Day of the Outlaw

"Watch what happens to the women... watch the west explode!"

1959 1h 32m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 116

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.

“Watch what happens to the women... watch the west explode!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert Ryan
Blaise Starrett
Burl Ives
Jack Bruhn
Tina Louise
Helen Crane
Alan Marshal
Hal Crane
Venetia Stevenson
Ernine, Vic's Daughter
David Nelson
Gene, Bruhn's Gang
Nehemiah Persoff
Dan, Starret's Foreman
Jack Lambert
Tex, Bruhn's gang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: André de Toth
Writers: Philip Yordan
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by André de Toth, shot by Russell Harlan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexander Courage. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Ryan and Burl Ives and Tina Louise carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Watch what happens to the women... watch the west explode!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0052724 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

André de Toth directs. Russell Harlan behind the camera. Alexander Courage scores. Robert Lawrence cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by André de Toth, shot by Russell Harlan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alexander Courage. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Robert Ryan and Burl Ives and Tina Louise carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Watch what happens to the women... watch the west explode!".
8IMDB entry: tt0052724 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Original score: Alexander Courage
Editing: Robert Lawrence
Costume design: Elva Martien
Makeup / hair: Jack Dusick
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $400,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Day of the Outlaw (1959)

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André de Toth

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-02-22
★ 9/10
There are things worse, ma'am, than dancing with lonely men. Cowboys and ranchers must stick together when a gang of outlaws ride into town intent on causing trouble and abusing the town. Even though the outlaw leader, ex army Captain Jack Bruhn has them under some sort of control, salvation may have to come from the moody Blaise Starrett, who has his own secret agendas to deal with. Day Of The Outlaw (poor title not befitting the quality of the film) is directed by André De Toth ("Ramrod", "Crime Wave" & "House of Wax") and stars Robert Ryan, Burl Ives & Tina Louise. Adapted from the novel written by Lee E. Wells, it's a film that is crying out to be seen by more people, especially those with an aversion to Westerns. For although grounded in Western tradition, it comes across more as a moody film noir piece in a cold wintry Western setting The atmosphere throughout hangs heavy like a weighted burden, with this tiny tin pot town in the snowy swept mountains photographed starkly by Russell Harlan. This is some out of the way place that nobody but its small inhabitants care about (appropriately it's called Bitters), and even those that do are probably doing so more out of ill judged loyalty to having not tasted something else before. Robert Ryan was a terrific actor, often only mentioned when talk turns to famous pictures like "The Wild Bunch" & "The Dirty Dozen", but it's with performances like here, or "The Set-Up" & "Crossfire", that he really puts a depth and critical layers to his talent. Burl Ives is also great, his weary and scarred Bruhn is almost in empathy with Starrett and the townsfolk, so much so, we are never quite sure just how this picture will end. Tina Louise rounds out the leads, and apart from being an incredibly sexy woman, she does some great facial acting here, particularly during a section of the pic where the outlaws demand dances with the ladies. This is laden with a vile undercurrent, with Louise perfectly portraying the threat with acting gravitas. With astute directing and acting to match the bleak and sombre soaked story, "Day Of The Outlaw" comes highly recommended to fans of atmospheric enveloped cinema. 9/10
Wuchak2021-12-27
★ 8/10
Robert Ryan and Ginger stuck in a snowy mountain town beleaguered by rogues A tough cattleman (Robert Ryan) in bleak Bitters, Wyoming, is willing to use deadly force to stop a rancher (Alan Marshal) who’s fencing-in the area, but a band of rogue cavalry men led by Capt. Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) interrupt their quarrel. Tina Louise plays the rancher’s wife, Venetia Stevenson a girl in the town and David Nelson a reasonable member of the gang. “Day of the Outlaw” (1959) is a B&W psychological Western shot in the Oregon Cascades. It’s similar to Westerns from the same period by Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher, not to mention just as good or better. The protagonist (Ryan) isn’t a hero, but rather a tortured man ready to make a last stand; meanwhile Bruhn (Ives) isn’t wholly corrupted and still has some sense of nobility. Several of his hardened men, however, have clearly crossed over into the dark side. Tina Louise, who would play Ginger from Gilligan’s Island in 5-6 years, is younger & cuter here while Venetia Stevenson is nimble and winsome. You might remember Venetia from her jaw-dropping role in “The City of the Dead,” aka “Horror Hotel” (1960). Director Andre DeToth was having personal problems at the time of shooting and it affected the mood of the set, plus there were other issues, like snowstorm delays, Ryan missing a week due to pneumonia and DeToth changing his mind about scene locations at the last minute, etc. Perhaps the biggest problem was that the budget was low and, when they ran out of finances, DeToth & crew just packed-up and went back to Los Angeles. Producers & editors had to make do with what was shot, which explains some weaknesses here and there. Scriptwriter Philip Yordan lamented “what could have been.” The movie runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in central Oregon at Dutchman Flat & Todd Lake Meadows about 20 miles east of the town of Bend in late November thru early December, 1958. GRADE: B+/A-