The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958)

In this western remake of Kiss of Death (1947), a convicted bank robber serving his sentence, and wishing nothing more than to finish his time and get back to his family, gets involved with... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Harry Brown (screenplay), Philip Yordan (screenplay)

Stars:

Hugh O'Brian, Robert Evans, Dolores Michaels

Cast

Cast overview:
Hugh O'Brian	...	Daniel Slade Hardy
Robert Evans	...	Felix Griffin
Dolores Michaels	...	May
Linda Cristal	...	Ellen Hardy
Stephen McNally	...	Marshal Frank Emmett
June Blair	...	Saloon Girl
Edward Andrews	...	Judge Parker
Ron Ely	...	Deputy Jim Dyer
Ken Scott	...	Paul Finney
Emile Meyer	...	Ames
Gregory Morton	...	Defense Attorney Gage
Shari Lee Bernath	...	Janie Hardy

Storyline

In this western remake of Kiss of Death (1947), a convicted bank robber serving his sentence, and wishing nothing more than to finish his time and get back to his family, gets involved with a psychotic, homicidal inmate who turns on him and winds up terrorizing his wife and murdering his friends.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. marshal | deception | barnyard fight | prison warden | prison guard | 

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Taglines:

...A NEW KIND OF THRILL SENSATION AGAINST A NEW KIND OF BACKGROUND! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his autobiography, "The Kid Stays in the Picture," Robert Evans says that this movie had the following working titles: "The Hell-Bent Kid", "Rope Law", "Enough Rope", "Quick Draw", "Quick Draw at Red Rock", and "The Hell-Bent Kid II". This mistakenly created the impression that Evans was appearing in more films than he actually was. The final title came from a marketing exec trying to cater to both western and horror film audiences.

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Connections

Remake of Kiss of Death (1947)

User Reviews

It's stayed in my memory for 47 years!

I can never forget this film. Unlike some critics, me and my mates found Robert Evans' performance mesmerising. In '58, it was our first experience of a horror-western and for us it worked very well. I'm not saying it's a truly great film, just that it was so radically different at the time that it remains one of my most memorable films of the 50s.

In the East-End of London, in the mid to late 50s, we teens were hooked on Americana. We knew and liked Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp in the TV series. Robert Evans was new to us and a revelation. We liked his look and his style; his performance fitted well with Rock 'n Roll, James Dean and the whole 'cool' American thing.

Fortunately, although in the UK, I have a recorder which plays NTSC tapes. I will be buying this film soon.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hell Bent Kid

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1