"Dead Man's Revenge" opens like a tragedy before it turns into a sly comedy. Railroad speculator Bruce Dern plays a truly villainous bad guy, like Michael Ironsides is cast as the rancher good guy. As things unfold, Luck Hatcher (Michael Ironsides of "Starship Troopers") has a ranch that Payton McCay (Bruce Dern of "The Cowboys") wants badly, so badly that he has his dastardly henchmen gun down one of Hatcher's children. In a grandiose show of villainy, after he has run off Hatcher, McCay smothers Hatcher's wife to death. This western has a good cast, but writers Jim Byrnes of "Gunsmoke" and David Chisholm of "Longarm" have penned a saga that changes horses. Ultimately, this switcheroo western resembles an episode of "Alias Smith & Jones," but it is as well done. Ultimately, the only thing memorable about "Dead Man's Revenge" is the casting of Michael Ironsides as a wrongly accused hero.
Review of Dead Man's Revenge
