Terreur à l'ouest

The feared bounty hunter Jim Kipp (Randolph Scott) is hired by the Pinkerton Detective Agency to track down and find three wanted killers that robbed a train one year ago and recover the stolen money. The only clue he received is that one outlaw was shot in the leg. Jim Kipp comes to Twin Forks and seeks out the local Dr. R.L. Spencer (Harry Antrim) to ask whether he recalls attending a man with wounded leg one year ago. The doctor apparently does not recall but his daughter Julie Spencer (Dolores Dorn) confirms Kipp's suspicion. Kipp decides to stay at the hotel to investigate the town and most of inhabitants are affected by his presence. Will he succeed to find the trio?

"The Bounty Hunter" is an average and entertaining western. Randolph Scott shines in the role of a tough, but fair bounty hunter, feared by outlaws and sheriffs. The identities of the killers are disclosed in the end and well resolved. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Feras Humanas" ("Human Beasts")

The Pinkerton detective agency, unable to track down three violent train robbers after a year, turns to bounty hunter Randolph Scott. He's given very few clues to go on and has no idea what the men look like. Still, he manages to track them to a small town called Twin Forks. But the people there aren't particularly friendly towards strangers who show up asking questions.

The last of six westerns director André de Toth made with Randolph Scott. This was filmed in 3D but only released in standard format. This explains why there are some 'in your face' shots where you have someone sticking something at the camera. Scott does fine in a by-the-numbers role for him and his stuntman works overtime in some decent action scenes. Despite the formula plot, the movie does a nice job of keeping the identity of the train robbers a secret. One is especially surprising. Nice supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Marie Windsor, Dolores Dorn, and Dub Taylor. It's a pretty good western. Nothing extraordinary but above average for the period.

The Pinkertons send bounty hunter Randolph Scott after three train robbers whom no one can identify. He soon comes to a small town. When word of who he is gets around, a lot of people get nervous. That's part of his plan, because he doesn't know whom he's looking for.

Before he made the seven Ranown westerns with Budd Boetticher, Randolph Scot made six in a row with Andre De Toth. These emphasized the moral ambiguity of the West, where no one cared who or what you had been as long as no one came looking for you. This movie has Scott as the man who comes looking, and he stirs up a lot of people with a lot of dirty pasts, in whom he has not the slightest interest, including a couple who pull guns on him. Scott is, of course, the thorough professional, single-minded on the job at hand.

DP Edwin DuPar, out of the studios, is more interested in shooting people than scenery, and does so in Eastmancolor which seems to have faded to brown. The script is good, although not as spare of the ones that Burt Kennedy would write for the Ranowns; the humorous bits here seem forced. I do admire how the standard Shaky-A tropes are just implied in favor of actual stuff happening. That keeps this to a spare 79 minutes, and I didn't miss a thing.

By this time, having Randolph Scott meant you didn't need to spend on other actors, so easily recognized performers are Marie Windsor and Ernest Borgnine -- with plenty of "I know that guy" performers. There are also plenty of the bit players who seemed to show up in every western, like Chet Brandenberg (445 screen appearances) and William H. O'Brien (648 times before the motion picture and television cameras). O'Brien entered the movies in 1918, and appeared in everything from Von Stroheim extravaganzas to Stan Laurel shorts. He retired from the screen in 1971, and died ten years later at the age of 89.

The film starts with a foreword: Forward During the early days when civilization was pushing its frontiers farther and farther West, there roamed a special breed of men...neither outlaws nor officers of the law, yet more feared than either. For reward money...they tracked down criminals, wanted Dead or Alive, and made themselves both judge and executioner in some lonely court of no appeal. They were called "Bounty Hunters". Once finished opening credits begins the noisy action : A bounty hunter called Jim Kipp (Randolph Scott) is sub-hired by Pinkerton, to track down three wanted killers that assaulted a train and to retrieve the robbed loot . The only clue he received is that one escaped bandit was shot in the leg. He tracks them to Twin Forks but has no clues to their identity. There he seeks out the local Dr. R.L. Spencer (Antrin) to ask for if he recalls attending a man with an injured leg long time ago . The doctor supposedly does not remind but his daughter Julie (Dolores Dorn) confirms this suspicion. There are several suspicious people , Sheriff Brand (Howard Petrie) , the Saloon girl (Mary Windsor) , the doctor Spencer , the manager hotel Bill (Ernest Borgnine) , Jud (Paul Picerni) , the post office manager (Dub Taylor) , Vance Edwards (MacDuff ) .... Who are the robbers ? Meanwhile , he attempts to stifle conflicts, but he encounter problems instead. When the law put up the money "The Bounty Hunter" put on his guns! The highter the reward the hotter the gun he uses to collect it ¡¡She gave "The Bounty Hunter" a different kind of reward.

Passable western with good cast in in which a year after a violent train robbery a bounty hunter arrives in a litttle town to investigate the identity of three robbers , then tensions surface as just his presence in the location acts as a catalyst . As our starring trails 3 unknown murderous train robbers to a town and finds a host of suspects , resulting to be a kind of whodunit , in which we have to find out the identity of the hidden robbers . It is a medium budget movie with thrills, rapid action, shootouts, as well as fine players, nice production design and pleasing results. It is still a run-of-the-mill entry in Western genre, in which Randolph Scott delivers his ordinary interpretation . Actually shot in Red Rock Canyon State Park , Iverson Ranch , Warner Ranch, Calabasas, California and Mojave Desert, with adequate interpretations and solid sets . The picture is well starred by Randolph Scott . He was a prolific actor in Western, his career is divided in films directed by Budd Boetticher in Seven men from now, The tall T, Decision at sundown, Buchanan rides alone, Comanche station, Westbound. Henry Hathaway as : Heritage of the desert, Wild horse, Sunset Pass, Man of the Forest. Ray Enright directed him in : The spoilers, Trail street, Alburquerque, Coroner creek, Return of the bad men. Andre De Toth directed him in Men in the saddle, Carson city, The stranger wore a gun, Riding shotgun, The bounty hunter. Finally, his main testament, Ride the high country along with Joel MacCrea directed by Sam Peckinpah . Support cast is pretty good with notorious secondaries as Ernest Borgnine , Dub Taylor , Paul Picerni , Howard Petrie , and the usual Femme Fatal Marie Windsor , among others

It contains a lousy cinematography Edwin B. DuPar , being extremely necessary a perfect remastering and filmed in 3D, but released only in standard 2D version. And thrilling and moving musical score by David Buttolph . The motion picture was professionally directed by Andre De Toth . He was known for his tough, hard-edged pictures, whether westerns or urban crime dramas, and showed no compunction about depicting violence in as realistic a manner as possible, an unusual and somewhat controversial attitude for the time. Probably his best known film is House of wax (1953), a Vincent Price horror film shot in 3-D. As De Toth only had one eye, that put him in the somewhat odd position of shooting a film in a process in which he would never be able to see the result. That didn't seem to matter, though; the film was a critical and financial success, and is generally considered to be the best 3-D film ever made. Andre De Toth was a classical director , Western usual (Indian fighter, Man in the saddle , Ramrod , Last of Comanches , The stranger wore a gun), but also made Peplum (Gold for the Caesar) and adventure (The Mongols , Morgan the pirate , Tanganyika) .The picture obtained limited success , but it results to be enough agreeable. Rating : 6/10 . It's relentless routine , but also a good stuff for young people and Western lovers who enjoy enormously with the extraordinary adventures starred by Randolph Scott .

The Bounty Hunter sees Randolph Scott star as a Bounty Hunter tracking down three murdering train robbers who may have settled down in the small town of Twin Forks. It's directed by Andre de Toth, in what was the last of six Westerns he made with Scott. It's written by Winston Miller (story) & Finlay McDermid, and features support acting from Marie Windsor, Ernest Borgnine, Dolores Dorn & Howard Petrie. Music is by David Buttolph and Edwin B. DuPar photographs it at Redrock Canyon & the Warner Ranch in California. Coming as it did during the 3D boom of 1953/54, it was shot in 3D but ended up being released in standard flat 2D. Out of Warner Brothers it was shot in their own color format known as WarnerColor.

During the early days when civilisation was pushing its frontiers farther and farther West, there roamed a special creed of men. . .neither outlaws nor officers of the law, yet more feared than either. For reward money--they tracked down criminals wanted dead or alive, and made themselves both judge and executioner in some lonely court of no appeal. They were called "Bounty Hunters".

The WarnerColor may be dull and lifeless here, but that in no way sums up this perky Randy Scott Oater. Scott was always at his best when playing loners or troubled and pained drifters, in short, when away from a group dynamic he was allowed to flourish as the fine actor he was. So it be here as he lays it on as a no nonsense good bad guy! Quipping away in the face of aggression, Scott is able to portray a man not to be messed with-who is happy to kill for cash-yet remain charming and always endearing himself to the audience. It's quite a knack to be so tough yet also be so affable. But Scott on form could do it in his sleep, and to my mind that makes this an essential film for Scott fans to consider outside of his work for Boetticher & Peckinpah.

Once he reaches Twin Forks, the film gathers apace and starts to unfold as a whodunit like mystery. Sure the writing is not forming the townsfolk with any great urgency, and by golly it isn't hard to figure out who the hiding out villains are. But watching the town start to crack under the strain of either being suspicious of thy neighbours, or fretting about being found out, makes for an entertaining piece as Scott moves about them with almost sadistic glee. The smiling assassin comes to mind! It put me in mind of one of Audie Murphy's best film's, No Name On the Bullet, so any fans of that film should certainly get much from this one.

There's nothing to write home about technically, Toth deals in standard file and rank direction and DuPar's photography is lost within the dull sheen deliverance at Warner Ranch. While the support cast are nicely dressed, and made up, but ultimately just talking props serving to let Scott grasp the film with both hands. But grasp it he does! With gun in hand, tongue in cheek and the heart of a lion, he lifts this piece above its many other budgetary failings. 7/10