Not Audie’s best but enjoyable
Audie Murphy made three Westerns in 1960, two mid-budget pictures for Universal, Hell Bent for Leather and Seven Ways from Sundown, and the classy A-picture (which, however, was panned and did not do well at the box-office), John Huston’s The Unforgiven, in which in my view he was superb.
The Universal movies he had been making since 1950 were well done, with quite high production values, good locations well photographed in nice color by talented DPs, and they featured some excellent Western character actors. The directors were usually solid, reliable hands. Murphy himself lamented that all they ever changed was the color of his horse. That was a bit unfair: some of the pictures were interesting, even unusual, and well done, such as, say, No Name on the Bullet (1959).
But the films were not ‘great’ Westerns in the tradition of those fine 50s pictures made by the likes of John Ford, Anthony Mann ot Budd Boetticher. Audie’s were dependably entertaining but lightish fare. Hell Bent for Leather was typical, perhaps at the upper end of the quality scale.
Personally, I say I am hell bent if I am utterly determined, or I might go hell for leather if I am recklessly fast, but I’m never hell bent for leather. But never mind.

It was produced by Gordon Kay, who was Allan Lane’s producer all through the late 1940s and early 50s. But he graduated to bigger fare, such as Quantez and Day of the Badman with Fred MacMurray, before specializing in Audie Westerns from Hell Bent onwards.

It is a great movie visually, photographed by Clifford Stine (5 Audie Westerns and various others) in CinemaScope and Eastmancolor, with stupendously good Lone Pine locations (that give a Boetticher tinge to the picture).

