''I Died a Thousand Times'' is a 1955 American

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

Warnercolor

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Stuart Heisler Stuart Heisler (December 5, 1896 – August 21, 1979) was an American film and television director. He was a son of Luther Albert Heisler (1855–1916), a carpenter, and Frances Baldwin Heisler (1857–1935). He worked as a motion picture editor ...

. The drama features

Jack Palance Walter Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk, , ''Volodymyr Ivanovych Palahniuk''; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominat ...

as paroled bank robber Roy Earle, with

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and prematurely white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Although initially typecast as th ...

, Earl Holliman,

Perry Lopez Perry Lopez (born Julio César Lopez; July 22, 1929 – February 14, 2008) was an American film and television actor. His acting career spanned 40 years. Biography Lopez was born in New York City of Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. L ...

Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (born Ramiro Gonzalez Gonzalez; May 24, 1925 – February 6, 2006) was an American character actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in a number of John Wayne films. Life and career His father was a trumpet ...

, and Lon Chaney Jr. ''I Died a Thousand Times'' is a scene-by-scene remake of '' High Sierra'' (1941), which was based upon a novel by W.R. Burnett and starred

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

as Earle. The same story had also been transformed into the Western ''

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...

'' (1949), with

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

Plot

Roy "Mad Dog" Earle (

), an aging bank robber, intends to pull off one last heist before retiring. Sprung from prison by crime boss Big Mac ( Lon Chaney Jr.), Earle agrees to plan the robbery of a resort hotel. His partners include the hotheaded Babe (

), easy-going Red ( Earl Holliman), and an "inside man" at the hotel, Louis Mendoza (

). Along for the ride is Marie (

), a dance-hall girl whom Babe recently met. Marie falls in love with Earle, but he is more interested in Velma (

Lori Nelson Dixie Kay Nelson (August 15, 1933August 23, 2020), known professionally as Lori Nelson, was an American actress and model mostly active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had roles in the TV series ''How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series), How to ...

), the club-footed granddaughter of a farmer ( Ralph Moody) whom Earle earlier befriended. Intending to use his share of the loot to pay for Velma's needed operation, Earle goes through with the robbery, only to be thwarted by the ineptitude of his gang, the treachery of the late Big Mac's successors, and the fickle Velma. With the still faithful Marie by his side, Earle makes a desperate escape into the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, where a police sniper shoots him down.

Cast

as Roy Earle aka Roy Collins *

as Marie Garson *

as Velma Goodhue *

as Babe Kossuck *

as Chico * Lon Chaney Jr. as Big Mac * Earl Holliman as Red *

as Louis Mendoza * Richard Davalos as Lon Preisser * Howard St. John as Doc Banton * Nick Adams as Bellboy (uncredited) *

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

as Joe (uncredited) * Ralph Moody as Pa Goodhue * Olive Carey as Ma Goodhue * Dub Taylor as Ed (uncredited) *

Paul Brinegar Paul Alden Brinegar Jr. (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three Western (genre), Western series: ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', and '' ...

as Bus Driver (uncredited) * James Millican as Jack Kranmer

Background

The stereotypical, comedy-relief character played by black actor

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1916 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep 'n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well known ...

in the original film was replaced by a Mexican stereotype played by Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. The film marks the second motion picture appearance of

's six-decade career, and Nick Adams makes an uncredited appearance as a bellhop.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''The New York Times'' did not like the remake, specifically the screenplay and its inadvertent message, and wrote "Somehow it isn't quite as touching as it was fourteen years ago. Not by a lot-—and the trouble is not wholly Mr. Palance...But the reason this film is not so touching is because it is antique and absurd—-the kind of glorification of the gunman that was obsolescent when ''High Sierra'' was made. It is an insult to social institutions and to public intelligence to pull this old mythological hero out of the archives and set him on a mountain top again. The pretense is so blunt and sentimental that it makes the whole thing a total cliché. And the acting does not greatly improve it...It is obvious that ''High Sierra'' has come to pretty low ground." In 2004, film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote "It's a remake that was hardly needed, but at least it keeps things the same as the novel and gives the viewer a chance to observe Jack Palance in the role Bogie made classic and Shelley Winters in Ida Lupino's role. Though both actors acquit themselves well, there's still no comparison with the original legendary actors. I have a thing about remakes of classics, believing there's no point to make them...I had no problems with the pic, in fact it works rather well. If it weren't an unnecessary remake I would think more highly of it."Schwartz, Dennis.
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', film review, December 23, 2004. Accessed: December 1, 2009. Has been shown on the

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

show 'Noir Alley' with

Eddie Muller Eddie Muller (born October 15, 1958) is an American author and the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation. He is known for his books about the ''film noir'' genre, and is the host of ''Noir Alley'' on Turner Classic Movies. He is also ...

References

External links