Duel at Daybreak

A highlight from the final days of RAWHIDE, "Duel at Daybreak" offers us the chance to see Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson face off against each other, two actors who abandoned television for European stardom on the big screen. Rowdy's latest drover is Roman Bedford (Brendon Boone), a young Southerner from Savannah, whose knowledge of the post-Civil War activities of rancher Mason Woodruff (Larry Gates) put him in the crosshairs of Del Lingman (Charles Bronson), Woodruff's ramrod, a short tempered sharpshooter with designs on his boss' pretty daughter Vicki (Jill Haworth). The opening scene establishes that Roman and Vicki already know each other, silently observed by the disapproving Lingman, who proceeds to emotionally browbeat Bedford for not carrying a gun, leading to the Southern tradition of an honorable 'duel at daybreak.' Rowdy (Eastwood) and Jed Colby (John Ireland) offer their expertise to the novice, who proves to be a decent shot when there's nobody shooting back. Bronson is wonderfully evil, a truly intimidating villain that no one dares oppose, just two years prior to his leaving Hollywood for movie stardom overseas.

Although Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson never did a big screen film together, this episode of Rawhide in the last year gives us the one and only time they did work together. I wish it had been a better vehicle although both stars acquit themselves well.

Clint is picking up a herd from rancher Larry Gates and because young hand Brendon Boone shows a bit of southern gallantry to Gates's daughter Jill Haworth, Charles Bronson who is Gates's top hand decides to bully Boone into a fight. Being that he's been brought up in that tradition Boone can't just walk away.

Bronson is really one sadistic piece of work. What he really wants is Haworth. But she cottons to him the way Laurie cottoned to Judd Fry in Oklahoma.

I wish they had worked Eastwood into the confrontation scene. Still it's a chance for two immortals to share the same screen even if it is the small one.

Rowdy: Putting a high price on a pair of pants, aint you?

Lingman: Perhaps you'd like to pay for them.

Rowdy:Any time, mister.

Eastman and Bronson do this great scene together at the beginning when ROWDY is trying to stop LINGMAN.