Il complice segreto

Joel McCrea and his motherless son, Jimmy Hunt, head out to Colorado to buy a farm. They seem to be making a go of it, and things are good enough for McCrea to arrange to marry Barbara Hale, but then the crop fails. Miss Hale marries him anyway, but McCrea needs money. He hooks up with a couple of stagecoach robbers.

It's one of Universal's "shaky A" westerns, with George Sherman in charge of the shoot, and Maury Gertsman handling the cameras to show the Colorado Rockies in every handsome shot. Good story, too but I never saw a dog that clean.

A good Western movie. Excellent acting especially by Barbara Hale and Jimmy Hunt. No one knows that Joel McCrea is working undercover. His son (Jimmy Hunt) believes he is an outlaw and so does his bride (Barbara Hale). Lots of action and twists and turns.

I have not seen much of George Sherman's directorial work, but I liked his film, REPRISAL (1956), and now I have enjoyed THE LONE HAND (1953) with the ever humble and reliable Joel McCrea pulling quite a stunt, after misleading everyone for some three quarters of this flick.

Good to see Barbara Hale away from Raymond Burr's gay clutches in PERRY MASON - but then that famous TV series would start only in 1957. Hale certainly looks good and, above all, trustworthy and in love with Joel.

Jimmy Hunt plays McCrea's son and his is the voiceover, going from happy son who loves his father to disdainful of the same for joining the criminal gang operating in the area.

Strong cinematography by Maury Gertsman. Worth a watch 7/10.

A solid western with a twist told from a child's POV. James Aeneas from gun smoke fame and the dependable Joel Mccrae deliver sublime performances with Barbara hale a la Perry mason adds her appearance as Joel's love interest.

The Lone Hand is directed by George Sherman and written by Joseph Hoffman and Irving Ravetch. It stars Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, Alex Nicol, Charles Drake, Jimmy Hunt and Jim Arness. A Technicolor production with cinematography by Maury Gertsman and music by Joseph Gershenson.

Zachary Hallock (McCrea), a hard working single parent, begins to destroy his sons love for him when he gives way to temptation and starts operating as an outlaw. But things are never as they seem in the town of Timberline.......

Unassuming 50s Oater with a twist in the tale and sumptuous photography around genuine Colorado locations. In essence it's the same as a number of "B" Western productions that filtered through the studio system in this particular decade, where small budgets were often overcome by good performances and integrity of script. The Lone Hand is told from a young boys point of view, with young Joshua Hallock (Hunt) even narrating to ensure the morality POV of the family drama hits the right spots. A turn of events in Ravetch's story will either annoy or pleasantly surprise you, but pic is never less than interesting and action is well marshalled by Sherman; who in turn is well served by the stunt men. The principal actors on show are engaging, especially an excellent Hale, Gershenson scores it with vibrant Western tones, while Gertsman's wonderful lensing of the scenery (Durango/Silverton) is reason enough for Western fans to seek this one out. 6/10