A Man Alone

After Winning the Oscar for "Best Actor" for the Cutting Edge Film about Alcoholism, "The Lost Weekend" (1945), Ray Milland went on to have a Long and Varied Career in Film and Television.

This B-Western made at "Republic" Studios (one of their last) was His first Try at Directing. He went on to Direct 3 other Movies, the Best is "Panic in the Year Zero" (1962), about the Aftermath of a Nuclear War.

This is an Offbeat Western. The First 30 Minutes has Milland's Gunslinger on the Run in the Desert and there is No Dialog. This First Act Sets Up the Bleak Tone of the Film as there is much Suffering and Brutal Displays of the Harsh Desert and a Stage Coach Massacre (with a not often shot of a bloody murdered little girl). This is Adult Stuff.

The Film has Noirish Claustrophobic Tendencies, Mob Mania, and Rich Folks as Super-Baddies. Almost Everyone in Town, it seems, has been Corrupted by the Harsh Realities of the Desert and the Clan of Outlaws Running Things.

Ward Bond's Speech to His Daughter (Mary Murphy) about just how Bad Things were when She was a Little Girl and Lost Her Mother is Heartbreaking and Profound.

Bond is accompanied by Lee Van Cleef and Raymond Burr and that gives this Western Shades of Film-Noir, as does the Desperation and Wholesale Corruption.

Overall, Mary Murphy is Stunning as a Smart and Beautiful Young Woman, Van Cleef is Menacing, and Burr is Burly and Scary. Above Average Western in Color, but Not CinemaScope with a Good Cast, Good Story, and Milland's Direction is Edgy at times.

This classic western style is plenty of suspense as the dreaded final approaches and the protagonist realizes he must stand alone while town people surrounding him and nobody is willing to help him , except for a gorgeous girl . The narration is well adjusted , from the beginning , until the final showdown and being approximately developed in ninety minutes . It deals with a gunfighter (Ray Milland) , stranded in the desert, out when he sees an attacked stagecoach with its murdered passengers . He takes one of the horses to ride to town to report the massacre , but finds himself accused of it . He also finds himself framed of the murder of the local banker as well as wrongly suspected of a stagecoach slaughter , and winds up hiding in the basement of a house . As our starring moved by his will to prove his innocence , takes shelter and hides not alone but comely local marshal's daughter (Mary Murphy) . While the elderly sheriff (Ward Bond) , is very sick on his bed . Somewhere in the DARK a Bullet Drilled Home !

Vintage western style is full of tension as the breathtaking confrontation approaches , following the style of other stories in similar wake , that's why it results to be a ¨High Noon¨ (1954 , Fred Zinnemann) variation -that was a relentless allegory and criticism of HUAC black list- along with ¨Silver Lode¨(1954 ,Allan Dwan) . As our protagonist realizes he must stand alone against impossible odds , as nobody is willing to help him , but they pursue him , as gunfighter's main hope lies in the trust of a beautiful woman who hides him while being wrongfully accused of murder and attempting to clear his name . Remarkably well-organised western in which not one single second is wasted and the tension is built up admirably ."A Man Alone (1955)" is a low-budget western with a tense , intriguing , thrilling and suspenseful storyline. This western thriller is competently built and Ray Milland has an outstanding acting in the character of a gunman who wishes redemption . The performances are top-notch and the viewer gets tense enough , adding an enjoyable love story . Being Milland's debut behind the camera , delivering a decent oater . Ray Milland gives a nice interpreation as the gunslinger who comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed . His partenaire is the charming actress Mary Murphy , in her fruitful career getting to give earnest leading lady perfs opposite Tony Curtis in ¨Beachhead¨ (1954), and ¨Hell's Island¨ (1955) with John Payne and especially ¨The Wild one¨ with Marlon Brando . They are well accompanied by a great cast of notorious secondaries , such as : Ward Bond , Raymond Burr , Arthur Space , Alan Hale Jr. , Douglas Spencer and , of course , Lee Van Cleef.

This exciting motion picture was professionally directed by Ray Milland . Ray was a prestigious actor, but also a producer and a craftsman filmmaker. With this A Man Alone(1955) and subsequently Lisbon (1956), Ray Milland moved into another direction, turning out several off-beat, low-budget films with himself as the lead , notably this A Man Alone (1957) his Western debut , The Safecracker (1958) , Panic in Year Zero! (1962) and Hostile Witness (1969) . Rating : 6/10 . Less-than-notable , but acceptable , passable and decent enough . The flick will appeal to Ray Milland fans.

