A Man Alone (1955)

Ray Milland is Wes Steele, a fast gun whose horse dies, stranding him in the desert.

Then he comes upon a stagecoach. It’s passengers are dead, it’s money box broken into.

But the horses are still alive, so Milland mounts one and rides into a nearby town. That’s when his trouble begins.

The townsfolk immediately assume he’s held up the stage, and town banker Stanley (Raymond Burr) prods the angry mob along.

You see, he was the mastermind behind the stage holdup, though no one was supposed to get killed, certainly not women and children.

Steele finds refuge in a root cellar, which happens to be the home of Sheriff Gil Corrigan (Ward Bond), who’s laid up with Yellow Fever, and his lovely daughter Nadine (Mary Murphy).

Though she’s skeptical at first, Nadine comes to trust, then love Steele. He helps her realize she’s been a captive in her own home, afraid to grow up because her father has no one else to rely on.

Ray Milland as Wes Steele, coming across a stagecoach massacre in A Man Alone (1955)

Mary Murphy as Nadine Corrigan, the woman who decides to help Wes Steele hide until he can prove his innocence in A Man Alone (1955)

Review:

A taunt, well-done little Western, perhaps the best of the four Milland starred in from the late 1940s through mid-1950s.

Mary Murphy does her best Marilyn Monroe impression as the female lead. And Ward Bond is particularly effective as the protective father determined to make sure his lovely daughter never experiences the hardships his wife endured, even if it means bending the law.

We also get Raymond Burr and Lee Van Cleef, as villains, of course, and Alan Hale Jr. as an ineffective deputy who provides a laughable description of the man the townsfolk are searching for.

Known for his deep, smooth voice, Milland barely speaks for the first 28 minutes of this film, which also marked his directorial debut. He directed four films and a number of TV episodes.

As for Murphy, one of her first roles was an uncredited role as a pioneer woman in Robert Taylor film “Westward the Women” (1951). Her finale film role was a bit part in the 1972 Western “Junior Bonner.”

Ward Bond as Sheriff Corrigan, down with yellow fever and surprised to find a gunman hiding in his home in A Man Alone (1955)

Raymond Burr (right) as Stanley, the man who planned the stage holdup, with one of his hired guns in A Man Alone (1955)

Directed by:
Ray Milland

Cast:
Ray Milland … Wes Steele
Mary Murphy … Nadine Corrigan
Ward Bond … Sheriff Corrigan
Raymond Burr … Stanley
Arthur Space … Doctor Mason
Lee Van Cleef … Clantin
Alan Hale Jr. … Jim Anderson
Douglas Spencer … Undertaker
Thomas B. Henry … Maybanks
Grandon Rhodes … Luke Joiner
Martin Garralaga … Ortega
Kim Spalding … Sam Hall
Howard Negley … Wilson

Runtime: 96 min.

Lee Van Cleef as Clantin, the man who leads the attack on the stage in A Man Alone (1955)

Arthur Space as Doctor Mason, informing Nadine of the stagecoach massacre in A Man Alone (1955)

Memorable lines:

Nadine Corrigan: “You’re on the run, aren’t you? What makes you think I’ll protect you?”
Wes Steele, pulling his six-gun and pointing it at her: “I’ll leave that to your good judgment, ma’am.”

Wes Steele: “I didn’t think my reputation (as a gunman) had traveled this far north.”
Nadine Corrigan: “You underestimate your reputation.”

Wes Steele: “What are you running away from?”
Nadine Corrigan: “I’m not running away from anything.”
Steele: “A body doesn’t have to get on a horse and ride1,000 miles to run away. She can run away right down a flight of cellar steps.”

Sheriff Corrigan to Wes Steele: “Nadine’s got good stuff in her. Maybe she didn’t get it from me, but it’s there. I want her to marry a man with a longer prospect of life than you’ve got.”

Wes Steele: “This is a rotten town with a lot of rotten people in it. But, for once, you’re going to listen to the truth.”

Grandon Rhodes as Luke Joiner, objecting to the killer of the stage passengers in A Man Alone (1955)

Mary Murphy as Nadine Corrigan encounters Wes Steele (Ray Milland), a stranger in her home, in A Man Alone (1955)

Ward Bond as Sheriff Corrigan, on the verge of being lynched, with daughter Nadine (Mary Murphy) by his side in A Man Alone (1955)

Ray Milland as Wes Steele, a man forced to prove his innocence in A Man Alone (1955)