Day of the Outlaw (1959)

Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.

Director:

André De Toth (as Andre De Toth)

Writers:

Lee E. Wells (novel), Philip Yordan (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Ryan	...	Blaise Starrett
Burl Ives	...	Captain Jack Bruhn
Tina Louise	...	Helen Crane
Alan Marshal	...	Hal Crane
Venetia Stevenson	...	Ernine - Vic's Daughter
David Nelson	...	Gene - Bruhn's Gang
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Dan - Starret's Foreman
Jack Lambert	...	Tex - Bruhn's Gang
Frank DeKova	...	Denver - Bruhn's Gang (as Frank deKova)
Lance Fuller	...	Pace - Bruhn's Gang
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Larry Teter - Town Barber (as Elisha Cook)
Dabbs Greer	...	Doc Langer - Veterinarian
Betsy Jones-Moreland	...	Mrs. Preston (as Betsey Jones-Moreland)
Helen Westcott	...	Vivian
Donald Elson	...	Vic - General Store Owner

Storyline

Cowboys and ranchers have to put their differences aside when a gang of outlaws, led by army captain Jack Bruhn, decide to spend the night in a little Western town.

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Plot Keywords:

rancher | frontier town | wyoming | 19th century | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

A Day You'll Never Forget!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tag der Gesetzlosen

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Security Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andre De Toth had the town built in Oregon several months before filming so that the structures would be naturally weathered by rain and snow, not artificially dressed by crewmen. When De Toth learned that the workers had neglected to follow his compass headings for the layouts of the streets, he had them rebuild it.

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Goofs

In the town there are puddles of water when everything else is frozen.

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Quotes

Blaise Starrett: I'm through being reasonable. I told Crane what would happen if he strung that wire.
Dan, Starret's Foreman: Blaise, we've pulled over some hard hills together, and I've rode behind you all the way. But a wire fence is a poor excuse to make a widow out of Crane's wife. What have you been thinking about all winter - Crane's barb wire fence, or Crane's pretty wife, Helen?

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Connections

Referenced in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: The Ladder (1953)

User Reviews

CAST OF ALL TIME GREAT ACTORS!

This 1959 black and white Western story had very eerie photography which was about a town with very few people, high in the mountains, snow covered and plenty of fog. It had some very depressing scenes with hardly any groceries on the store shelves and very few bottles of booze behind the bar. Horses and men had trouble walking in the snow and you never knew who was going to kill who, a horse was even killed because it fell and broke his leg. Burl Ives,(Jack Bruhn) did not sing a song, but gave orders to his men, and kept them from any women or drink. Bruhn sort of took over the town and layed the law down and had a bullet removed without even a drop of booze to ease the pain. Robert Ryan(Blaise Starrett) was in love with a married woman and managed to leave the town and then return as a hero. Tina Louise (Helen Crane) was the sweetheart of this film and Elisha Cook Jr.,"I Wake Up Screaming" and "Rosemary's Baby", was a barber in this picture, however, you never saw him give a haircut, nor his usual bulging eyes and nervous looks. Believe it or not, there was some laughs in this film, especially when the men were allowed to dance with the few local woman, they went wild and just jumped and threw them all around, only to try to get a kiss. This is still a classic film and is worth viewing.