Hell Bent for Leather

Behind the lurid title lies a moody, good-looking psychological western shot in colour & CinemaScope against the imposing backdrop of the Alabama Hills.

There moody, good-looking Audie Murphy gets a less than warm welcome from ferrity-faced Jan Merlin, doll-faced widow Felicia Farr, saturnine Sheriff Stephen McNally and mean-looking Robert Middleton; never quite sure who it's safe to do a deal with.

Audie Murphy is a horse trader. He wanders into town on his latest assignment, where Marshall Stephen McNally accuses him him of being a dangerous criminal. At first Murphy thinks it's a gag to get him out of town before the townfolk can hang him, but it turns out that McNally is a glory hound who intends toshoot Murphy and take the credit.

McNally tries to steal the movie with his sweating lunatic, but Murphy's low-key approach ande the approval of Felicia Farr ake the cake. Director George Sherman does his usual competent job, and cinematographer Clifford Stine shoots the Alabama Hills so they are instantly recognizable, and beautiful in a new way. It's a standard psychological western, but very well done.

Hell Bent for Leather (original title) is a nice Western providing the screenplay allowed him to keep them thrilling at his own moving and relentless gallop . It contains attractive and charming images that , in the eyes of connoisseurs makes one of the most enjoyable of his kind . When Clay Santell (Audie Murphy) stops in the town of Sutterville after having his horse robbed , he is mistaken by townsfolks for a murderous named Travers (Jan Merlin) . The townspeople take Santell, and turn him over to allegedly marshal Harry Deckett (Stephen McNally) . Deckett, who is really tired of inexorable chasing the real Travers, taking care of him . Santell getaways from Deckett who pulls off an implacable hunt . Later on , Clay takes the beautiful Janet Gifford (Felicia Farr) hostage in the process. Janet comes to believe Santell's story , and supports him in his fight to demonstrate his innocence . Along the way Clay attempts to prove his actual identity , that's why he tries to clear his name by find out the real culprit and catching him . Target For Terror!

This exciting Western packs thrills , noisy action , spectacular struggles and lots of gutsy adventure . Brawling , sprawling , almost primitive action in which our protagonist is forced to go on the run , teeming across the screen by means of escapes , attacks , rescues , and ambushes .The picture contains whirlwinds of manic action , fights , sustained energy and often commendable results . The film has a slickness and crude vigour , including impressive outdoors with rocky mountains stunningly photographed by cameraman Clifford Stine . This is a distinctive Western saga with a special look at Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California and other countryside landscapes . Features impressive as well as spectacular crossfire scenes punctuated with great action sequences .This is a stirring story about an agreeable couple and their fight for innocence as well as freedom and director takes a fine penned script by Christopher Knopf creating an agreeable tale that is far from ordinary , exploring the anguish and desperation of an innocent man and villany of the pursuers . Audie Murphy delivers a fine acting as an innocent passer-by who mistaken for a killer outlaw is relentlessly chased . Murphy won more tan 20 medals , being the most decorated American soldier , including the Congressional Medal of Honor and he was also awarded five decorations by France and Belgium . He starred a rendition on his own self-biography titled ¨To Hell and back¨ that was an acceptable picture based on actual events about Audie Murphy who played himself following his Army career in WWII , being professionally directed by Jesse Hibbs and it was a box-office hit for Universal Pictures and its record was apparently not broken until Jaws (1975). Murphy starred a great number of Westerns as ¨The kid from Texas¨, ¨Cimarron Kid¨, ¨Gunpoint¨, ¨Night Passage¨, ¨The Gunrunners¨, ¨Posse from Hell¨, ¨Gunfight at Comanche¨, ¨Rifles Apaches¨, ¨The Unforgiven¨, ¨Red badge of courage¨, ¨Legend of Sam Ward¨, ¨Whispering Smith¨, ¨40 Guns at Apache pass¨ , ¨Texas kid¨ , among others . Being usually directed by Jesse Hibbs who directed various Audie Murphy vehicles such as : this ¨To hell and Back¨ (1955) , ¨World in My Corner¨ (1956) , ¨Ride a Crooked Trail¨ (1958) , ¨Medal of Honor¨ and ¨To Hell and Back¨. He is well accompanied by the woman-star who results to be the lovely Felicia Farr , at the time married Jack Lemmon . Co-starred by Stephen McNally as a nasty lawman who decides to murder Santell and pass him off as Travers . Stephen McNally gives the best acting as a cruel and hysterical villain who carries out a merciless pursuit . Support cast is frankly nice , providing splendid interpretations , such as : Robert Middleton , James Westmoreland , Jan Merlin , Allan Lane , Bob Steele and the usual veteran John Qualen .

The motion picture produced by Gordon Kay/Universal International Pictures , was professionally directed by George Sherman in B-style . Sherman demonstrates a special talent for making the densest action sequences seem uncomplicated and uncluttered and his characters , like the scenes distinguished , often have an unfettered , raw power . Sherman made reliable low-budget fare for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years , where he directed this ¨War Arrow¨ . Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. Rating : 7/10 . Acceptable and above average Western . Well worth watching .

Audie Murphy plays Clay Santell ,a horse dealer whose hospitality to a stranger who stumbles on foot and on the verge of collapse into his camp is to have his horse stolen by the man in question.Santell wounds his assailant who drops his lavishly embossed shotgun as he flees Santell's camp.The man is Travers ,a wanted outlaw .and the local townsfolk believe Santell is Travers,based on his having the gun .Corrupt Marshall Deckett (Stephen Mc Nally)takes him into custody ,knowing full well he is not Travers but hoping to pass him off as the outlaw ,and boost his reputation as the man who saw Travers hung.

Santell escapes ,taking with him a young woman ,Janet Gifford ,and Deckett and a posse set out in hot pursuit. Can Santell avoid capture and clear his name ?That is the central issue of this modest but brisk Western that benefits from some striking location shooting and some decent performances especially from McNally and that splendid character actor Robert Middleton .

Based on a novel by pulp Western maestro Ray Hogan this moves briskly and energetically and will appeal to most devotees of the genre.

Fans of Western movies will not be disappointed. While not a great or even distinguished Western, it also LACKS the faults of so many other Westerns. On the plus side it can boast good colorful outdoor mountainous locations and cinema-photography , leading and supporting actors, a believable situation and a literate imaginative script. On the negative side: zero; I can't think of anything laughable, offensive or jarring. Audie Murphy looked and acted good. Felicia Farr looked better, even gorgeous. And Stephen McNally stole the movie with his acting chops. Robert Middleton was his usual excellent self in a brief suspenseful scene during Murphy's chase from McNally. Jan Merlin did well as a villain.

I thought it was an interesting and unusual motive for Sheriff McNally's lying that Murphy and not Merlin was the criminal being chased. I won't reveal it in this review, though it is spelled out in most of the other reviews here. The reason puzzled me throughout watching the film, and it was finally revealed at the conclusion. Also intriguing was how Murphy would extricate himself from his predicament. Finally, kudos for Farr's back story. Surprising that there were no romantic scenes (embraces, kisses, etc.) between the two leads, Murphy and Farr, though the last scene had then leave hand in hand.