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A Major Disappointment

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

If you had to pick out a single film to represent the less-than-A features Hollywood was grinding out in the 1950s, this might do the job. It practically defines "routine." It is inexpensively made on one or two Western ranches established only for use in cheap movies, it has no recognizable stars except the fading Fred MacMurray. The script, while not uninteresting, is strictly functional and lacks grace.The photography and direction do no more than get the job done, nor does the score by Jerry Goldsmith, still operating within strictures imposed by commercial considerations. Imagine if Goldsmith had written a musical score built around a trumpet and some plucked piano strings, as he did later for "Chinatown". He'd have had all the time in the world after that to sit down and write the Great American Symphony.The film isn't an insult to the intelligence though. MacMurray tries to help his reckless younger brother to escape and the brother kills a sheriff and is killed himself in return. MacMurray, heretofore a nice guy, is now involved in a murder. He manages to escape from the town and find a new place, where he makes acquaintances, assumes a new identity, and nervously awaits the arrival of the "Wanted" posters that will reveal him for who he is. He helps the clean-cut local sheriff out of a jam, gets the girl, and redeems himself.The characters have some complexity built into them. The bad guy, for instance, is Alan Baxter. He has possession of some grazing land that belongs to the public and he keeps fencing it off, despite the dire warnings of good-guy sheriff Francis De Sales. That's "bad", true, but Baxter himself has no desire to kill the sheriff unless it's absolutely necessary. And he's related to MacMurray's new girl friend, so allegiances aren't simply lined up, one side against the other, as on a checker board.But, aside from the main question of how MacMurray is ever going to recapture his virtue -- there's never much question about whether he WILL or not -- the script looks like an outline for a story. Absolutely nothing happens that doesn't advance the plot.I'll give one example of how simple it would have been to raise this story beyond the plodding. It involves Alan Baxter, the chief heavy. Baxter had a decent career in smaller roles but he was never a bravura actor and didn't show much in the way of range. Yet, in Alfred Hitchcock's "Saboteur" he played a well-mannered Nazi spy who has an extraordinary conversation with hero Robert Cummings in the back seat of a car. It's all very casual. Baxter tells Cummings about his son. He would like to raise him with long hair. When he, Baxter, was a child, he had long golden curls and he wonders about grooming his own child the same way. ("You'd be doing the kid a favor to get him a haircut", replies the all-American hero.) The exchange lasts about one minute but humanizes the villain. It tells us of his weaknesses, his misguided fantasies, his childhood, and his love for his son.There is nothing here that even resembles that moment. MacMurray, for whatever reason, slogs through his role in monotones, has the requisite fist fight in a bar, severs a strand of barbed wire with a shot from fifty feet away, crawls blooded through the dusty saloon of an abandoned town, and so on. None of the actors outperform MacMurray though. The performances are all routine. The whole production is routine.

This is another example of a fine 50's B western -- one which in many respects outranks a number of it's "big brother" cousins. The action begins with Larson (McMurray) escaping from a deputy transporting him to prison for a bank robbery. Larson's kid brother shows up unannounced in the midst of the action and gets fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the deputy as they are escaping. They manage to stow away on a train, where we find out some of the history of these men and their motivations. Along the way the brother dies and Larson takes the alias of Kincaid while plotting how to evade the law, which is now seeking him for murder (of the deputy, which his brother shot). Kincaid ends up in a small town and in short order gets involved in various ways with the locals while needing to escape the roadblocks before the wanted poster with his picture arrives! On the surface, this is pretty standard fare for a western. It stands apart from the typical film of its genre, however, because of the thoughtful way the characters in the story are handled. One gets a sense of realism, not so much from the clothing or set designs, etc., but from the way the characters in the story respond to circumstances and each other. The people in this story are real, genuine, believable people -- unlike the stereotypical "invincible, tough as nails" western heroes that dominated the genre in this period, or the mysterious, aloof personas found in the spaghetti westerns that followed. For example, there is a barroom fight in the film with the clichéd "one man vs. the group of bad guys". However, instead of the whole group mobbing the protagonist and beating him to a pulp, they allow the fight to be one-on-one between the two who are truly in conflict, preserving their own dignity and that of the ones actually fighting. That is not to say that they have no involvement or investment, but what part they do play is sensible and believable.It is this interaction and sincere character development along with an engaging plot which makes this a movie that is not only a decent way to pass time, but a true pleasure to watch. Oh, and it has a fun early part by James Coburn and a thrilling climax, too. And if you watch this and enjoy it, I would also highly recommend another similarly forgotten B-western of this era: "Gun the Man Down" with James Arness. I give both this and the aforementioned title a solid 7.5. Easily recommended.

Jim Larson (soon to be Ray Kincaid) is a thief, during his train transfer to prison his younger brother enacts an escape plan. The US Marshall who was holding him is killed in the commotion, while Jim's brother is fatally wounded. Making his way into a nearby town, Larson acquires a gun and a horse but is unable to leave the town as the sheriff has quarantined it till a delivery of wanted posters arrive, these of course will show the face of the wanted man, that man is of course Jim Larson. Whilst marking his time, Larson gets embroiled in a war between the sheriff and a tough rancher, Reed Williams, finding himself strangely on the good side of the law.Fred MacMurray is not a name that instantly springs to mind when the talk turns to the Western genre, which is surprising, because although he hardly dominates in the genre pieces he did, he was more than capable of carrying a role in a few of the Westerns he starred in. Such is the case here as Jim Larson, thankfully putting a bit of gritty honesty into the picture and steering it safely to its intriguing conclusion. Face of a Fugitive is a very accomplished piece, not a film to linger long in the memory, but it's thematic redemptive heart is most assuredly of major interest, with the finale excellently fulfilling the shoot out fan's needs. James Coburn turns up in one of his first major roles and hints at what was to come later in his career, and a thumbs up for Alan Baxter who revels in bad guy duties as Reed Williams.Tight and hugely enjoyable, Face of a Fugitive is one to catch if you are a Western genre fan. 6.5/10

"Face of a Fugitive" is one of those rare little gems that help define the American Western. It's theme of redemption through sacrifice is one harking back to the earliest days of the genre. A man calling himself Ray Kincaid arrives in town on his way to the Mexican border. His stay is marked by run-ins with both the law and a violent cattle baron, as well as by an affair with an engaging widow. The climax witnesses the transformation of the hero from fugitive to savior as he essentially gives up his freedom to save the life a friend. Craggy-faced Fred MacMurray is superb in the title role. And watch for good supporting performances by Ron Hayes and James Coburn. A thorougly enjoyable little oater.