Jack Palance is gunslinger Jacob Wade, who stops by his hometown to check on the son he hasn’t seen for 14 years. The son (Anthony Perkins as Riley) is now a young man, full of hate for his father.
You see, his mother — Wade’s wife — committed suicide. She was shunned by everyone in town and couldn’t take it any longer. Still, Riley agrees to ride off with his dad. He looks like his mom, he says. Maybe his presence will remind Jacob Wade of the life he ruined.
Jacob and Riley head to a small ranch where Jacob’s new love, Ada Marshall (Elaine Aiken) lives. They figure to make a new life there, rounding up and busting mustangs with the help of Ben Ryerson.
But old enemies have other plans. Like an old partner named Blackburn (Claude Akins), who needs some of Jacob’s horses to escape a posse. And like saloon owner King Fisher (Neville Brand), the man from whom Wade stole Ada, the man who still bears the scar of Wade’s bullet.
Review:
A film with lots of familiar faces, including Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins and Neville Brand. And if Perkins seems a wee bit overwrought as the youngster who hates his dad, Palance turns in one of his most subdued Western performances as a gunslinger who fears he’s running out of time to set things right, partly because he’s going blind.
The film is marred somewhat by a silly final showdown, during which Jacob Wade, of course, loses his vision at the very worst moment. His now-reconciled son helps by telling him where his enemies are.
The was the film debut for Elaine Aiken, founder of an acting school who appeared in just five films. The last was “Caddyshack” some 23 years later.
Directed by:
Henry Levin
Cast:
Jack Palance … Jacob Wade
Anthony Perkins … Riley Wade
Elaine Aiken … Ada Marshall
Neville Brand … King Fisher
Robert Middleton … Ben Ryerson
Claude Akins … Blackburn
Lee Van Cleef … Faro
Elisha Cook Jr. … Willie
Harry Shannon … Dr. Fisher
James Bell … Judge Hart
Adam Williams … Lon
Denver Pyle … Brad, Red Bluff Sheriff
John Doucette … Sundown Whipple
Paul Newlan … Fence Green
Runtime: 88 min.
Title tune: “The Lonely Man”
sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford
Memorable lines:
Riley Wade, explaining his mother’s suicide: “A killer’s wife doesn’t have friends. The women walked around. The men were afraid to talk to her. She stood it as long as she could.”
Riley Wade: “I’ve been thinking. You’re not Jacob’s age. You’re more my age.”
Ada Marshall: “I’m a thousand years older than you.”
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