Einer muß dran glauben (1958)

Einer muß dran glauben: Directed by Arthur Penn. With Paul Newman, Lita Milan, John Dehner, Hurd Hatfield. After his employer is murdered by rival cattlemen, a troubled and uneducated young cowboy vows revenge on the murderers.

“I wonder what the mature Paul Newman thought of this early movie performance. Of course, u0026#39;matureu0026#39; is a relative term since heu0026#39;s already 33 here, well beyond the u0026#39;kidu0026#39; range. In my little book, itu0026#39;s the most mannered and misdirected acting of his long and distinguished career. Itu0026#39;s almost like heu0026#39;s working at an excess of James Dean. That wouldnu0026#39;t be surprising since the screenplayu0026#39;s Billy comes across as more misunderstood youth than cold-blooded killer. I guess this is the first of director Pennu0026#39;s efforts at rehabilitating notorious American outlaws, leading up to the glossy Bonnie and Clyde (1967).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie itself is pretty good, the open range locations even looking like eastern New Mexico, while Penn uses them to good effect. But itu0026#39;s really James Best as the ill-fated henchman Tom who steals the film. His supporting role manages a certain poignancy that should have come from Billy, but doesnu0026#39;t. With the right breaks, I think Best could have carved a real niche in films. Speaking of supporting players, with the exception of the cartoonish Moultrie (Hatfield), they appear recruited from the many TV Westerns of the day, especially the familiar Denver Pyle and the classy John Dehner.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePenn establishes himself here as a moviemaker to watch with a number of nice touches— having Pyle squint into the sun just before the fateful moment, the lone boot left standing in the road, and others. Iu0026#39;m kind of sorry that the baby-faced Audie Murphy didnu0026#39;t get a shot at Billyu0026#39;s role. Visually, heu0026#39;s perfect. Plus, surprisingly for that boyish appearance, he could do a killer-stare to make you believe he killed 100 Germans during the war. Also, Murphy could have made that key facedown scene with Joe Bell (Pryor) as genuinely chilling as it should be. For whatever the charming Newmanu0026#39;s considerable skills, being downright mean is not one of them. Anyway the movie remains an interesting entry on the road to 1960u0026#39;s-style rebellious movie-making.”