No Name on the Bullet *** (1959, Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Joan Evans) – Classic Movie Review 7479

Director Jack Arnold’s 1959 Western No Name on the Bullet stars World War Two’s most decorated soldier Audie Murphy as John Gant, the strong silent type of mystery killer.

Gant rides into town to shoot an unknown human target, and bugs all the residents into examining their consciences, if they have them to examine, as paranoia sets in since everyone in Lordsburg has enemies who could hire a killer for revenge.

Arnold’s tense, involving Western is a carefully made low-budget movie, with quite a bit of thought and intelligence packed into Gene L Coon’s screenplay (based on a story by Howard Amacker) and a particularly sturdy performance from the underrated Audie Murphy.

It is an above-par film for star Murphy and for director Arnold, in one of this sci-fi specialist’s series of Westerns.

Also in the cast are Charles Drake, Joan Evans, Virginia Grey, Warren Stevens, Edgar Stehli, R G Armstrong, Willis Bouchey, Karl Swenson, Charles Watts, Whit Bissell, Jerry Paris, Simon Scott, Charles Watts, Charles Cane, Hugh Corcorran, Hank Patterson, Bob Steele, Guy Wilkerson, John Alderson, John Alexander, Russ Bender and James Hyland.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7479

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