Three Hours to Kill

Dana Andrews gives a convincing performance as Jim Guthrie who nearly got lynched and returns to town three years later to find out killed the brother of the woman he was going out with.

The victim did not want Guthrie marrying his sister, Laurie who is now married to someone else, her husband might be one of the killers.

A sympathetic Sheriff gives Guthrie three hours to find the killer. A saloon girl who had a thing for Guthrie helps him out.

Guthrie goes after four friends of his who shouted the loudest for him being lynched.

It is a routine western with a countdown, a straightforward story with a child born out of wedlock. There is no hint as to why Guthrie returned to town to clear his name and what he has been up to for the past few years.

Durable leading man Dana Andrews stars in this B-side western about a fight between Andrews and Richard Webb that ends in Webb being murdered - but despite appearing to be caught red-handed, is Andrews actually the culprit? After a near-summary execution by some over-zealous locals, Andrews narrowly escapes returning several years later to clear his name.

Familiar plot has surprising depth in the female casting for a film of this ilk, alongside Donna Reed as Andrews' former beau is Dianne Foster as the versatile and open-minded admirer Chris, while Carolyn Jones and Charlotte Fletcher play a pair of damsels who've both fallen for card shark Laurence Hugo, one of many on Andrews' hit list.

Good also to see Stephen Elliott who later garnered fame in films like "Arthur" and "Beverly Hills Cop", in his film debut in the key supporting role of Ben, the town's new sheriff who's friendship with Andrews affords him three hours grace to catch the killer or be tried for murder (hence the title).

There's a simmering tension that prevails the full eighty-odd minutes, with a particularly taut scene in which veteran Whit Bissell (playing the town's ubiquitous barber) takes a razor to Andrews' throat, as he nervously fends off accusations that he is the real killer. Pretty decent whodunit western that no doubt some armchair sleuths will solve before the climax, nevertheless, it's a bittersweet ending that rejects the typical clichés making this overall, a better-than-average yarn.

A superior B-picture dealing with a gunfighter accused of murdering his fiancee's brother . Jim Guthrie (Dana Andrews) is a fugitive who has been run out of town after being nearly lynched for the murder of a man he did not kill. As Guthrie is the Man With The Rope Scar on his neck . All but pulled to pieces by a small town lynch mob including many of his so-called friends . Framed for murder, he escaped for three years but returns to find the real killer. But Jim is back , and he feels himself betrayed . As Jim arrives in town and he meets his old flame Laurie Mastin (Donna Reed) who is married to another ex-friend .Then the would-be-lynchers , fearing that Guthrie will exact some kind of vendetta for their anti-social treatment to him , set out to get him before he gets them.

An interesting and moving Western with a suspenseful premise , as an accused gunslinger back in town and he wants to track down the real murderer , then to find him out ; who is the true killer ? .The picture neatly slots together the dual time frames , containing emotion , thrills , shootouts , fights and an intriguing whodunit . Enjoyable and thrilling screen play from Roy Huggins , Maxwell Shane, Richard Alan and based upon a story by Alex Gottlieb. Main and support cast are frankly good . Dana Andrews gives an acceptable and sober acting as Jim Guthrie who barely escapes lynching by the town mob, becoming a wanted fugitive , bearing the physical and mental scars of his experience, and subsequently determined to clear his name. This one results to be the best character , generating a strong sense of bitterness and pain at the speed with Dana Andrews feels himself double-crossed . Other players are pretty well , such as Donna Reed playing the pregnant girl he left behind who marries another man, and Diane Foster as the girl Andrews takes with him after the real killer has been identified and harshly dealt with . Adding other notorious secondaries as Carolyn Jones , Whit Bissell , Stephen Elliott , Richard Coogan , Francis McDonald , James Westerfield , Richard Webb , Charlotte Fletcher , among others .

It displays an atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr who photographed several Westerns . As well as evocative and adequate musical score by Paul Sawtell . The motion picture was well directed by Alfred L. Welker . This film was made from his last years , as Alfred L. Welker was working from the 30 in the business . He realized a catalogue of routine assignments broken by highlights including : The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1935 and He walked by night 1949 the prototype serial-killer film noir , and a string of Western oaters . As Alfred Werker directed all kinds of genres : Drama , Film Noir , Adventures , sagebrush Westerns , such as : The Last Posse , Devil's canyon , Repeat Performance , Pirates of Monterrey , Whispering Ghosts , The Mad Martindales , Moon Over Her Shoulder , My Pal Wolf , Rebel in city , At Gunpoint , The Young Don't Cry , Canyon Crossroads and Sealed Cargo , a WWII Thriller that also starred Dana Andrews . Rating . 6.5/10 . Better than average Western . Worthwhile seeing .

Three Hours To Kill casts Dana Andrews as a man on the run for the murder of Richard Webb which he did not do, but for which he was nearly lynched. Andrews has the rope burn scar to prove it.

Four old friends of his who also knew the victim were the ones yelling loudest for the lynching. Andrews zeroes in on them for the answers. There's also saloon girl Dianne Foster who has a thing for Dana and the sister of Richard Webb who was violently opposed to her marrying Andrews who is played by Donna Reed fresh from her Oscar win for From Here To Eternity.

This western plays like a noir mystery even though it's set in the wide open spaces. Andrews is one grim western hero and hardly the role model for a cowboy hero. Still in the end he solves the mystery and he does it when all four of those he seeks are brought into the saloon and compare notes. All could not have been more neatly revealed by Hercule Poirot himself.

One of Dana's best films.

Dour little Western (just count the smiles) that still manages a few surprises. So, who killed Carter. Not Jim Guthrie (Andrews), even though an over-eager lynch mob thinks so, leaving him with a permanent neck burn and a smoldering desire for revenge. It looks like a lot of folks hated Carter, so now, three years later, Guthrie's sleuthing work is cut out for him. A grudgingly sympathetic sheriff gives the innocent man three hours to nail the real culprit. So, it's a suspenseful countdown to sundown. Can he do it.

Can't help noticing this tale of a driven man's revenge was produced by Harry Joe Brown who later produced the thematically similar Randolph Scott cycle of Westerns (The Tall T {1957}; Comanche Station {1960} et al.). There's a strong similarity in the character and temperament of the leads, which suggests producer Brown had both a definite point of view and at least some influence on the screenplays.

Director Werker gets a lot out of LA area locations and a mixed cast of veterans like Andrews and newcomers like Foster. The unstable relationship between Andrews and Reed is more interesting and complex than in most Westerns. But I did have some difficulty keeping track of the four prominent ladies, a more crowded field than in most oaters. Anyway, the movie is a neat combination of whodunit and sagebrush that'll keep you guessing, without the usual clichés.