5 Card Stud (1968)

The players in an ongoing poker game are being mysteriously killed off, one by one.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Marguerite Roberts (screenplay), Ray Gaulden (from a novel by)

Stars:

Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dean Martin	...	Van Morgan
Robert Mitchum	...	Rev. Rudd
Inger Stevens	...	Lily Langford
Roddy McDowall	...	Nick Evers
Katherine Justice	...	Nora Evers
John Anderson	...	Marshal Dana
Ruth Springford	...	Mama Malone
Yaphet Kotto	...	Little George
Denver Pyle	...	Sig Evers
Bill Fletcher	...	Joe Hurley
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Cooper
Ted de Corsia	...	Eldon Bates
Don Collier	...	Rowan
Roy Jenson	...	Mace Jones

Storyline

After a card shark is caught cheating, he is taken out and lynched by the drunkards he was playing against. Soon afterwards, the men who were in the lynch mob start being murdered, one after another; all by hanging, strangling, or smothering. Who will be killed next and who is responsible? Is it one of the original party seeking to cover their accursed deed, or perhaps the mysterious Rev. Jonathan Rudd, who has recently arrived in town?

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Plot Keywords:

poker game | year 1880 | serial killer | denver colorado | cheating at cards | 

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Taglines:

Dealing you a hand in the most exciting suspense Western ever played!

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Martin and Mitchum had previously played drunks opposite John Wayne in a Howard Hawks western: "Rio Bravo (1959)" and its follow-up "El Dorado (1967)," respectively.

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Goofs

Al Dana refers to himself as a "simple town marshal" but the sign outside his office says he is a U.S. Marshal.

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Quotes

[explaining why a murdered black man should be allowed to be buried in the graveyard with deceased whites]
The Rev. Jonathan Rudd: Well, they all look alike to the worms.

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Soundtracks

Hymn:
Mercy's Call"
by Howard Doane (as W. H. Doane) and Fanny Crosby (as F. C. Van Al Styne)

User Reviews

"When a gambler lets his game wind up in a killing, pretty soon he doesn't have a game."

Despite his attempt to stop the execution, Van Morgan (Dean Martin) was hit by a gun on his head and thrown out, at night, in the streets of Rincon, Colorado and the clumsy crook was lynched…

Feeling uncomfortable, Van Morgan leaves for Denver the next day … In the days of his absence, two of the seven card players have been dead, one being drowned in a flour barrel, the other got it with a twist of wire…

For Little George (Yaphet Kotto) who went to see Van in Denver, it looks to him somebody is out to kill every man at that party which is a real good reason for Van to steer clear of Rincon if he is figuring on coming back…

Meanwhile, a gold rush has brought a bunch of outsiders to the town so, on his return, Morgan finds new faces like Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum), the preacher with a Bible in his hand and a Colt in his belt ; and Lily Langford (Inger Stevens), with her elegant barbershop and her gorgeous lady 'barbers.'

Robert Mitchum plays the man who is looking for the man who is looking for him… Tension mounts when Nick Evers (Roddy McDowall) saves the hunter a long hunt… Dean Martin waits as the gambler who doesn't bank on his cards, because if he does, he winds up broke

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1968 (France)

Also Known As:

Five Card Stud

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Wallis Productions, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Wallis-Hazen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1