Welcome to Hard Times (1967)

A sociopathic stranger all but destroys a small hardscrabble town but the 'mayor' convinces its survivors to stay and rebuild.

Director:

Burt Kennedy

Writers:

E.L. Doctorow (novel), Burt Kennedy

Stars:

Henry Fonda, Janice Rule, Keenan Wynn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Fonda	...	Mayor Will Blue
Janice Rule	...	Molly Riordan
Keenan Wynn	...	Zar
Janis Paige	...	Adah
John Anderson	...	Ezra Maple / Isaac Maple
Warren Oates	...	Leo Jenks
Fay Spain	...	Jessie
Edgar Buchanan	...	Brown
Aldo Ray	...	Man from Bodie
Denver Pyle	...	Alfie - Stage Driver
Michael Shea	...	Jimmy Fee
Arlene Golonka	...	Mae
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Avery (as Lon Chaney)
Royal Dano	...	John Bear
Alan Baxter	...	Jack Millay

Storyline

In the town of Hard Times, a stranger rides in and terrorizes the small settlement. He kills a number of townsfolk, including Fee, the town's founder. Mayor Will Blue fails to stand up to the man, who rapes saloon whore Molly and burns down the town. Blue promises to rebuild the town after the stranger rides on, but the townsfolk give up and leave. A wagon load of prostitutes led by "entrepeneur" Zar shows up and together with Blue, they rebuild the town. But Molly's desire for revenge and her anger at Blue for not protecting her eat at her, and Blue promises that things will be different when the stranger returns. And return he does.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona | western town | psychopath | adult western | small town | 

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Taglines:

A town can be killed by a bullet...just like a man!

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was originally announced for Gregory Peck and Rita Hayworth in 1965.

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Goofs

Mayor Blue points (to Zar) to the miners riding into town and lowers his arm. The shot moves to one from behind Blue to his left & his arm is still pointing (& again lowers it).

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Quotes

Molly Riordan: Were you any good with a gun, you might teach the lad a little manliness.
Mayor Will Blue: That's not manliness.
Molly Riordan: How would you know? How would you know anything about bein' a man?

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Soundtracks

Silent Night
(uncredited)
Composed by Franz Xaver Gruber (1859)
Played at Christmastime in tent bar.

User Reviews

One Man Destroys a Town

This is a great Henry Fonda film from 1967 where Fonda plays the role as Mayor Will Blue who is a peace abiding man and hates to use his fists or a weapon against anyone. One day a man visits his town and takes over the entire town, raping women and burning the entire town to the ground. Mayor Will Blue is not very well liked by his town folk, however, he still wants to remain in what is left of his town and refuses to runaway like he has done in his past life. Molly Riordan,(Janice Rule) becomes rather close to Will Blue and also Keenan Wynn, (Zar, Whiskey & Girls) visits the town and opens up a Saloon for prostitutes and booze. Lon Chaney Jr. and Elisha Cook Jr., "I Wake Up Screaming" make very brief appearances in this film but give great supporting roles. This is a great Henry Fonda film which he made when he reached the age of 60 years and was beginning to find very few roles on the Silver Screen and then decided to perform on the Broadway Stage in New York City. Enjoy.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1967 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Welcome to Hard Times

Filming Locations:

Stage 30, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1