Review for Day of the Outlaw

Well, well, well. So Burl Ives isn't necessarily the nice guy I thought he was. Not even a whistle of 'The Ugly Bug Ball' in this surprisingly gritty Western, directed by little known Andre De Toth who's only major claim to fame was directing 'House of Wax' in 3D - despite only having one eye. But that potential disability doesn't seem to have affected his ability to turn in a stunning Western. Made in 1959, during the height of 'cowboy-mania'. 'Day of the Outlaw', was peculiarly at odds with the huge Technicolor movies of the day. With its depressingly real world view of the West, perfectly captured in high contrast monochrome, this was no 'High Noon'.


Set in a remote one-horse town in the middle of a relentlessly bleak winter, the residents sense the onset of a snowstorm that will make their already harsh lives even tougher. Rancher Blaise Starrett (the lantern-jawed Robert Ryan) arrives in town with side-kick Dan (Nehemiah Persoff), to settle a dispute with a recent arrival, farmer Hal Crane (Alan Marshal) who's taken to fencing off areas of grazing territory that may not be all his own. The new farmer's wife, Helen (Tina Louise) was Blaise's former lover and it's clear that the electricity between the two remains. She begs Blaise to spare her husband, sensing that Blaise intends to settle his argument the old fashioned way - with a gun.


Before this red-herring plot can be resolved the group is interrupted by the arrival of the Bruhn gang, outlaws who are trying to stay a step ahead of the law who are on their tail.
Their leader, Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) has been shot and Blaise persuades the local vet to remove the bullet. He's keen for Bruhn to stay alive as without him the remaining outlaws would wreak havoc in the small community and only Bruhn seems able to control them. Particularly as they are all scared of him, and some of the men have an eye for the women in the town, including Helen.
Gene, the gang's youngest member (David Nelson) falls for local girl Ernine (Venetia Stevenson) - and the feeling is mutual. But Blaise wants to get the gang out of town so he persuades them to let him lead them through a secret mountain pass. He knows that once through they will kill him, but his only thought is for the town…and Helen.


What follows is a visually spectacular journey through snowbound mountains - a complete contrast to the dusty Mexican vistas of most Westerns of the day. Most interesting are the characters. Blaise Starrett is certainly not a good man. In some respects no better than Bruhn who he develops a grudging respect for. And Bruhn himself is a man of great contradictions. Clinging to the superiority of a military past, he has turned renegade - no better than the scum he reigns over.


The film gently tips into a dark, depressingly existential shoot out set against the bleak realities of exposed and frozen rock-faces. It's certainly not a feel-good film, though is a curiously thought provoking one. A 'good old fashioned Western' it is not.


Whilst the DVD edition from some five or so years ago looked excellent, this Eureka Masters of Cinema Blu-Ray edition looks simply stunning. Despite being filmed on a shoe-string, or possibly because of it (with sparse shanty styled shacks being erected in desolate country-side specifically for the film), the bleak exteriors, shot in black and white, will surely never look better than this outside of a cinema.


Extra features include a highly informative appraisal and appreciation of the film by French New Wave film-maker, Bertrand Tavernier who admires it greatly, analysing the small details that he believes add up to a cinematic masterpiece.

It also ships with a booklet containing a new essay, vintage writing on the film, the words of De Toth, rare archival imagery, and more, giving plenty of contextual background to add to your appreciation.


Although not a classic Western in the standard sense, this bleak portrayal of hardship in the West is really something special and whether you’re a fan of the genre or not, if you like good film-making, you’ll really want to add this one to your collection. Highly recommended.