One Foot in Hell

One Foot in Hell is directed by James B. Clark and written by Aaron Spelling and Sydney Boehm. It stars Alan Ladd, Don Murray, Dan O'Herlihy, Dolores Michaels, Barry Coe and Larry Gates. A CinemaScope/De Luxe Color production with music by Dominic Frontiere and cinematography by William C. Mellor.

Incensed by the circumstances which led to the death of his wife and unborn child, Mitch Barrett (Ladd) plots revenge against the whole town of Blue Springs.

Alan Ladd's last Western doesn't find him in the best of shape or on the best of form, but it's a most interesting and entertaining picture regardless. In a veer from the norm, Ladd is playing a man gone bad, fuelled by hatred and thirsting for revenge, Mitch Barrett assembles a small group of strays and ruffians and sets his plans in motion. He wins the trust of the town and operates behind the facade of the law. Along the way he is extremely callous, the value of life means nothing to him now, while inner fighting and romance destabilises the group until the big denouement arrives.

The pace sometimes sags and there's a distinct rushed feel about the final quarter (one main character annoyingly dies off screen?!), yet there's still a lot to like here. The CinemaScope production is nice to look at, there's some very good scenes such as those involving cattle and liquid fire, while the all round nasty edge to the plotting and characterisations (Julie Reynolds' back story is a shocker) keeps it from being run of the mill. It's not the big Western send off that Ladd fans would have wanted, however it's still a recommended Western to like minded genre fans. 7/10

As the satanic title suggests 'One Foot in Hell' is considerably darker than your average oater. Marking the mounting ambition of former small part actor Aaron Spelling who joined forces with veteran noir screenwriter Sidney Boehm to script one of the growing genre of westerns depicting the malaise of the lost generation of Confederate veterans aimlessly wandering the land after the Civil War.

As Alan Ladd's career as classic Hollywood's Quiet Dangerous One came to its conclusion he played a guy with a massive chip on his shoulder due to the death his wife (at which we actually see him cry) who gathers together a gang of roughnecks to wreak collective vengeance on the community he holds responsible by (SLIGHT SPOILERS COMING:) robbing the local bank with a lot of violence.

Alan Ladd wasn't much of an actor. If you don't believe me just take a look at his mediocre performance in the very mediocre western "One Foot in Hell" which was directed by the little known James B Clark and also featured Don Murray, (terrible), and Dan O'Herlihy (slightly less terrible), in prominent roles. The only thing it has going for it is a plot that differs somewhat from other run-of-the-mill westerns. (It's more akin to a gangster picture). Ladd is the sheriff who plans to take revenge on the town that let his pregnant wife die, by robbing the bank. Handsomely shot in Cinemascope by William C Mellor it passes a couple of hours painlessly enough but you're not likely to remember it ten minutes after seeing it.

What ostensibly starts as a formula Western of a man who encounters tragedy on the frontier and rises above it quickly takes a darker turn in this noirish 1960 MGM release. Alan Ladd is an ex-Confederate who encounters a rude reception from townspeople when arriving in the middle of the night with a sickly pregnant wife; delays in getting a bottle of inexpensive medicine to her result in her death. The local merchants are remorseful and try to bring Ladd into the community by making him a lawman, but he instead embarks on a sociopath's trail of revenge.

By sad coincidence the role of a nihilistic man who has seen his world destroyed and is now fully detached from moral constraint is well suited to Ladd in the last few years of life; childhood trauma, alcoholism, and a suicide attempt indicate a life which demanded heavy tolls for whatever success he achieved. Made in an era partial to sunnier Westerns, the Peyton Place-atmosphere of OFIH stands out in stark contrast. The cold-blooded killing of a lawman, back-shooting betrayal. And a lethal gunfight played out solely for betting are all present in a script that seems more appropriate to a 1970's Clint Eastwood outing. Black and white filming would have added a special patina to the story.

This being the twilight of the 1950's, studio pressures might have compelled writer Aaron Spelling (yes, he of 1980's prime time soap fluff!) to shift some emphasis to the more redeemable characters played by Dolores Michaels and Barry Coe. And just for a moment, I wondered if Michaels might have been Lauren Bacall appearing under a stage name.

Western watchers might pay special attention to the covered buckboard that appears throughout; the canvas appears to have transparent plastic windows, and the late 1860's is much too early for that.

The most amazing thing about this movie was Alan Ladd. And not in a good way. Probably because of his alcoholism Ladd was almost unrecognizable. Was this Shane?? Although he was only 47 he looked like a 65 year old out of shape grandpa. His acting seemed to have diminished as much as his looks. This film would have been a lot better with someone like Audie Murphy in the lead role. Sadly as Shane is my all time favorite movie and Ladds character my all time favorite character this movie was very hard for me to watch.