The Lonely Man (1957)

Jack Palance is gunslinger Jacob Wade, who stops by his hometown to check on the son he hasn’t seen for 14 years.

That 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 for being married to an outlaw gunman 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.

Jack Palance as Jacob Wade, determined to help his long estranged son become a man in The Lonely Man (1957)

Anthony Perkins as Riley Wade, resentful of the father who has been absent most of his life in The Lonely Man (1957)

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.

Elaine Aiken as Ada, thrilled to see Jacob Wade returning to the ranch he left her in The Lonely Man (1957)

Neville Brand as King Fisher, itching to get even with the man who put a bullet in his shoulder in The Lonely Man (1957)

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

Robert Middleton as Ben Ryerson, in a disagreement with Riley Wade over his late mother in The Lonely Man (1957)

Lee Van Cleef as Faro, plotting with King Fisher to rid the world of Jacob Wade in The Lonely Man (1957)

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.”

Claude Akins as Blackburn, a former outlaw partner demanding fresh horses from Jacob Wade in The Lonely Man (1957)

Elaine Aiken as Ada, trying to convince Faro (Lee Van Cleef) not to go up against Jacob Wade in The Lonely Man (1957)

Anthony Perkins as Riley Wade, lassoed by a father trying to teach him a lesson in The Lonely Man (1957)

Jack Palance as Jacob Wade and Elaine Aiken as Ada, threatened by one of Jacob’s former saddle mates in The Lonely Man (1957)