Fred MacMurray plays Judge Jim Scott, a man presiding over the case of Rudy Hayes. He’s already been convicted of murder. Now it’s time for his sentencing, mostly likely death by hanging.
Then relatives bearing guns start showing up to convince Judge Scott that a death sentence could be harmful to lots of folks in town.
First, it’s two relatives. Then a third arrives. Finally a fourth shows up.
Before long, Scott finds himself waging a lonely battle for right, as the quartet of hoodlums threaten one town leader after another into recommending banishment from town as the best punishment for murder.
And while he’s struggling with the Rudy Hayes’ dilemma, Scott learns the woman he hopes to marry — Myra Owens (Joan Weldon) — has fallen for the town Sheriff Barney Wiley (John Ericson), who’s hardly proving to be the bravest lawman around.
Even the widow of the murdered man pushes for banishment, though she has an ulterior motive.
She blames the sheriff for what happened to her husband and figures a sentence of banishment would put him in danger as well as the man responsible for making sure Hayes left town.
Fred MacMurray as Judge Jim Scott, a man who won’t be swayed by public pressure in Day of the Badman (1958)
Joan Weldon as Myra Owens, waiting for Judge Scott to announce his sentence in Day of the Badman (1958)
Review:
One of a number of thought-provoking Westerns in which MacMurray starred in the 1950s, this is a variant of the “High Noon” theme with one man standing up for justice while everyone else cowers in the face of a threat from four mean and their fast guns.
What gives it an extra edge is the love triangle between MacMurray’s Judge Scott, Weldon’s pretty Myra and the town sheriff Barney Wiley (John Ericson). The judge has been waiting for six years for the right moment to marry Myra; now he’s purchased a ranch for them to settle down on only to discover that she’s fallen for the handsome sheriff.
At one point, the judge faces the option of being lenient with Rudy Hayes by ordering banishment, knowing the sheriff would be the one responsible for enforcing the penalty. With his gal in town, Rudy would be unlikely to leave willingly. That means the sheriff would be responsible for enforcing the penalty, putting him in a life-threatening situation.
Marie Windsor brings life to her role as Rudy’s lover. The Hayes’ brothers include Lee Van Cleef, Skip Homeier and Robert Middleton in a meatier role that he normally received. Edgar Buchanan plays the judge’s loyal friend.
Robert Middleton as Charlie Hayes, trying to affect a sentencing in Day of the Badman (1958)
Christopher Dark as Rudy Hayes, the convicted man whose fate rests with Judge Jim Scott in Day of the Badman (1958)
Directed by:
Harry Keller
Cast:
Fred MacMurray … Judge Jim Scott
Joan Weldon … Myra Owens
John Ericson … Sheriff Barney Wiley
Edgar Buchanan … Sam Wyckoff
Marie Windsor … Cora Johnson
Skip Homeier … Howard Hayes
Lee Van Cleef … Jake Hayes
Robert Middleton … Charlie Hayes
Christopher Dark … Rudy Hayes
Chris Alcaide … Monte Hayea
Eduard Franz … Andrew Owens
Peggy Converse … Mrs. Quary
Robert Foulk … Silas Mordigan
Ann Doran… Martha Mordigan
Eddy Waller … Mr. Slocum
Don Haggerty … Deputy Floyd
Runtime: 81 min.
aka:
Day of Decision
Point of Decision
Law of the Trigger
Marie Windsor as Cora Johnson, using her charm to try to save her boyfriend from hanging in Day of the Badman (1958)
John Ericson as Sheriff Barney Wiley, the man Myra falls for in Day of the Badman (1958)
Memorable lines:
Charlies Hayes to Howard, as Judge Scott walks past: “Patience, Howard. You’ll rupture yourself.”
Charlie Hayes: “Poor, Rudy. Sure got himself in a terrible scrape.”
Judge Scott: “Poor, Mrs. Quary. Her husband’s dead.”
Charlie: “Rudy feels real bad aboutt that. I never did see anybody so remorseful over his evil doings. Makes him sick inside to know he killed a fellow man.”
Judge Scott: “The only thing that makes Rudy sick is that he got caught.”
Sheriff Wiley: “What do you think you’re going to do?”
Howard Hayes: “Maybe blow your nose off. Make you extra pretty for the girls.”
Mrs. Cory, about her husband’s killer: “I want to hear that neck of his crack with my own two ears.”
Myra to Judge Jim Scott: “You always expect people to do right. Sometimes, they just do the easy.”
Edgar Buchanan as Sam Wyckoff, trying to convince the sheriff to help protect Judge Scott in Day of the Badman (1958)
Peggy Converse as Mrs. Quary suggesting banishment for the man who killed her husband in Day of the Badman (1958)
Marie Windsor as Cora Johnson, Skip Homeier as Howard Hayes, Robert Middleton as Charlie Hayes and Lee Van Cleef as Jake Hayes react to the judge’s ruling in Day of the Badman (1958)
Joan Weldon as Myra Owens, trying to share an unwelcome truth with Judge Jim Scott (Fred MacMurray) in Day of the Badman (1958)
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