Man in the Shadow ** (1957, Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller) – Classic Movie Review 7998

Director Jack Arnold’s 1957 CinemaScope and black and white Western film Man in the Shadow [Pay the Devil] stars the odd couple of Jeff Chandler and Orson Welles, along with Colleen Miller. It was made for producer Albert Zugsmith, who the following year got Welles to direct Touch of Evil.

Chandler stars as good lawman Sheriff Ben Sadler, who battles sadistic land baron and town boss Virgil Renchler (Welles), owner of the Golden Empire Ranch, over the death of a Mexican ranch hand after a sadistic whipping, when two of Virgil’s henchmen beat a man to a pulp. Sadler is reluctantly forced to investigate, and finds an unexpected ally in Virgil’s head-strong daughter Skippy (Miller). 

Man in the Shadow sticks close to the tried and true Western formula, but it is still entertaining anyway, and the great Welles is an obvious asset, overacting wildly and hugely enlivening an otherwise mild movie. But Welles second-billed to Chandler? It’s a funny old world. Funnier still is that Welles’s previous credit is an episode of the I Love Lucy TV series.

Also in the cast are John Larch, Joe Schneider, Leo Gordon, James Gleason, Royal Dano, Ben Alexander, Barbara Lawrence, Paul Fix, Martin Garralaga, Mario Siletti, Charles Horvath, William Schallert, Joseph J Greene, Forrest Lewis, Harry Harvey Sr, Joe Schneider and Mort Mills.

Virgil says his ranch is bigger than five European countries, but the budget did not allow a single cow to appear. Partly thanks to the careful budget, it was profitable. Costing $600,000, it grossed $1,530,000 in the US.

Man in the Shadow (Pay the Devil in GB) is directed by Jack Arnold, runs 80 minutes, is made and released by Universal International Pictures, is written by Gene L Coon, is shot in CinemaScope and black and white by Arthur E Arling, is produced by Albert Zugsmith, is scored by Joseph Gershenson and Hans J Salter, and is designed by Alexander Golitzen and Arthur Sweeney. Unsurprisingly, Welles rewrote sections of the screenplay.

Characters mention the heat, saying it must be more than 100 degrees, yet they are all wearing long sleeves, ties or suits, but no one is sweating.

The film begins with a brief pre-credits sequence, and some of the credits do not appear until the end, when the music is played is from It Came from Outer Space.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7998

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com