The Bounty Killer (1965)

Must See Movie...

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

I've seen hundreds of Westerns, and this might be one of the dumbest, well maybe that's not the right word, but certainly one of the most ill conceived Western stories I've ever come across. The premise of a green tenderfoot Easterner arriving out West and becoming a gunfighter isn't the problem, it's just that the story here didn't seem to be written with any conviction. Dan Duryea's character Willie Duggan is clueless when he first arrives at the Silver Lady Saloon, and proves it by ordering up a hot pitcher of coffee and another one of hot milk! By this time in his career, Dan Duryea had plenty of movie and TV credits, so I can't believe he played his character this badly without being directed in such a manner. As viewers, we're never really given any reason for Willie's motivation to become a bounty hunter, other than the easy money he and partner Captain Luther (Fuzzy Knight) picked up for bringing in Big Jim Seldon (Red Morgan) almost by accident. So when Willie declares he's going to go full time and bring in wanted outlaws alive, I was just as incredulous as the sheriff. In any other picture there would have been screen time spent on showing Willie practicing with a gun and mastering his quick draw technique over a period of time, but here he became a gunman in no time at all.If anything, the draw for me was catching a host of veteran movie cowboys riding into their career sunset with the likes of Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Bob Steele and Fuzzy Knight on hand. Crabbe seemed to have the lion's share of the screen time among them as outlaw Mike Clayman, and I had to do a double take when his gang arrived to rescue him from Willie and the Captain; his henchman Jeb (John Reach) actually pushed a horse out of the way with his hands! That's about when I gave up on the picture.But I stuck around to the conclusion because that's the vow I made myself to review these movies. With bad writing, terrible dialog, and a main character who goes from milquetoast to vicious killer, I can only surmise that the film makers meant to make the picture this bad on purpose.

I gave this movie a look because of some of the cast members, then found myself watching it because I couldn't believe how hilariously bad it was.With one of the most cliché-riddled scripts and some of the most horrific acting, the cast and crew created one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was so bad, in fact, I think if I were a self-respecting cast member I would have pooled my money with my fellow actors, bought up all of the prints and hauled them off into the desert for a decent burial.Why anyone would distribute this flick; theater owner would exhibit it; a backwoods TV station/network would buy it, is beyond me. Unless you too are in need of a good laugh, don't waste your time on this turkey!

That's the third time I Watch this little gem since thirty years now. What a shame. The story reminds me ONE FOOT IN HELL, starring Alan Ladd as an ordinary farmer who becomes a ruthless cold blooded killer because the people of a little town let his wife die. In this movie I am talking about, directed by the serial vet director Spencer Gordon Bennett, whose it is the last movie - am not Deadly sure - Dan Duryea is terrific as the tenderfoot against violence who becomes a cold blooded killer, a Bounty hunter. Terrific. OK, this feature is cheap at the most, and only old timers play in it. The Relationship between Duryea and the Rod Cameron's character is very interesting too. Cameron looks like the man who protects Duryea at the beginning of the movie, Duryea who is fascinated by Cameron, and in the end, all changes !!!Terrific. I LOVE THIS. That changes. But this kind of screenplays, not exactly the same, appeared more often in westerns than in crime flicks. Characters studies. Offbeat schemes. See for instance Budd Boetticher's movies, starring Randy Scott for most of them. That's what I purchase as a moviebuff, and also as a novel writer and reader. It was also a delightful feeling to find in this film such old timers as Fuzzy Nght, Buster Crabbe, Johnny Mac Brown, and many more grade B movie stars from the thirties and forties. The final scene between Duryea's character and the Young man - his actual son in real life - is unforgettable too.

I grew up watching movie matinée at 4:00 after school. Immediately after, my brother and I went outside to recreate what we had seen. We were awesome. Most movies these days don't catch my attention, but when I saw the cast of this one, I was taken back to another time.Bounty Hunter was more than I could have asked.....not quite as predictable as most, and with some lessons to be learned. Oh, my gosh, Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele! Never understood what a sawed off double barreled shot gun loaded with cannon sized shells could do. Yikes, 3 in one shot! Well enough. I liked it sufficiently to research it. When I found out who his final killer was in real life, it rocked me for a moment. The person who said the actor was too old.....awwww gimmee a break.