Luke Santee's boys slip inside a fort(using caskets to hide in!)to rescue his brother out of a hanger's prison. Luke's brother is denied his chance to escape thanks in part to a prisoner named Cain who is soon let out as a rehabilitated man.
Living a life outside bars without using a gun again, however, won't be an easy task. More mellow, with no interest in picking up a Colt, as proposed by traveling showman with cat-like grin, Dan Ruffalo(Vincent Price, in a wonderful change of pace, in a rare western role)for a role in his shooting gallery, Cain really wants to go legitimately straight, but in comes Luke Santee to make his life miserable. Roughed up by Luke and his men, no work available for released cons, Cain will have his hands full.
Cain befriends a painter named Monica(the beautiful Anne Francis; Forbidden Planet)while encountering her in an abandoned town. Unable to hold a job due to his notorious reputation, he finally decides to join Ruffalo. Ruffalo has in his possession a Colt with 12 notches depicting the number of men Cain killed during his outlaw days before 18 years behind bars.
Young sharpshooting Billy, very talented with a gun, who had idolized Cain, with dreams of living the life of a gunfighter, is the star of traveling show. Billy resents Cain(Ruffalo has a particular interest in him due to his draw of the crowd, bringing in big profit), and wants to upstage him, always engaging in intense arguments, often attempting to cause a gunfight.
MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE carries that familiar theme of a man trying with all his might to escape his past, a past which haunts him wherever he goes. We see at the conclusion that maybe there's no way to avoid fate..a son, father, retired marshal still holding a grudge, there'll always be someone appearing out of the blue looking for revenge.
Through the only friendship he's able to develop, with Monica, Cain could just maybe find the peace he's been looking for. He wants to help build a place with Monica as the two eventually fall of love.
Billy, really immature even if he's good with a gun, is psychotic and unstable and it's only a matter of time before he'll be confronting Cain for a duel..interesting decision by the filmmakers, though, to go in a different direction with Cain getting the upper hand against his young rival.
Particularly brutal is Price's fate, in slow motion, like a mutt in the street. I must say that I hated the music used in this movie, the upbeat score seems more suited for a slapstick comedy than a serious western about men with guns. Odd structure, too, setting chapters in the film through different seasons, also moving the pace a bit faster, eliminating chunks of story, like specific passages of time when life wasn't exactly kind to Cain(the plot is uninspired when it comes to the relationship between Cain and Monica, although Francis does what she can with a rather underwritten role). I also found the song which opens and closes the film particularly dire..it's a Dimitri Tiomkin knock-off that doesn't exactly work for this film, and, if anything, sounds really outdated and corny. Plenty of bullets and blood, though, including a spirited brawl between Cain and Luke within the old buildings of the abandoned town. Billy whimpers and sobs when anyone puts him in an uncomfortable position, and his fate shows how pathetic he is when the gun isn't available for use. I think the major flaw of the film is the diminishing of Luke Santee's character after setting him up in such a way at the beginning. Clint Walker is rather a bore, if I were to be truly honest, but he's a beefcake so I can see why he was used in the role of Cain. Paul Hampton really steals the film in the most colorful part of Billy, a certifiable headcase who stirs the pot, the one behind animosity, always a needling prick. Mike Henry is Luke Mantee, a mean criminal who isn't someone you hope to cross hairs with.
Living a life outside bars without using a gun again, however, won't be an easy task. More mellow, with no interest in picking up a Colt, as proposed by traveling showman with cat-like grin, Dan Ruffalo(Vincent Price, in a wonderful change of pace, in a rare western role)for a role in his shooting gallery, Cain really wants to go legitimately straight, but in comes Luke Santee to make his life miserable. Roughed up by Luke and his men, no work available for released cons, Cain will have his hands full.
Cain befriends a painter named Monica(the beautiful Anne Francis; Forbidden Planet)while encountering her in an abandoned town. Unable to hold a job due to his notorious reputation, he finally decides to join Ruffalo. Ruffalo has in his possession a Colt with 12 notches depicting the number of men Cain killed during his outlaw days before 18 years behind bars.
Young sharpshooting Billy, very talented with a gun, who had idolized Cain, with dreams of living the life of a gunfighter, is the star of traveling show. Billy resents Cain(Ruffalo has a particular interest in him due to his draw of the crowd, bringing in big profit), and wants to upstage him, always engaging in intense arguments, often attempting to cause a gunfight.
MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE carries that familiar theme of a man trying with all his might to escape his past, a past which haunts him wherever he goes. We see at the conclusion that maybe there's no way to avoid fate..a son, father, retired marshal still holding a grudge, there'll always be someone appearing out of the blue looking for revenge.
Through the only friendship he's able to develop, with Monica, Cain could just maybe find the peace he's been looking for. He wants to help build a place with Monica as the two eventually fall of love.
Billy, really immature even if he's good with a gun, is psychotic and unstable and it's only a matter of time before he'll be confronting Cain for a duel..interesting decision by the filmmakers, though, to go in a different direction with Cain getting the upper hand against his young rival.
Particularly brutal is Price's fate, in slow motion, like a mutt in the street. I must say that I hated the music used in this movie, the upbeat score seems more suited for a slapstick comedy than a serious western about men with guns. Odd structure, too, setting chapters in the film through different seasons, also moving the pace a bit faster, eliminating chunks of story, like specific passages of time when life wasn't exactly kind to Cain(the plot is uninspired when it comes to the relationship between Cain and Monica, although Francis does what she can with a rather underwritten role). I also found the song which opens and closes the film particularly dire..it's a Dimitri Tiomkin knock-off that doesn't exactly work for this film, and, if anything, sounds really outdated and corny. Plenty of bullets and blood, though, including a spirited brawl between Cain and Luke within the old buildings of the abandoned town. Billy whimpers and sobs when anyone puts him in an uncomfortable position, and his fate shows how pathetic he is when the gun isn't available for use. I think the major flaw of the film is the diminishing of Luke Santee's character after setting him up in such a way at the beginning. Clint Walker is rather a bore, if I were to be truly honest, but he's a beefcake so I can see why he was used in the role of Cain. Paul Hampton really steals the film in the most colorful part of Billy, a certifiable headcase who stirs the pot, the one behind animosity, always a needling prick. Mike Henry is Luke Mantee, a mean criminal who isn't someone you hope to cross hairs with.