The chief bad guy is the crooked and homicidal US marshal (actually, he isn’t one; it’s a con) played by Stephen McNally. James Stewart’s evil brother Dutch Henry Brown in Winchester ’73 in 1950, he was tried out by Universal as goody lead in three of their Westerns, but then he
slipped back to supporting roles. I think he was better as the heavy.
We start with a man afoot in the desert who comes across our hero Clay (Audie). It’s Jan Merlin and he is a bad one: though Clay gives him water and offers him food, he bashes Clay on the head with his shotgun and steals his horse. Now it’s Clay who has to walk. But at least Merlin drops the fancy shotgun.
Clay gets to a town which seems to be deserted (his arrival reminds me a bit of Jock Mahoney’s in Joe Dakota) apart from the liveryman (John Qualen) and bar tender (Olan Soule) who take one look at the shotgun and look very uncomfortable. They think Clay is famed murderous gunman Travers (Merlin), whereas in reality he’s just a humble horse buyer on his way to a sale. They fetch some townsmen, who had been off at a funeral, and of course, it being a Western town, their first desire is to string Audie up.
Luckily the law arrives, in the shape of McNally wearing a badge and claiming to be US Marshal Dackett, and takes our hero prisoner, to stand trial in Denver, he says, and rides off with him. He tells the townsmen, looking at Audie, that he recognizes Travers. The liar.
Once clear of the town, Audie asks to be released, as they both know he isn’t Travers. No dice. In fact it seems the marshal wants to kill him, a corpse serving his purpose (the bounty) just as well. Audie makes a run for it and in a ranch house finds the fair Janet (Farr) whom he abducts. They are spotted escaping and there’s a chase, for the ‘marshal’ has raised a posse of the townsmen. Of these men, only Mr Perrick (Herbert Rudley) is reasonable, for he raised the orphan Janet and cannot believe she is in cahoots with the man he assumes to be Travers. The others, especially the marshal, are bloodthirsty, seeking only to shoot down the supposed outlaw (they are Western townsmen so they have no interest in a trial) and, if she is in with him, the girl too. A townsman named Moon (James Westmoreland as Rad Fulton) is especially vicious.
It’s (gradually) love
Well, Clay and Janet elude the posse and come upon a ruined cabin where they take shelter from the rain. Janet says she used to live there when her parents were alive. She seems a sad girl. They are just drying off and beginning to get to know each other (chastely, natch) when who should burst in but larger-than-life badman Ambrose (Robert Middleton) and his two ne’er-do-well brothers, Shad (Joseph Ruskin) and Grover (Steve Gravers). I love Robert Middleton in Westerns. He was always good value. In this one he reminds me a bit of Uncle Shiloh Clegg (Charles Kemper) in Wagonmaster or Preacher Quint (Donald Pleasence) in Will Penny. Both were charismatic badmen with reprobate family members who hold the good guys hostage. Actually, though, in this one I don’t think the bad guys were dangerous enough.
Finally Clay and Janet make a run for it but now the marshal has hired an Indian tracker, William (Eddie Little Sky), whom the lawman disparagingly only calls ‘Red boy’. So the posse is hard on the heels of our hero (and now, heroine).
They get to the town of Paradise, where the people are just as unfriendly as they were in the earlier town, and there they find Clay’s horse, the one stolen by the outlaw Travers in the first reel, and sure enough, Travers is there too. So there’s a three-way conflict looming, or even four-way if those renegade brothers get on the trail.
Paradise. But it isn’t.
It comes to a climax (i.e. showdown) in rocks very reminiscent of where McNally and Stewart shot it out in Winchester ’73 (thought these ones are in color). You may guess who wins out, and who gets the girl. Interestingly, through most of the picture Audie has no gun. That was the case in Showdown (1963) too. So he’s quite resourceful.
Well, well, it’s no great shakes, and some of the plot is on the improbable side. And it would have been vastly better with Dan Duryea, say, or Lee Marvin as the vile marshal. And, much as I like Audie, I would have liked to have seen Randolph Scott in the lead. But still, it’s an enjoyable oater in bright color.
Bob Steele was supposed to be in it, but I didn’t spot him.
15 Responses
My favourite Audie Western enhanced greatly by lovely Lone Pine locations.
Felicia is certainly a cut above the usual Murphy female lead,and yes I too
enjoy her in the other Westerns that you mention.
Though he has little screen time Jan Merlin certainly registers as the nastiest
(psychotic) bad guy Audie has ever faced.
Think how great FIEND WHO WALKED THE WEST would have been if made over at
Universal with Murphy and Merlin and Jack Arnold directing.
Love that photo of Audie and Felicia…it looks as if they really got on.
Yes, I should probably have given more space in the review to Merlin. He was very good as the smiling villain.
Jeff
I haven't seemed to have read many comments lately from my fried, John K,but I knew that if he was going to comment on anything, it would be on "HELL BENT FOR LEATHER", a film I know he likes a lot. I do too.
Great to see this film reviewed by Jeff and I enjoyed his review a great deal. I probably rate this film rather higher than Jeff though. I agree with John that Felicia Farr is a female lead of higher profile than many who appeared with Audie. Fine actress.
I note that Jeff is likely to be reviewing "THE FIRST TEXAN" in the future and I look forward go his take on that film.
Yes, The First Texan is on order from amazon.
Before that, Gunsight Ridge.
(I'm having a McCrea-fest).
Jeff
Sorry about one or two typos there – done in haste!
Jeff, I think you gave HELL BENT FOR LEATHER a good and rather fair write-up. Although, I like this movie more than you do. Audie Murphy leads a really good cast in this must see Western for Audie fans and would be fans. Felicia Farr and Jan Merlin are really good in the movie and they are still with us. Farr's last movie credit is LOSERS CROWN(2014). Jan Merlin will appear in the upcoming documentary HEARING VOICES: MODULATING A REVOLUTION(2019). Besides being a really good actor, Jan Merlin is also a talented writer.
like Jerry Entract, I have been missing John Knight's comments on other sites, and I'm glad to see that he is back.
Can't wait for a McCrea fest from Jeff!!
Jeff, you mentioned Gordon Kay having produced Allan "Rocky" Lane westerns previously. Rather nice that that is none other than 'Rocky' himself in the 'bracelet-clapping still above.
Well spotted! Brilliant, in fact!
Jeff
I sure would like to track down that shotgun that Jan Merlin drops in the beginning.I wonder what ever happened to it.
The fancy shotgun as well as a great part of the scenario, is re-used in TV-Western Cimarron Strip, episode "Big Jessie" from 1968.
I just watched this one on blu-ray. (Curiously, the local library has two of the three Audie Murphy box sets from Kino Lorber.) The outdoor scenes, and particularly the craggy Lone Pine rocks and ridges, look stunning in high definition. The colors really pop as well: the blues in the night scenes outside the ruined cabin, the startling red of Ms. Farr’s lips. Enjoyable.
Ms Farr had a lot going for her, inc lips.
Indeed. At least the osé artwork shows action which Ms. Farr actually performed in the movie, unlike that for Tina Louise and ‘Day of the Outlaw’.
🙂
My wife and I watched this last night for the first time. We have the KL Audie set that Bud mentions – and agree the picture quality was very good.
Very enjoyable but I’ll have to rewatch it as I somehow missed the fact that the Marshal was not in fact a Marshal SMH!
Looking forward to the rewatch!.