Moviecut—The Fiend Who Walked the West

source: The Fiend Who Walked the West

The Fiend Who Walked the West

I just watched this film for the first time since 1958, and it's much better than I thought it was when I was a 12-year-old. It's fast-paced even at 101 minutes, more violent than I remembered, and consistently well played. I find Robert Evans chillingly credible as psychotic killer Felix Griffin -- perhaps closer to Peter Ustinov's Nero in "Quo Vadis" than to Richard Widmark's Tommy Udo in "Kiss of Death" (on which this film is based), but certainly not "ludicrous," as one critic whose opinions I respect has written. Hugh O'Brian and Stephen McNally also deliver strong performances, and the rest of the cast is fine. Recommended for fans of Westerns and brutal crime films.

I must confess that I saw this movie an awful long time ago, when I was just a kid. However, it made a big impression on me and it blended genres in a way that I hadn't ever seen a film before. The story sort of reminds me of "Psycho," but set in the old west, and to a lesser degree, set in some deserted shipyards and other industrial locations. Anyhow, ever since I've been dying to see it again. Filmed in beautifully harsh and stark black and white.

I can never forget this film. Unlike some critics, me and my mates found Robert Evans' performance mesmerising. In '58, it was our first experience of a horror-western and for us it worked very well. I'm not saying it's a truly great film, just that it was so radically different at the time that it remains one of my most memorable films of the 50s. In the East-End of London, in the mid to late 50s, we teens were hooked on Americana. We knew and liked Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp in the TV series. Robert Evans was new to us and a revelation. We liked his look and his style; his performance fitted well with Rock 'n Roll, James Dean and the whole 'cool' American thing. Fortunately, although in the UK, I have a recorder which plays NTSC tapes. I will be buying this film soon.

Much of this film will seem familiar to anyone who's seen 1947's "Kiss of Death", which plotwise it closely resembles, and some of the theme music heard over the opening credits was borrowed from 1951's "The Day The Earth Stood Still". That having been said, however, this film has much to recommend it on its own. Most critics disapproved of Robert Evans in the title role, but I found him very impressive: funny and likeable one minute, menacing and really frightening the next; the stuff of any true psycho. The film isn't without flaws; the direction is frankly uninspired, and several opportunities missed. But Evans (in one of his last roles before giving up acting to become a producer) remains fascinating to watch; he's very unlike any other western villain you've ever seen. Emile Meyer (as a brutal prison guard) and Stephen McNally (as a good guy for a change) offer strong supporting performances; Hugh O'Brien is his reliable self as the hero.