Man in the Shadow (I) (1957)

Virgil Renchler owns most of the town providing a thriving economy. When he goes too far and kills one of his migrant workmen, the sheriff goes after him even if it means his job and everyone else's.

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writer:

Gene L. Coon

Stars:

Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Chandler	...	Ben Sadler
Orson Welles	...	Virgil Renchler
Colleen Miller	...	Skippy Renchler
Ben Alexander	...	Ab Begley
Barbara Lawrence	...	Helen Sadler
John Larch	...	Ed Yates
James Gleason	...	Hank James
Royal Dano	...	Aiken Clay
Paul Fix	...	Herb Parker
Leo Gordon	...	Chet Huneker
Martin Garralaga	...	Jesus Cisneros
Mario Siletti	...	Tony Santoro, the barber
Charles Horvath	...	Len Bookman
William Schallert	...	Jim Shaney
Joseph J. Greene	...	Harry Youngquist

Storyline

In effect, modern cow town Spurline is run by Virgil Renchler, owner of the Golden Empire Ranch. One night, two of Virgil's henchmen go a little too far and beat a "bracero" ranch hand to death. Faced with an obvious cover-up and opposition on every hand, sheriff Ben Sadler is goaded into investigating. His unlikely ally: Renchler's lovely, self-willed and overprotected daughter. Will Ben survive Renchler's wrath?

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | ranch | daughter | vigilante | cattle baron | 

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Taglines:

"I'M YOUR LAW...yet you tell me to forget about Violence and Murder!" (original print ad)

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seeds of Wrath

Filming Locations:

Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Orson Welles' character claims that his ranch is bigger than five European countries, Albert Zugsmith's low budget didn't allow for a single cow to be shown.

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Quotes

Ben Sadler: There isn't a yard of guts in this whole town. This isn't a town, it's a trained dog act! I'm tired of gettin' pushed around! One way or another I'm gonna get myself a couple of murderers tonight.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

User Reviews

Black Rock, Laramie, High Noon and On the Waterfront.

Like "Bad Day at Black Rock" this is a modern western, and also someone tries to throw the hero's car off the road. Like "High Noon" it tells the story of a sheriff that goes against the whole town's opinion to face the bad guys. Like "The Man From Laramie" the hero is dragged, but by a pick up truck and not by a horse. Like "On the Waterfront" even though he is badly hurt…etc. etc. "Man in the Shadow" is a good film, it grabs your attention. Jeff Chandler is excellent as the sheriff and Orson Welles is great as always. It could be a very good film if it would not be for the fact that specially on the last half you feel you are seeing something that you have seen before.