Star in the Dust (1956)

The sheriff of Gunlock is planning to hang Sam Hall, who shot three farmers found on cattle land, at sundown. At the casino, betting is 8 to 3 he won't make it. The cattlemen are set to ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles F. Haas

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (screenplay), Lee Leighton (novel)

Stars:

John Agar, Mamie Van Doren, Richard Boone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Agar	...	Sheriff Bill Jorden
Mamie Van Doren	...	Ellen Ballard
Richard Boone	...	Sam Hall
Coleen Gray	...	Nellie Mason
Leif Erickson	...	George Ballard
James Gleason	...	Orval Jones
Randy Stuart	...	Nan Hogan
Terry Gilkyson	...	The Music Man
Paul Fix	...	Mike MacNamara
Harry Morgan	...	Lew Hogan
Stuart Randall	...	Jess Ryman
Robert Osterloh	...	Rigdon
Stanley Andrews	...	Ben Smith
John Daheim	...	Jiggs Larribee (as John Day)
Stafford Repp	...	Leo Roos

Storyline

The sheriff of Gunlock is planning to hang Sam Hall, who shot three farmers found on cattle land, at sundown. At the casino, betting is 8 to 3 he won't make it. The cattlemen are set to rescue Sam; the farmers hope to lynch him before he can be rescued; and Hall schemes for escape with his girl Nellie. But Sheriff Jorden is most concerned with finding out who hired Hall: a leading suspect is the sheriff's future brother-in-law.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | catfight | song | murder | schoolteacher | 

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Taglines:

THE STORY OF THE MOST DESPERATE GAMBLE THE WEST HAS EVER KNOWN! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Law Man

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sam Hall: You annoy me, sheriff. When I leave your hotel I'm gonna squash you like I'd squash a bug.

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Soundtracks

"Sam Hall"
Written by Terry Gilkyson

User Reviews

Not a bad western, with touch of "High Noon"

This wasn't bad at all, apart from the fact that the sheriff must have been naively optimistic in thinking that he, a deputy and an old-timer could prevail against two different factions each consisting of a score or so men; in the event, he leaves it far too late when it comes to asking for outside help. And I thought both factions were somewhat overheated about the situation.

There's a touch of "High Noon" about the film, in that the action takes place in a short time-span, with a clock occasionally showing what hour it is. In both films the sheriff doesn't have much support when it comes to conscientiously doing his duty.The suspense mounts through both films, though John Agar doesn't match Gary Cooper when it comes to re-acting to it.

I see from other comments that I'm not alone in finding the repetitive ballad-singer an irritation; I almost cheered when he dashed for cover during a shoot-out; what a pity he didn't get in the way of a bullet.

The best fight is between two women, one of whom ends up with blood on her, which is more than can be said for the men who get shot; they just clutch at unmarked shirts. And when someone gets knocked on the head it's out of camera shot, which I thought was a convention that had been done away with some years before the film was made.

Trivia fans may like to note that this is the second Western in which Delmonico's famous restaurant is mentioned in some Agar dialogue; Harry Carey jnr taunts him about eating there in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon".