Plot
The town of Rimrock, Arizona is run by political boss Luke Starr (Broderick Crawford). When one of Starr's henchmen wishes to escape from Starr he meets with the editor of the town newspaper, Roy Carlin (Víctor Vilanova), to ask for his help. Starr discovers the meeting and he and his loyal henchmen shoot both of them, spreading the story that the two killed each other in a gunfight.
Roy Carlin's brother Jess (Audie Murphy) is a former Texas sheriff now living in semi-retirement with his girlfriend in Mexico. He has a price on his head for unstated crimes committed in the United States but earns income and beats the boredom of his quiet life by capturing fugitive American criminals and turning them over to American lawmen who return them across the border.
When Jess finds out the story of his brother he renounces the quiet life to bring his brother's killer to justice, as he knows Roy never carried a firearm. On the way he is unsuccessfully ambushed by bounty hunters and has to escape without his saddle.
Stopping off at a ranch he thinks is unoccupied, he leaves money for a saddle but is held at gunpoint by the ranch owner Sandy (Luz Márquez). She changes her opinion on Jess after discovering he has left money as payment that is four times the value of the saddle.
Riding into Rimrock, Jess unsuccessfully tries to find out more about his brother's death. The new editor of the paper asks Jess to stay to eliminate Luke Starr and his band. Jess explains that in the past, when he was a sheriff in the same town where his brother was a newspaper editor, they cleaned up the town but found out the hard way that the men who replaced those they got rid of were much worse.
After fist and gun fights, Jess is finally able to establish proof of Luke's involvement in the killing when he finds a decorative concho that leather worker Sandy is able to identify as one that came off Luke's gun belt.
Production
Audie Murphy was one of the many stars who turned down Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars because he recognised that the screenplay was an uncredited copy of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo . [1] With Westerns being not only in demand but cheap to produce in Europe, the film crew travelled to Spain in September 1965 to shoot the film. Murphy recalled he had to perform his own stunts and “had to do everything myself except pack my own lunch”. [2]
A third partner in the MCR (Murphy, Champion & SelandeR) Production company, Murphy had a large say in the making of the film. The team was to have made another film in Spain, Maverick Guns with Cesar Romero and Gary Crosby but it was never made. [3] [4]
Producer and writer John C. Champion, whose first film had been Panhandle, had made several Westerns in America and the Laramie Western series. After his Spanish venture, he moved to England and started Oakmont Productions to film war films for Mirisch Productions. Lesley Selander finished his career directing Westerns for A.C. Lyles.
William Broderick Crawford was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in All the King's Men (1949) and for his starring role as Dan Mathews in the television series Highway Patrol (1955–1959).
Audie Leon Murphy was an American soldier, actor, songwriter, and rancher. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, and then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. A Revue Studios production, the program originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, owner of the Sherman Ranch, along with his younger brother Andy, played by Robert L. Crawford, Jr.; Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, an immature, hot-headed drifter who shows up at the Sherman Ranch in the premier episode; and Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy, who keeps the homestead/stage stop running while Slim and Jess usually alternate starring roles during the show. Actress Spring Byington was later added to the cast. STARZ!'s Westerns Channel and the Grit network began airing the series in July 2015.
Panhandle is a 1948 Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Rod Cameron. This Western marked the writing and producing debuts of Blake Edwards and John C. Champion. Champion later reworked the story as the 1966 Audie Murphy western, The Texican. The team of Edwards, Champion, Selander, and star Rod Cameron reteamed the following year for the western Stampede. Edwards later produced the police drama City Detective starring Cameron. The series was the first syndicated on television.
No Name on the Bullet is a 1959 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, and Joan Evans. It is one of a handful of pictures in that genre directed by Arnold, better known for his science-fiction movies of the era. Although it is one of Universal Pictures' modestly budgeted vehicles for World War II hero Audie Murphy, the top-billed actor is unusually, but very effectively, cast as the villain, a cold-blooded gun-for-hire.
A Pistol for Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western, a joint Italian and Spanish production. Originally written and directed by Duccio Tessari, the film's success led to a sequel, The Return of Ringo, later that year.
Paul Richards was an American actor who appeared in films and on television in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
John C. Champion was an American producer and screenwriter.
Tumbleweed is a 1953 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Audie Murphy, Lori Nelson, and Chill Wills. It was also known by the alternative title of Three Were Renegades; the title of the 1937 novel Three Were Thoroughbreds by Kenneth Taylor Perkins the film was based on.
Silver Saddle is a 1978 spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti Westerns to be produced by a European studio. The film was based on an original story written by screenwriter Adriano Bolzoni and directed by Fulci for the Italian studio Rizzoli Film Productions.
100.000 dollari per Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Alberto De Martino.
Sheriff of Tombstone is a 1941 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers and George "Gabby" Hayes.
Out California Way is a 1946 American Western musical film directed by Lesley Selander for Republic Pictures. It starred Monte Hale, Lorna Gray and Robert Blake. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans made cameo appearances. The film was the first feature to be shot in Trucolor.
The Duel at Silver Creek is a 1952 American Western film directed by Don Siegel; his first film in the Western genre. It starred Stephen McNally, Audie Murphy and Faith Domergue. It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he played a character who was good throughout the movie. The working titles of the film were Claim Jumpers and Hair Trigger Kid.
Posse from Hell is a 1961 American Western film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy and John Saxon.
Sierra is a 1950 American Western film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Wanda Hendrix, Audie Murphy and Burl Ives. The film was based on the 1937 novel The Mountains Are My Kingdom by Stuart Hardy.
A Time for Dying is a 1969 American Western film written directed by Budd Boetticher with a cameo role by Audie Murphy, who also produced the film, as Jesse James. It was Murphy's last film, as well as the final dramatic feature for Boetticher.
Audie Murphy was a highly decorated American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient who turned actor. He portrayed himself in the film To Hell and Back, the account of his World War II experiences. During the 1950s and 1960s he was cast primarily in westerns. While often the hero, he proved his ability to portray a cold-blooded hired gun in No Name on the Bullet. A notable exception to the westerns was The Quiet American in which he co-starred with Michael Redgrave. Murphy made over 40 feature films and often worked with directors more than once. Jesse Hibbs who directed To Hell and Back worked with the star on six films, only half of which were westerns. When promoting his 1949 book To Hell and Back he appeared on the radio version of This Is Your Life. To promote the 1955 film of the same name, he appeared on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. He was a celebrity guest on television shows such as What's My Line? and appeared in a handful of television dramas. Murphy's only television series Whispering Smith had a brief run in 1961. For his cooperation in appearing in the United States Army's Broken Bridge episode of The Big Picture television series he was awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.
Saddle Tramp is a 1950 American Western film directed by Hugo Fregonese and starring Joel McCrea and Wanda Hendrix. Its uncredited theme song was "The Cry of the Wild Goose" by Frankie Laine.
Riley Hill was an American actor who appeared in both film and television. Over the span of his career he appeared in 71 feature films and over a dozen television series.
