No Name on the Bullet (1959) - Western, directed by Jack Arnold. Starring: Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Joan Evans, & Virginia Grey.
Woke up early on a Saturday morning & we're off to a wedding this aft but my bf is still fast asleep as its still really early so, of course, I put a classic western on from my 1950s film file on my external hard drive, because my bf doesn't like Westerns. I chose No Name on the Bullet (1959), directed by Jack Arnold & starring genre legend Audie Murphy.
The Plot: lonesome gunslinger John Gant (Murphy) rides into a dusty Old West Town where everyone already knows his reputation but they don't know why he is there? Gant is a killer, but whom is there to kill? Gant befriends local doctor/veterinarian Luke Canfield (Charles Drake) & his father, blacksmith Asa (R.G. Armstrong) & a number of townspeople are immediately threatened, including sheriff Buck Hastings (Willis Bouchey), local businessmen Reeger (Simon Scott), Stricker (Karl Swenson), & Pierce (Whit Bissell), adulterous couple Roseanne (Virginia Grey) & Lou Fraden (Warren Stevens), & Anne Benson (Joan Evans) & her tuberculosis-suffering father Judge Benson (Edgar Stehli).
So No Name on the Bullet is a classic Western which I have never seen before; I actually haven't watched many Audie Murphy films but I'm aware of his stature as an icon of the genre. For such a diminutive actor, Murphy really does command gravitas as the lethal gunslinger who puts everyone on edge as soon as he arrives in town. Arnold's film is only 1hr 17mins long but the director manages to fit so much in in such a short space of time. His film is packed full of impactful characters & deep-rooted themes that are typical of the Western genre.
The cast is stacked full of familiar faces & everyone delivers. I particularly like that the female leads Evans & Grey don't play the usual genre stereotypes, instead their characters are very sympathetic & not at all cliched. Murphy is essentially playing an anti-hero but the audience are fully on his side & its fun trying to work out who his target is.
I recommend this elegiac Western to anyone who loves the genre & who may or may not (like myself) be all too familiar with Murphy, who really does anchor every film he is in.
I gave No Name on the Bullet a full 4 ☆☆☆☆ out of 4.