More Dead Than Alive
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''More Dead Than Alive'' is a 1969 American
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by Robert Sparr and produced by
Aubrey Schenck Aubrey Schenck (August 26, 1908, New York City – April 14, 1999, Murrieta, California) was an American film producer from the 1940s through the 1970s. Biography The son of George Schenck, a Russian immigrant theatrical manager, and Mary Schen ...
. It was filmed at
Agua Dulce, California Agua Dulce () (Spanish for "Sweet Water") is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of , northeast of Santa Clarita. The community had a population of 3,342 at the 2010 census and co ...
.


Plot

An incarcerated killer named Cain (Clint Walker) is released from prison after 18 years and wants to settle down as a rancher without ever having to touch a gun again. But no one will give him a job and people are after him for his earlier crimes. He finally takes an offer from a showman named Ruffalo (Vincent Price) to perform as "Killer Cain" in his traveling shooting show. However, after 18 years without practice, Cain is not as good as he once was with a gun. Cain tries to find redemption and peace when he falls in love and eventually marries Monica Alton (Anne Francis), an artist from the east who came out west to paint. Yet Cain's reputation continues to dog him as past enemies (Mike Henry) try to settle old scores while Billy Valence (Paul Hampton), a young rival sharpshooter (with mental issues) in Ruffalo's show, is looking to build his reputation by killing Cain.


Principal cast


Critical reception

Reviewer Howard Thompson of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' in 1969 praised the performances of Clint Walker and Anne Francis, but did not care for the movie, saying "''More Dead Than Alive'' is a dogged but dinky little Western with the perfect title." He described Paul Hampton in the role of Billy as an "incredibly poor young actor" and concluded that "the title still fits: 'Dead' western."


See also

*
List of American films of 1969 This is a list of American films released in 1969. ''Midnight Cowboy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. __TOC__ A–B C–G H–M N–S T–Z Documentaries and shorts See also * 1969 in the United States External links 19 ...


References


External links

* * 1969 Western (genre) films 1969 films American Western (genre) films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Robert Sparr Films scored by Philip Springer United Artists films 1960s American films {{1960s-Western-film-stub