Ray Milland's early career was in mostly light romantic fluff but he did have Oscar success in The Lost Weekend. He and Ginger Rogers were fun in The Major And The Minor. He was properly creepy in Dial M For Murder. His later years were lost in terrible monster flicks and bit parts. In the midst of the lousy movies, he did make a Western that stood out. This one. He was actually pretty good in it and as his directorial debut it wasn't bad either. It's a shame that the director's best assets weren't better utilized. He kept one of my very favorite character actors in bed for most of the movie (Ward Bond) and Raymond Burr isn't on screen long enough for my liking. This role was one of many villains that Burr so splendidly played for many years until we see him as Perry Mason in 1957. Another great bad guy that gets some close-ups is Lee Van Cleef. In the 60's and 70's, we'll see lots of him in many Leone or Gemma "spaghetti" Westerns. His face says so much without saying a word.....an absolute necessity when you don't speak Italian. I guess that's why Eastwood did so well in spaghetti Westerns...he wasn't much of an actor back then. In this movie, Ray Milland plays an aging gunfighter (he's on foot) who comes upon the murdered victims of a stagecoach holdup. He rides one of the the stagecoach horses into town to get help. The nervous deputy (a younger Alan Hale, Jr) is summoned (after seeing Milland ride in on the stagecoach horse) and shoots at Milland as he dismounts. Milland shoots back and wounds the deputy. Thereafter, they hunt for him high and low and block all exits out of town. Milland unknowingly takes refuge in the sick sheriff's home (under quarantine) where his daughter is nursing him back to health. The scenes between Milland and the sheriff's daughter are well done. The outcome is not decided until the final minutes of the movie. It's a good movie for Ray Milland fans and if you like good bad guys and good character actors...this is a good one for you, too.

First time director Ray Milland must have scored a success with this psychological Western typical of the 1950s, as he went on to both direct and star in four more features- 1956's "Lisbon," 1958's "The Safecracker," 1962's "Panic in Year Zero!" and 1967's "Hostile Witness." In the role of Wesley Steele, a gunman of ill repute, having to kill simply to survive, director Milland begins the film with nearly a half hour without (much) dialogue. Steele discovers a massacred stagecoach, five people shot dead (including a little girl), all the money gone. He soon finds himself in a most unfriendly town, where the hapless deputy (Alan Hale Jr.) prefers to shoot first and ask questions later; incredibly, the safest place for Steele to hide from a possible lynching turns out to be the Sheriff's quarantined home, due to his being bedridden with yellow fever. Lovely Mary Murphy, Marlon Brando's leading lady in "The Wild One," is entrusted with the most difficult role, the Sheriff's daughter, who naturally falls for the much older Steele, and capably manages the feat of growing up from 'daddy's little girl' to feisty heroine, inspiring Wes to return to clear his name, and redeeming her own father (Ward Bond), who had fallen under the crooked influence of town banker and criminal mastermind Raymond Burr. You can't go wrong with a supporting cast that includes Lee Van Cleef, Douglas Spencer, Thomas Browne Henry, and Arthur Space. Unfortunately for Mary Murphy, her screen career wound down all too quickly, though television kept her busy for another two decades. Horror/sci fi buffs remember her turns in 1951's "When Worlds Collide," 1954's "The Mad Magician," and 1957's "The Electronic Monster."

Wes Steele is a gunman, his reputation follows him where ever he goes. Then one day he happens upon a dreadful scene, a stagecoach has been attacked and five people have been murdered, including a woman and a child. This sickens Steele who takes up a horse and rides to the nearest town with the best intentions, but no sooner is he there, he quickly becomes a target for blame and hostility. Taking refuge at the home of yellow fever struck Sheriff Gil Corrigan and his daughter Nadine, Steele proves to have a tender side as he helps to aid the ailing sheriff. But an angry mob is out for Steele's neck and when Gil comes around, will he believe that Steele is not responsible for the recent turn of events?

Ray Milland's westerns are a mixed bunch, ranging from the mundane (Bugles in the Afternoon), the watchable (California) to the very good - here with A Man Alone. Making his directorial debut, star Milland has managed to craft a genuine mood piece out of a well trodden, and often filmed, story. Milland, utilising his silent feature experience, sets the disquiet tone within the first quarter, where as he comes upon the horror scene, it's played out without dialogue, the mood is set for the next part of the journey, the town.

This is an ugly town, corruption and underhand tactics are the order of the day, so much so that when Steele blows into town (literally during a sandstorm) one would think that with his reputation, it would be ideal for him. But things can quickly turn around. Thanks to Milland's portrayal of Steele, it's apparent to us that Steele is weary of the life he has led, his yearning to cast off his burdens evident as his relationship with the Corrigan's starts to blossom. Yet it's funny how quick the milk can turn sour, because seemingly normal people can become a mob, an angry mob intent on justice regardless of the truth. For here there is no truth as the lies have been cast and mud nearly always sticks...

Milland is aided in the cast by the always solid Ward Bond (Gil), Raymond Burr (purple suited and black eyed nastiness as town villain Stanley), Lee Van Cleef (Stanley's thug muscle Clanton) and Mary Murphy (bright eyed and bushy tailed Nadine). Shot on location at Snow Canyon in Utah, it's a shame that location work is very much sparse because of the town set plot. However, in a film calling for an oppressive and pot boiling feel, this is something that is easily forgivable. A Man Alone is a very good Western, yes the story has been done far better (re: The Ox Bow Incident for example), but Milland's film deserves your time, and hopefully come the end, also your respect. 7.5/10