Audie Murphy (as John Gant) plays it real smooth here. He manipulates the whole town 'leading citizens' into thinking which one is the one he's after (that he's been hired to kill), and leaves them all feeling quite guilty over their past misdeeds. So guilty that the town banker commits suicide, and a couple of others start shooting one another without Gant ever having to lift a finger.
This is one of the few times you'll see Murphy play a bad guy, although quite different from the unhinged character you'd later see him play in John Huston's THE UNFORGIVEN (1960). Nothing he did acting-wise, ever topped that one.
Universal has released the widescreen Technicolor DVD of this and it's the best way to see it. No speckling and only a couple of brief frame blemishes. Sound is excellent, although the only extra is a trailer.
Now if Universal will only see fit to release the following excellent Audiepix westerns on DVD, I'd be a happy man:
SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDOWN (1960) w. Barry Sullivan; RIDE CLEAR OF DIABLO (1954) w. Dan Duryea; HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (1960) w. Steven McNally; and RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL (1958) w. Walter Matthau
So if you all liked NO NAME ON THE BULLET, then I bet you'll probably like the four I listed up above. They're all solid oaters.
7 out of 10
