A Bullet Is Waiting

Not a western but an entertaining if improbable drama set in an isolated area in the west. Jean Simmons is full of guarded, wounded vulnerability, a very fine actress. She and Rory Calhoun make a surprisingly simpatico pairing. Stephen McNally's character is rather one note, a more distinctive actor could have perhaps fleshed it out but it doesn't hurt the film. Makes some observations about a man's true nature even if he has committed a criminal act. Brian Donlevy shows up near the end to act as a sort of catalyst for the resolution and is fine as always but the picture could have done without him. Not a classic but a solid film.

It is a short adventure thriller - not a western but it could have been and maybe it is a modern western after all - and only the Stephen McNally and Rory Calhoun presence justify the watch. By the way, I would have imagined Rory Calhoun and the "sheriff" and McNally as the bad guy.... Not a bad film, and directed by John Farrow. So, if you have eighty minutes to spend - maybe not waste - try it. It is bearable. Forget the ending.

A airplane crash leaves Lawman Sheriff Munson (Stephan McNally) and Prisoner Ed Stone (Rory Calhoun) stranded on a Sheep Ranch in the modern (1954) West. Between escape attempts ED makes a play for the beautiful Cally Canham (Jean Simmons) who is holding down the ranch for her Father David (Brian Aherne). MUNSON has a personal grudge against ED, but FATHER David arrives at the close too sort things out and you expect ED and CALLY will eventually get together, nuff said.

Good scenery and interesting casting are the most worthwhile features of this film. Calhoun and McNally seem quite at home in the West, but Aherne and Simmons would seem too be by intellect and temperament more suited for a drawing room. Jean does fill out her 'jeans' quite well and is as sexy in those as any more feminine costume. She would exhibit the same assets in THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). The film is worth watching just for her.

With that title one would expect either a western, a p.i./cop dark streets noir,or a war drama. Well it's in the West on a sheep ranch and Rory Calhoun is the protagonist. Jean Simmons is there to provide the standard romantic figure but is way too sophisticated to be believed as a outland waif. Stephen McNally like his contemporary Charles McGraw just looks of villainy so its surprising when he carries a badge while Mr. Ahearne like his screen daughter just looks out of place. So one gets a character study instead of a shootalot as the title implies. The actors do the script,the director sees his slide continuing,and the viewer wonders why the title wasn't used by Randolph Scott for one of his Ranown epics.

An Accused Murderer Escaping Flawed Justice, a Tin-Badge with a One-Track-Mind (bringing in the killer of his brother), a Lovely, Sophisticated Virgin in Isolation with Her Father in a Cabin Far-Away from Crime, Corruption, and Humanities Sins.

The Cabin and the Surrounds are the Only Setting where Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun, and Steve McNally are Forced by a Downed Aircraft to Lodge, Wait-Out a Passage-Wrecking Storm, and the Sparks, Well-Known to the Well-Read, begin Subtle but Escalate in a Pre-Determined Cadence Until the Soul-Searching, Romance, and Revenge Stop and All is Sorted Out by the Steady, Philosophizing Hand of the Father/Professor Returning from a Short-Trip.

All is Tied Oh-So-Neatly in a Bow for the Easily Entertained Emerging Ultra-Conservative Citizens of the War-Winner America Passively Led to Pasteur, like Simmon's Herd of Sheep.

Doubting there were Many Interesting Conversations in the Lobby about the Film's Combination of the Preconditioning Dialog Amidst a Raging Romance Kindled by Calhoun's Rough-Neck Merging with Simmons Button-Downed Persona. An Oil and Water Mix of Intellectual Grounding and Sheep-Herder Practicality.

It's All Rather Rote and Handled Unremarkable by Director John Farrow. Solid No-Nonsense Characters Delivered by A-List Actors. The High-Lights are Jean Simmons Stunning Beauty Packed in Blue-Jeans, the also Stunning Technicolor Cinematography, The Low-Light is DimitrI Tiomkin's Intrusive, Relentless Score that Never Stops for a Breather.

John Farrow's Directorial Career, with a Wide-Range of Competency and a Few Real-Gems was Winding Down and this isn't One-of-His-Best, but is Held-Together with Solid Framing, an Occasional Interest, and Not-Much in the Way of Something New, it's All a Rather Old-Hat Easy-as-You-Go Post-War Sedative.

Worth a Watch.