No Name on the Bullet (1959)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

I've not seen all of Audie Murphy's films, just most of them, over 30. After a lifetime of watching him, last night I came across this gem, so I can pose the question, was this Audie Murphy's best acting performance? I know he had little regard for the parts he played saying they were all the same, but watching this picture, which could have done with a better director with more vision, I couldn't help but think that this could have been a truly great western. Murphy plays against type as a hired killer, not the hero he usually is, and in spite of his small frame, completely dominates every scene against much larger men. What makes this a superior western is Murphy's outstanding performance, chillingly ruthless, and the intelligent complex script and supporting performances. It just goes to show how good minor actors can be when given the right words to perform. Charles Drake, never better, R.G. Armstrong, Karl Swenson, Willis Bouchey etc all giving fine acting lessons. Terrific underrated western.

"Part of Murphy's appeal to many people was that he didn't fit the "image" most had of a war hero. He was a slight, almost fragile-looking, shy and soft-spoken young man".(IMDb biography)It works wonders on "no name on the bullet" in which Murphy "underplays" and succeeds in being threatening ,disturbing,without the usual tricks.Anyway "no name on the bullet" is an offbeat western ,looking sometimes more like a thriller with a dash of Agatha Christie thrown in:we know "who'll do it" but we do not know who will be slain .And many people in town have an uneasy conscience .The killer tells the doctor his victims have all done something wrong (like in "ten little Indians";people who have read that book will realize that the ending -when you learn who the victim was- has something of Christie's detective story).Suspenseful from start to finish ,the "hero" epitomizing "immanent justice ,in an almost abstract way,which the last pictures (which break with old Hollywood traditions)reinforce ..At a running time of about 75 min it's another Arnold's tour De force ,almost in the same league as his classic "the incredible shrinking man".

In Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner's biography of blacklisted writer/director Abraham Polonsky, Polonsky tells them he had worked as a writer without credit on many films. But he would not divulge the names of all these films because he honoured agreements not to do so. These titles Polonsky took to his grave. Jack Arnold's excellent philosophical western, "No Name on the Bullet", repeats the classic Polonsky line from "Body and Soul": "Everybody dies!". In fact, this is the overt theme of "No Name on the Bullet" which explores the notion of life and death at great length. The retired judge is old enough to sacrifice himself for the town. His selflessness seems to diminish any high morals his fellow townsmen may have. Audie Murphy as the assassin Jim Gant recognises this, even though he did not kill him as he initially planned, recognises the old man's bravery and defiance when he refuses to accept Dr Charles Drake's offer to treat his arm. There is not a bad performance in this thoughtful and engrossing western and it shows how well Audie Murphy could act with a first-rate director at the helm. Jack Arnold's best film seems to have Polonsky's poetic touch. I wonder if someone out there can confirm if Polonsky was involved with the script of "No Name on the Bullet". Is my theory likely?

When you know Audie Murphy's story, decorated war hero, small man, his character here as hired gun John Gant shows how versatile he was, playing the hero or the villain equally well. This is a short movie, listed at 77 minutes but actually running a bit under that, and is the proper length to tell the story. His reputation is well known, and when he comes to this small town a number of the men have to worry. Gant takes his time, to see what will develop. As it turns out, his target is Judge Benson, who is now elderly and sick, confined to a wheelchair. But Gant is a professional, he has a job to do, but can even he shoot a man in a wheelchair?MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. The pretty Joan Evans plays Anne Benson, the daughter to Judge Benson. Gant gets her in his hotel room, and all we see is him ripping her dress, exposing her in undergarments. We don't see what happens next. But, when Gant visits Judge Benson a few minutes later, he pulls a part of Anne's dress out of his pocket, showing it to the Judge, implying he had harmed her. The old man gets up, grabs a gun as Gant walks outside, prepared to "defend" himself. But the old man dies on his own, Gant has him cleaned without firing a shot.The irony is, the town doctor shows up a minute later, not knowing what transpired, as Gant turns hits Gant on the shoulder with a large hammer, wounding him and partially crippling his shooting arm. The Doc offered to look at it, but Gant took his fate in stride and rode off, to the END of the movie, knowing that his time had come too.