Rock Hudson is John Wesley Hardin in this supposedly autobiographical tale of how he wound up a wanted man.
Beaten by his preacher father, Hardin sets out on his own, dreaming of earning enough money to start a horse farm with his childhood love and adopted sister Jane Brown (Mary Castle).
But shoots a man named Hanley who cheated at cards, starting a chain of events in which he runs into trouble because of gambling or guns. Soon, he has Hanley’s three brothers and the reconstruction-era Union cavalry on his trail.
Eventually, his father convinces him to turn himself in to stand trial. Another killing foils that plan, and Hardin finds himself wounded and on the run, relying on the help of his uncle, John Clements, and the other woman in hs life, a petty young gal named Rosie.
Review:
Decent Raoul Walsh Western, though it’s not the true-life story it pretends to be.
Julie Adams is particularly effective as Rosie, a saloon gal with a soft spot in her heart for John Wesley even though he’s in love with another woman. She doesn’t try to change him, and isn’t convinced he really wants to settle down and raise horses like he keeps promising to do.
John McIntire plays two roles, Hardin’s dad and the uncle who helps him escape the law on more than one occasion. This marked one of the first credited roles for Dennis Weaver, who plays me of Hardin’s cousins. And it marked the film debut of Race Gentry, who plays Hardin’s son in the film’s final scenes and certainly looked the part.
Directed by:
Raoul Walsh
Cast:
Rock Hudson … John Wesley Hardin
Julie Adams … Rosie
Mary Castle … Jane Brown
John McIntire … John Clements / J.C. Hardin
Hugh O’Brian … Ike Hanley
Dennis Weaver … Jim Clements
Forrest Lewis … Zeke Jenkins
Lee Van Cleef … Dick Hanley
Tom Fadden … Chick Noonan
Race Gentry … Young John Hardin
Richard Garland … Joe Clements
Glenn Strange … Ben Hanley
William Pullen … Joe Hardin
Runtime: 83 min.
Memorable lines:
Rosie: “I don’t why I should care about you.”
John Wesley Hardin: “Why do you?”
Rosie: “Maybe because you and me are the same kind. Living high on the hog today because we don’t believe tomorrow is going to come.”
J.C. Hardin: “You’re a plague on the earth, John Wesley.”
John Wesley: “Sure. Lots of people think that. There’s a whole posse of them after me right now. But don’t start praying for my eternal soul. Not yet.”
John Wesley: “All the time we’ve been here (on a farm) and you won’t even bother to unpack. Or hang up the curtains.”
Rosie: “Listen, Wes, I was born on a farm. My father marched away from a farm, tall and brave in a brand new uniform. I never saw him again. My mother died on a farm, giving birth to his son. I saw plenty of farms after that too. People sweating and digging their lives away. I saw them slaving so they could save a few pennies for that rainy day. It never rains, Wes. It pours.”
Texas Ranger commander: “Don’t get too fond of him (John Wesley Hardin), Duncan. If you want to sing his praises, we’ll give you a chance to recite a eulogy over his grave. After we hang him.”
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