More Dead Than Alive (1969)

Clint Walker is Cain, a former gunman for hire released from prison after 18 years and determined not to return to making a living with a gun.

Problem is, no one will give him much of a chance except for sideshow owner Don Ruffalo (Vincent Price), who already owns Cain’s old six-gun and wants “Killer” Cain as his new star attraction.

His “old” attraction, a young fast gun named Billy Valance (Paul Hampton), isn’t eager to be replaced as the star of the show, but is eager to prove he’s just as good as Cain.

All the while, Cain has to deal with men who want to even the score for his bloody past, including a former lawman named Carson and a former fellow inmate named Luke Santee.

He also makes friends with — and eventually romances — Monica Alton (Anne Francis), a free spirit who flunked out of college and is devoting her life to documenting the disappearing West through her artwork.

Review:

An odd movie that plays like a telefilm and can’t be salvaged by a violent film-opening prison break and a series of violent encounters over its last 30 minutes.

If the filmmakers wanted to make a movie about a former gunman coping with the emotional turmoil of life after 18 years in prison, they probably should have picked a lead capable of pulling it off.

Anne Francis comes off as wooden as Walker’s love interest. In fact, viewers are most likely to remember the performance of Paul Hampton as the young gun, whose performance grows more maniacal — and less believable — as the film progresses.

The score — like nearly everything else here — is a misfire.

Director Sparr died at age 53 in the summer of 1969 in a plane crash while scouting locations for the “Star Trek” TV series.

Directed by:
Robert Sparr

Cast:
Clint Walker … Cain
Vincent Price … Dan Ruffalo
Anne Francis … Monica Alton
Paul Hampton … Billy Valence
Craig Littler … Karma
Mike Henry … Luke Santee
Clarke Gordon … Carson
Beverly Powers … Sheree
William Woodson … Warden
Harry Lauter … Doctor
Eric Matthews … Wes Santee
Robert Foulk … Brill
Frank Baxter … Banker
Andy Albin …Fletcher
Emile Meyer … Bartender

Runtime: 101 min.

Title tune: “The Messenger”

Memorable lines:

Dan Ruffalo, as Cain examines his display a guns, a display that includes his six-gun with its 12 notches: “Bet you never thought you’d see that again, did you Cain?”
Cain: “No, I never did.”

Cain, being told about the challenges he’ll face finding work as an ex-con: “I hope you’re wrong, mister.”
Dan Ruffalo: “I ain’t.”

Monica to Cain: “It isn’t what people think you are that matters; it’s what you are.”

Billy Valence, pressing for information on the 12 notches on Cain’s six-gun: “How’d you do it? How’d you kill them?”
Cain: “Different men, different ways.”
Billy: “Different men, different ways? But you always let them draw first, right?”
Cain: “No. Not if there was a chance I might get beat. The only code I had was to let them know I was coming.”

Billy Valence, after Cain talks about the risk of being shot from behind: “How come no one ever went for your back? It’s a big enough target.”
Cain: “Well, a fella did once, but his aim was low. I got a scar on my ass to prove it.”

Cain: “My father was a sergeant in the 4th Cavalry, and they were always out chasing Indians. I never saw much of anything except the inside of Army forts ’til I killed that soldier. All my life, I seen men die and the ones lived brag about killing others, so life was cheap to me.”

Ruffalo to Billy: “How many times do I gotta tell you kid, people want to see a killer. They pay to see Cain because he’s a killer. Now, you? You ain’t nothing. Just a little piss ant.”