Tot oder lebendig

Yes, folks, definitely yes, watch the Frank McDonald's movie from 1963, which is a remake of this one, but far better, starring Audie Murphy and De Forrest Kelley, far better. But this one is after all directed by the bland director Paul Landres, the equivalent of a Ray Nazzaro or more precisely Fred Sears, a chain worker without the least ambition and able to direct any kind of films, including westerns, thrillers, war, adventure, horror; I have nearly all his films in my library. Here you have an off voice that evokes expose crime films. Not a bad film, really, but is it worth if you ca see the betetr remake, especially in LBX? I wonder.

Maybe not, but this one is pretty bad. The worst aspect is the overbearing narrator who insists on explaining each plot development in a movie where the plot moves aren't exactly Byzantine. George Montgomery is granite jawed as the hero, an undercover lawmen posing as a bank robber. Montgomery is stiff, but he looks like Dom DeLuise next to co-star Keith Larsen, who is so wooden he puts the sap in sapling. There is one twist involving the identity of the secret bad guy, but even that is telegraphed too soon. The action is sparse and done in a pedestrian way, lots of shooting wildly into the air. Veterans Michael Ansara and James Best have decent small roles. Not much to recommend here but it's tolerable if you HAVE to see an oater.