The Domino Kid (1957)

Rory Calhoun is the title character (real name, Cort Garand), a young man who returned from the Civil War to find his father killed and his father’s cattle stolen.

He sets out to avenge their death, tracking down the five men responsible, one by one.

After being wounded in one gunfight, he returns home to Pradera and tinkers with the notion of settling down and living on the ranch his parents owned.

After all, his quest for vengeance is at a dead end: He doesn’t know who the fifth man is.

But his former love, Barbara Ellison (Kristine Miller) isn’t happy with the turn his life has taken.

And a financier named Wade Harrington (Andrew Duggan) has his eye on Domino’s land and his girl.

When Harrington refuses to give him a loan and builds a dam to block off water to his ranch, Domino finds a new reason to turn to his gun.

And his doubters take that as a sign that the old Domino has disappeared, replaced by a hardened man who thinks violence is the solution to every problem.

Rory Calhoun as Domino Kid, determined to put three more notches in his gun in The Domino Kid (1957)

Kristine Miller as Barbara Ellison, debating shipping costs with Wade Harrington in The Domino Kid (1957)

Review:

Routine fare. And you’re likely to groan when Domino tosses a domino on the desk of a man he’s about to gun down to announce his identity. I’m not sure we ever do find out why he’s named Domino.

Fortunately, Calhoun is as believable as always in a Western setting, a fact that helps salvage the film.

Yvette Duguay and Eugene Iglesias play longtime friends of Domino, who support him regardless.

Andrew Duggan as Wade Harrington, sharing some potentially devastating news about Domino in The Domino Kid (1957)

Peter Whitney as Lafe Prentiss, the last man Domino Kid is seeking in The Domino Kid (1957)

Directed by:
Ray Nazarro

Cast:
Rory Calhoun … The Domino Kid
Kristine Miller … Barbara Ellison
Andrew Duggan … Wade Harrington
Robert Burton … Sheriff Travers
Peter Whitney … Lafe Prentiss
Yvette Duguay … Rosita
Eugene Iglesias … Juan Cortez
Roy Barcroft … Ed Sandlin
Bart Braverman … Pepe Garcias
Ray Corrigan … Buck
James Griffith … Sam Beal
Denver Pyle … Bill Dragger

Runtime: 74 min.

Yvettte Duguay as Rosita, frightened by a brute while working in the cantina in The Domino Kid (1957)

Eugene Inglesias as Juan Cortez, reluctant to give Domino the name of the fifth name in The Domino Kid (1957)

Memorable lines:

Harrington to Barbara: “Where did you ever get those lovely blue eyes?”
Barbara: “They came with my head.”

Domino to Harrington: “You get that dam torn down by tonight, or wear a gun.”
Barbara: “What do you want to do? Kill everybody?”

Domino to Sheriff Travers: “Let me ask you something. What did I do wrong? I eliminated the men who killed my father. The same men the law was too lazy and comfortable to go after. Now all of a sudden, I’m an outlaw. No sheriff, if anyone leaves town it will be Harrington. And I don’t care if he walks out or if they carry him out.”

Denver Pyle as Bill Dragger, serving as Ed Sandlin’s negotiator with Domino in The Domino Kid (1957)

Roy Barcroft as Ed Sandlin, one of the men responsible for the death to Domino’s dad in The Domino Kid (1957)

James Griffith as Sam Beal, one of the men Domino has been gunning for in The Domino Kid (1957)

Robert Burton as Sheriff Travers, a man who sympathizes with Domino’s quest in The Domino Kid (1957)

Kristine MIller as Barbara Ellison, fretfully watching Domino shoot it out with an adversary in The Domino Kid (1957)

Rory Calhoun as Domino Kid, taking cover during a shoot-out in The Domino Kid (1957)