BY FRED BLOSSER
Kino
Lorber has released the obscure 1969 Western “More Dead Than Alive†in a
Blu-ray edition. Discharged from prison
in 1891 after serving an eighteen-year sentence for murder, legendary
gunslinger Cain (Clint Walker) determines to stay away from firearms, find
honest work, and save enough money to buy a ranch. But his reputation as “Killer†Cain precedes
him, and chances for employment are slim until he encounters conniving showman
Dan Ruffalo (Vincent Price). “People
would have something to talk about, if they could see you using this notched
Colt of yours,†Ruffalo chortles. He
encourages Cain to cash in on his notoriety and join Ruffalo’s traveling show
as its star sharpshooting attraction, relegating the show’s current marksman,
Billy (Paul Hampton), to a subsidiary role. Monica, a free-spirited artist (Anne Francis), strikes up a friendship
with Cain and thinks it’s a bad idea for him to pick up a gun again, however
limited his options. Meanwhile, the
reformed pistoleer’s old enemies hope to see him dead, including outlaw Santee
(Mike Henry), who carries a grudge from a botched jailbreak.
Given
the sheer number of Westerns produced in 1969, it’s a sure bet that some
pictures released in the shadow of that year’s Big Four -- “The Wild Bunch,â€
“Once Upon the Time in the West,†“True Grit,†and “Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid†-- deserve rediscovery and reappraisal. In the case of “More Dead Than Alive,†fans
will welcome the chance to see Clint Walker, Vincent Price, Anne Francis, and
Mike Henry again in prime form. Script
and direction, not so much. The
action-packed poster, reprinted as the sleeve art for the Kino Lorber Blu-ray,
would lead you to expect a gritty, violent movie along the lines of “A Stranger
in Town,†“God Forgives -- I Dont!,†and other Italian Westerns that were
beginning to play widely that year in the U.S., following the breakout success
of Sergio Leone’s three “Dollars†movies. Instead, the gunplay and blood squibs are confined to the opening scene
and two sequences near the end. Otherwise, it’s a plodding, talky production that ambles from one
situation to the next without building up much momentum, like an episode from
one of the sedate television Westerns of the late ‘60s. The direction by TV veteran Robert Sparr is
dutiful but listless. Characters are
introduced whom we think will have major roles in the story (like a lady saloon
owner played by Beverly Powers), only to have them soon drop out of sight,
never to be seen again. Mike Henry’s
Santee is a terrific bad guy who stacks up believably against big Clint
Walker’s hero in size and macho presence, but he’s missing in action for most
of the picture. Once the script
remembers to bring him back, a well-staged, knock-down fistfight between the
two characters near the end of the movie injects a welcome jolt of energy that the
rest of the film could have used.
The
Kino Lorber Blu-ray offers “More Dead Than Alive†in an acceptable, 1920x1080p
encoding. As a bonus feature, the disc
includes an interview with the late Clint Walker, recorded in 2014. In discussing the film, his colleagues, and
his career in Hollywood, Walker is modest, dignified, and thoughtful --
qualities sadly lacking in today’s media parade of rancorous politicians,
Reality Show exhibitionists, and Internet provocateurs.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON