Man From Del Rio

MAN FROM DEL RIO
This movie was first released in 1956(2011), in B/W and full screen 1.33.1 and runs 82 minutes. The sound and picture quality are very good. There are no extras. The film starts with Dave Robalis (ANTHONY QUINN) playing with a dog, when 2 strangers ride into the town. Robalis has been waiting for Dan Ritchie. Robalis explains to Dan, that the other 4 men were dead and next in a gun draw, Dan is shot dead. Robalis has also a left chest injury and is taken to Dr Adams. Luckily, he has a minor wound. The saloon boss, Banniger introduces Robalis to his other boys. Sheriff Tilman is sent by the town folk to the saloon to keep order. The drunk gunmen tease the sheriff and Robalis had to shoot 2 of them. Robalis is also interested in Estella (KATY JURADO) who works for Dr Adams. The sheiff and his wife leave town. There is a town meeting to discuss law and order. The town offers Robalis the job of sheriff and he excepts. However, he soon realises that he is not excepted socially. In a fist...

What a sleeper!
A superior western drama, with the emphasis on drama, although there's plenty of action too. But the story really grabs you. It starts out like most westerns, with many of the standard stereotypes, but then gradually develops into a fairly complex character study, placing the protagonist in an impossible situation. Unlike many westerns, the climax is highly satisfying & believable, not just a lot of idiotic gun play. Quinn is great as usual, giving the hero depth and heart, at once vulnerable & courageous, transforming him from a saddle tramp into an honorable, admirable man facing his own fears as well as the very credible danger. Katie Jurado is also great, as usual. The film is somewhat reminiscent of High Noon, only not quite as powerful, yet more believable, too.

That said, $20 is still too much to pay for the DVD. It's pretty darn good, but not that good.

Best of the Low Budget 1950's Westerns
Excellent Western! Anthony Quinn as Robles gives top-notch performance in a role which fits him like a rawhide glove. Outstanding supporting cast includes Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney, Douglas Fowley and Whit Bissell. This is a no-nonsense yarn about gunfighters -- no hostile Native Americans, cavalry, bank robbers, dance hall girls or skillful horsemen. The atmosphere is very bleak, even though the sun shines harshly on the all-but-abandoned Kansas cattle town. There are no supermen; Robles even states humbly that it took him ten years to learn how to use a gun. There are no praiseworthy characters; all the white people are racist concerning the two Mexican-Americans who reside in their town. There isn't even a hero in the usual sense. Robles is an illiterate and penniless drifter who rides in motivated by vengeance, tries to use his newly found status as sheriff-for-hire to get himself accepted (without success) among the narrow-minded townsfolk and winds up getting his wrist...

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