The Day of the Outlaw - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Two rival cattlemen forget their differences to fight six outlaws who take over an isolated Western town.System Requirements:Running Time: 92 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/CLASSICS UPC: 883904106449 Manufacturer No: M110644

Amazon.com
Little regarded in its day (1959) and released on DVD utterly without fanfare, The Day of the Outlaw is a knockout, an unusual western with a compelling story, a host of fine actors, and a sinister vibe that just won't quit. The setting is a tiny, snowbound Wyoming outpost called Bitters--a most appropriate name, at least when it comes to Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan), a hard-edged rancher who bitterly resents the farmers whose barbed wire fences hamper his cattle drives. The fact that one of the farmers is married to the love of Blaise's life, Helen (Tina Louise--yep, that's Ginger from Gilligan's Island; also in the cast are David Nelson, Ozzie's son and Ricky's older brother, and model Venetia Stevenson, who would later marry Don Everly), doesn't help his disposition any. In fact, Blaise is getting ready to kill his rival when big trouble comes to Bitters in the form of a gang of bank robbers on the run from the law. Led by a former Cavalry officer named Bruhn (a commanding performance by Burl Ives), these are some nasty, repellent dudes; only Bruhn's iron hand keeps them from laying waste to the town, especially its women, of whom there are just four. But he's been mortally wounded, which means it's only a matter of time before the inmates take over the asylum; indeed, watching these brutes as the lure of whiskey and womenfolk threatens to turn them into gun-toting Beavises and Butt-heads creates an almost tangible tension that makes the film hard to watch but impossible to turn away from. The black & white cinematography only adds to the bleakness, and Hungarian director Andre De Toth's sure hand results in several terrific scenes, especially the Saturday night "dance" (where the women desperately try to fight off the outlaws' loutish advances) and the extended final sequence, which finds Blaise helping the bad guys escape--or so they think--across the snow-covered mountains. Riveting stuff. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Superb film, Western "noir" March 19, 2008
28 out of 30 found this review helpful

Robert Ryan is not usually thought of as a Western actor, but his credits in that genre are numerous and uniformly excellent, from HORIZONS WEST to THE PROUD ONES and the HOUR OF THE GUN, not to mention THE WILD BUNCH. THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW, in stark black and white, is one of his finest, and perhaps the finest directed by the underrated Andre De Toth. Burl Ives makes a superb "baddie," almost along the lines of Donald Pleasants. Set in the snowy high altitudes, the film exudes a superbly shaped "coldness" that is also reflected in the lean dialogue. All in all, a very worthy film, well worth owning.

5 out of 5 stars

Underrated Classic Western March 17, 2008
25 out of 28 found this review helpful

This film was never even released on VHS, this great western is finally being released by MGM with a few other westerns like MAN OF THE WEST, THE WESTERNER, NAVAJO JOE, but this one is easily the best of the bunch. This rare gem stars the great Robert Ryan and Burl Ives and is directed by the great Andre De Toth (Play Dirty)... also highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

Cold and Nasty May 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a grim, taught film, almost more noir than Western, with surprisingly little gunplay but plenty of wide-open nature. The town looks like another blizzard would blow it away, and the snow and the cold do much of the work, e.g. Tex and Starret at the end. The dance sequence is brilliantly violent sexuality barely kept in check, almost a rape sequence. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Ryan and Ives leading, but the henchmen and the townspeople are perfectly presented. Excellent pacing, real tension. First rate.

2 out of 5 stars

A very odd "oater" June 21, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful

First I have to say I'm a huge Robert Ryan/Western fan (Hour of the Gun, The Lawman), and if you've ever seen Burl Ives in "Big Country" you know how good he can play a bad guy. But this movie was an odd diappointment--not terrible, but strange for a Western.

It starts right off with Robert Ryan being a tough guy; then shows him oddly romantic with Tina Louise (yes, from Gilligan's Island who looks gorgeous as a brunnette) and you see why Ryan rarely did love scenes. The whole movie is taking place indoors at this pt and it's claustrophobic and not at all what you want or expect in a Western.

Then Burl Ives (who's quite good) shows up with his thugs and it shifts into a "hostage take-over plot" we've seen many times before and it seems like an akward fit into a Western. This part goes on for awhile with some very uncomfortable scenes with the thugs dancing with the 4 women left in town.

At that point the film moves to it's conclusion with Robert Ryan heroically & cleverly leading the bad guys to their own destruction. He then returns to town with one of the original thugs a changed Man--very odd. And one final thing; this movie is beautifully shot in B&W but the harsh treatment of the horses by the men is hard to watch. This film is now in my Western 'collection' but I don't much recommend it for viewing unless you're a diehard like me.

4 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT CAST OF A WESTERN CLASSIC! June 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

A CLASSIC B/W WESTERN MADE WITH EXCELLENT STARS & CO-STARS, THE MAIN STAR OF THIS PICTURE, ROBERT RYAN, IS EXCELLENT: BUT I THINK THE ROLE WAS "STOLEN" BY CO-STAR BURL IVES! A MUST HAVE FOR ANY ONE THAT LOVES WESTERNS!!
LARRY WISEMAN

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