''A Bullet Is Waiting'' is a 1954 American film noir

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and starring Jean Simmons,

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

Stephen McNally Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...

and

Brian Aherne William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States. His first Broadway appearance in '' The Barretts of ...

Plot

A small plane carrying Frank Munson and a handcuffed prisoner, Ed Stone, crashes in the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

wilderness. Ed knocks out Frank, unlocks the cuffs and flees, coming upon a woman called Cally tending to sheep, seemingly by herself in a remote cabin. Frank follows and identifies himself as a

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

lawman who after tracking Ed for nearly two years finally caught up with him. Cally is hesitant to trust either stranger. She is an educated woman whose father, a former

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

professor, is living with her but is currently away. As a torrential rain falls, Ed attempts to escape, but the passage is flooded. Cally tries to warn him, but pulls a knife when Ed tries to rape her. At the cabin, Frank has no weapon and searches for a rifle Cally has hidden. Ed returns and, while trapped there during the storm, explains to Cally that he shot Frank's brother in self-defense, whereupon Frank had himself deputized but intends to kill him rather than bring him to justice. Cally's father returns and is startled to find two men there. He hears their stories and, aware that his daughter is falling in love with Ed, offers him a chance to turn himself in to other authorities. With a gun in his hand and a single bullet in the chamber, Ed proves his intent by refusing to shoot Frank when he has the chance. He sets off to surrender himself to the actual police.

Cast

* Jean Simmons as Cally Canham *

as Ed Stone *

as Frank Munson *

as David Canham

Production

The film was to be the first in three movies starring Jean Simmons produced by Howard Welsch. He took over the contract Simmons had with RKO. Filming started 3 December 1953. Welsh later sold the remaining two-film-commitment with Simmons to 20th Century Fox. In April 1954 Welsch signed a deal with Columbia to distribute the film.Drama: 'Back Alley' Star Revel for Youth; 'Purple Mask' Held Right for Flynn Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 12 Apr 1954: B9.

Critical Response

IMDb users have a range of reviews for the film, with some saying the film is worth a watch whereas others say the film is horribly miscast, with the overall score being 5.4/10. Though not enough reviews to get an official percentage, most users of Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 3 stars.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullet Is Waiting 1954 films 1954 crime drama films American crime drama films Film noir Columbia Pictures films 1950s English-language films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films directed by John Farrow Films set in California 1950s American films