted lines and studied movement are the results of "hands-off" direction. This is OK for the character parts, where skilled players in simple roles don't need much direction, but not for lead roles. Watching Murphy I'm reminded of another sadly underdeveloped star, Alan Ladd, whose talents always shone under a great director, but who didn't get those directors consistently enough, in my opinion, to fulfill his promise. Coincidentally, both Murphy and Ladd died prematurely. Perhaps not coincidentally, both had drinking problems. I wonder if they might have been experiencing similar frustrations.

Since No Name on the Bullet contains complex secondary parts, it's fortunate, that the players cast for these parts are outstanding, so the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, the budget constraints force the runtime of the film to be far too short. The result is a number of unresolved character studies. I want to know more about the blacksmith, the ex-flame and the judge - and more about the gunfighter. I'd also like to see more denouement. The main plot ends too abruptly, as if the producers were saying, "That's all we can afford to give you, Folks." That said, I wouldn't call the ending dumb, again as the wrongheaded reviewer cited above asserts, just shortchanged.

Returning to my opening thesis, that watching a cast of talented character players carry a movie is a special treat, I highly recommend this little gem of a Western.