More Dead than Alive (1969)

The Worst Film Ever

Highly Overrated But Still Good

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

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

More Dead Than Alive (1969) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Notorious gunslinger "Killer" Cain (Clint Walker) gets out of prison after eighteen years for killing a man and he can't quite learn to deal with the current times. He ends up working for a traveling show ran by Dan Ruffalo (Vincent Price) who makes money showing off gunfighters from the past. Before long Cain's past is trying to catch up with him and a young kid (Paul Hampton) who becomes jealous.MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE is certainly a flawed picture but at the same time it's one that's very much worth watching if you're a fan of the genre. The strange thing about this picture is that fact that it's incredibly old-fashioned and you have to wonder why the studio would make a picture like this when the various Italian Spaghetti Westerns were taking over theaters. Was this an attempt to try and milk money out of people who weren't happy with the new style?With that being said, what I enjoyed most about this picture were the performances, which I found to be excellent. Walker dose an excellent job in the lead role as a man wanting to get away from his past and not return to violence. I thought Walker was very believable in the role and he certainly made the character someone you cared for. Price is wonderfully delightful in his role as the carnival barker who always has the smart thing to say. Anne Francis does a good job in the role of the love interest and there's no question that Hampton is great as the villain.The film's plot is pretty predictable and I'd argue that the film really doesn't do anything original. The story of a bad man trying to stay out of trouble really isn't anything original and there's certainly nothing fresh done with it here. The film does go on a bit too long but as I said there are quite a few very good things about it. Not only the performances but you get some nice cinematography, some great locations and there's no doubt that the film is fun for what it is.

Although I am a big fan of Westerns, the totally unfamiliar crew behind this production had me worried that it was going to be a listless affair and the routinely-staged prison riot at the beginning did not help matters any! While the end result is nothing to write home about, it is a sufficiently interesting and satisfactory mix of age-old and newly-emerging traits in the genre to keep one watching.What we have here is a typical story of a convict released after a long term in jail and being met by hostility and challenge once his true notorious identity is discovered; having said that, since he had spent 18 years in jail, I wonder how some of the characters he came across once outside managed to recognize him! The central role is played by Clint Walker who, after a beating inside a mine, gets looked after by painter Anne Francis(!) and hired as a performing gunfighter by traveling showman Vincent Price; this was his second Western outing after the inferior THE JACKALS (1967; which had been a plodding remake of William A. Wellman's 1948 classic YELLOW SKY).So far so old-fashioned: however, things get less predictable upon the introduction of the youthful characters of Walker's hot-headed, trigger-happy predecessor in Price's tent (who eventually guns down his employer in an unheralded bloodbath) and a mysterious stranger who keeps following Walker around and, shockingly enough, executes him right in front of Francis' eyes for the murder of his father (one of Walker's much-touted 12 victims). Even if the film is (surprisingly) available on DVD, I got to see it via a pan-and-scan transmission on the MGM Cable TV channel.

More Dead Than Alive might not do much for a lot of western fans, and the reason for that is that it's so different from the rest of the genre. The western hero is meant to be big, strong, uncaring and a real sharp shooter; and in this film, that is everything that our central character used to be, and now he's going straight. For that reason, it might be more advisable to go into this film expecting more of a drama than a western as that's essentially what it is; a drama set in the once-wild west. Our central character is a man named Cain, who earned the nickname 'Killer Cain' thanks to the twelve notches on his revolver. After eighteen years behind bars, the killer is released but while he's no longer on the run from the law; he faces a different challenge as the West that put him behind bars is not the West that he's being released back into, and he quickly discovers that getting a job with his reputation is not the easiest thing to do. The only man who wants to employ him is circus ringmaster Ruffalo; but Cain lacks practise and the young assistant Billy is a better shot.Aside from provide a different sort of western, the film also tries to do a few other things and unfortunately there just isn't time for it all. There's a romance angle which stems off the main plot and that doesn't get nearly enough time spent on it, while the action sequences we do get feel more like an afterthought. My main reason for seeing this film is undoubtedly the presence of the great Vincent Price, who gives a memorable performance in a supporting role. Clint Walker takes the lead role and while it's not a standout performance and he looks a little young and clean to have been behind bars for eighteen years; he does make for a likable lead. Paul Hampton is a real standout, however, as the cocky young villain of the piece. The film provides good entertainment for the duration and it's not exactly taxing stuff, which ensures that the film is always enjoyable enough. The ending was a bit of a disappointment to me as certain characters were killed by the wrong people; but all in all, this is a memorable film and is recommended if you want a decent hour and a half of entertainment.

Despite its eccentric cast, MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE seems to be forgotten - for one thing, it's not even listed in the Leonard Maltin movie guide, and has never been released on video or DVD. Forgotten or not, it's one strange western! It starts off with a grisly (and lengthy) action sequence where the blood flies, then becomes sedate until near the end, where it suddenly turns grisly and bloody again! Inbetween it's a somewhat meandering but occasionally interesting western, with some bizarre directorial touches (like how many times a cut to another scene is done by someone or something walking straight up to the camera), but all the same has you wondering how this sympathetic ex-gunfighter will end up. You probably won't guess it, considering how the final scene had my jaw slack right open! Probably still worth seeing just for the chance of viewing Vincent Price in a western.