Day of the Badman

Moviecut—Day of the Bad Man

Directed by Harry Keller. Starring Fred MacMurray, Robert Middleton, John Ericson, Joan Weldon, Skip Homeier, Marie Windsor, Edgar Buchanan, Eduard Franz, Peggy Converse, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Foulk. The unscrupulous kin of a convicted murderer show up to pressure the impassive judge (MacMurray) for leniency in sentencing; one of them is Van Cleef, so there's no doubt that they're bad news. Serviceable Western with a goofy title miffs its dramatic potential; decent performances and a few promising scenes/interactions (including a sub-plot where the judge's lady love (Weldon) is having an affair with sheriff Ericson), but it doesn't add up to much. Film lacks tension on its way to the protagonist's decision and it all but fizzles out during the underwhelming climax. Working with a low budget, journeyman director Keller fails to bring much style or suspense to the proceedings, but it's still slightly better than its all-but-forgotten status would suggest. 53/100

Great Cast, good acting and good story until the end. Two Things: 1. How could the lead lady turn her love back and forth. I guess in the 50s or 1800s it was a women's prerogative to change her mind. Yikes! No wonder there were so many shoot outs in westerns. 2: It kinda ruined it for me when the judge just told these brothers and cousin FELONS to "just get out of here" in the court room after sentencing. WOW! Crime pays. It would have been much better for the judges integrity and the story had the Felons just escaped some how leading to the required shootout to end the movie. Having disarmed them and at gun point and then just let them go after what they had done made no sense.

A lot of the time in the 1950's Westerns gave out a very clean and very tidy view of the the ' old ' West, and many of them are very watchable. A few were very violent, but towards the end of the decade, in my opinion, the rot set in and violence was increasing and extreme violence became more threatening. In this film ordinary citizens of a town are threatened of being burnt alive, and intimidated by violent action all the way through. A judge played adequately by Fred McMurray has condemned a man to hang, and his outlaw friends try by every cruel method possible to prevent it. No more spoilers. I found the film ugly and lacking in any likeable way despite the presence of two actors I like ; Marie Windsor and John Ericson. I watched the film all the way through, saddened that I was seeing the prelude of much more violence to come in the decades that followed when the Western genre still filled cinemas.

Another good MacMurray western, which, like At Gunpoint, follows the town dilemma storyline in the High-noonish tradition ( though it's not an absolute copy of High Noon; it stands on its own legs), and the dilemma is the threat the citizens are receiving from the outlaw gang headed by Robert Middleton. They want the jury and the judge to banish their imprisoned outlaw brethren instead of hanging him. The town folk eventually pressure Judge MacMurray to banish the killer, however, the judge is a strict, stubborn type and he doesn't give in easily. Steadily-paced western with some menacing villainy in the form of hothead Skip Homier and Lee Van Cleef. MacMurray is really excellent as the judge, who soon learns that the woman he loves has set her cap for another man ( the sheriff). Good western with a rousing climax.

"Day of the Badman" is a decent film and it stars Fred MacMurray...which isn't bad. But it's also a completely unnecessary film as the plot is essentially a reworking of "High Noon"....so why not just watch "High Noon"?! When the film begins, you learn that a man was convicted of murder and is awaiting sentencing. However, his family comes to town and begins an intimidation program aimed at getting the guy only a slap on the wrist instead of a proper hanging. Over time, the good townsfolk turn out to be yellow and would rather let the killer go than face the wrath of his scum-bag kin. The only one standing in the way is the Judge (MacMurray). The only real difference between this and "High Noon" is the subplot about the Judge's girl making time with the Sheriff. This clearly isn't enough reason to merit making the film but is mildly interesting. Competently made but lacking originality.

At 11 o'clock Judge Jim Scott has to hand down a sentence on Rudy Hayes, a man being held in the town jail on the charge of murder-- having been found guilty by a jury of his peers. It looks to be a tough job for Judge Scott, played by Fred MacMurray with his pants tucked almost under his armpits. The job gets made tougher when four members of the Hayes family ride into town and begin threatening everyone in sight. As if that isn't enough for Judge Scott to contend with, his best girl Myra, whom he has been dating for six years, is involved in an affair behind his back with the young sheriff of the town. There are fistfights aplenty along with plenty of gunfire and quite a few character revelations as the story proceeds. I thought it was a better than the average western. Although it does end somewhat abruptly, there are no major loose ends left hanging. 7 stars