It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

More Dead Than Alive (1969) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Notorious gunslinger "Killer" Cain (Clint Walker) gets out of prison after eighteen years for killing a man and he can't quite learn to deal with the current times. He ends up working for a traveling show ran by Dan Ruffalo (Vincent Price) who makes money showing off gunfighters from the past. Before long Cain's past is trying to catch up with him and a young kid (Paul Hampton) who becomes jealous.MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE is certainly a flawed picture but at the same time it's one that's very much worth watching if you're a fan of the genre. The strange thing about this picture is that fact that it's incredibly old-fashioned and you have to wonder why the studio would make a picture like this when the various Italian Spaghetti Westerns were taking over theaters. Was this an attempt to try and milk money out of people who weren't happy with the new style?With that being said, what I enjoyed most about this picture were the performances, which I found to be excellent. Walker dose an excellent job in the lead role as a man wanting to get away from his past and not return to violence. I thought Walker was very believable in the role and he certainly made the character someone you cared for. Price is wonderfully delightful in his role as the carnival barker who always has the smart thing to say. Anne Francis does a good job in the role of the love interest and there's no question that Hampton is great as the villain.The film's plot is pretty predictable and I'd argue that the film really doesn't do anything original. The story of a bad man trying to stay out of trouble really isn't anything original and there's certainly nothing fresh done with it here. The film does go on a bit too long but as I said there are quite a few very good things about it. Not only the performances but you get some nice cinematography, some great locations and there's no doubt that the film is fun for what it is.

Although I am a big fan of Westerns, the totally unfamiliar crew behind this production had me worried that it was going to be a listless affair and the routinely-staged prison riot at the beginning did not help matters any! While the end result is nothing to write home about, it is a sufficiently interesting and satisfactory mix of age-old and newly-emerging traits in the genre to keep one watching.What we have here is a typical story of a convict released after a long term in jail and being met by hostility and challenge once his true notorious identity is discovered; having said that, since he had spent 18 years in jail, I wonder how some of the characters he came across once outside managed to recognize him! The central role is played by Clint Walker who, after a beating inside a mine, gets looked after by painter Anne Francis(!) and hired as a performing gunfighter by traveling showman Vincent Price; this was his second Western outing after the inferior THE JACKALS (1967; which had been a plodding remake of William A. Wellman's 1948 classic YELLOW SKY).So far so old-fashioned: however, things get less predictable upon the introduction of the youthful characters of Walker's hot-headed, trigger-happy predecessor in Price's tent (who eventually guns down his employer in an unheralded bloodbath) and a mysterious stranger who keeps following Walker around and, shockingly enough, executes him right in front of Francis' eyes for the murder of his father (one of Walker's much-touted 12 victims). Even if the film is (surprisingly) available on DVD, I got to see it via a pan-and-scan transmission on the MGM Cable TV channel.

There are many films which the great actor Clint Walker made and a few became the foundation for the rest. In this film, which is one of his best, called " More Dead than Alive " is directed by Robert Spar and written by George Schench. It relates the unusual story of a multiple murderer, called Cain, (Clint Walker) who has paid the standard price for murdering several men, by serving nearly twenty years in prison. Now that he's out, he finds a job with Dan Ruffalo's (Vincent Price) wild west show. Earning honest money, Clain decides to capitalize on his infamous legacy while at the same time trying to go straight. Unfortunately, Cain's past is slowly creeping in on his peaceful life-style and it only a matter of time before it catches up to him. At the same time, Clain tries to teach Billy Valence an envious and arrogant reputation-seeking gun-slinger (Paul Hampton) not to make the same mistakes he made. The story is a moral one which has influence many a writer and director in the following movie years. For Walker, the least we can add is that this film has become a Classic. ****

OK, saw the movie on DVD, it must have just been released on DVD which is good for the other reviewers who were asking for it. anyway, the story revolves around Clint walkers character "killer Cain" who killed 12 men and went to jail for about 20 years. finally gets set free and tries to start a new life, but encounters problems along the way, and cant seem to keep a job until he joins Price's gun-shooting show. this really weird kid called henry (whos supposed to be i guess a kid of 18-19 but looks like late 20's) is with Price and is very good shooter but he is also a bit off his rocker and comes off as almost homicidal at times, constantly wanting Cain to kill people and add notches to his gun, but Cain simply wont have it. he knows the error of his deeds and wants to start a new. its a very good little B-western that i enjoyed, Vincent price is chews up the scenery as always which is a good thing. Clint walker,whom i never saw before this movie, was very good as the big gentle soul who tries to redo his life. my mom grew up watching him in Shiane and she loved him as a kid. so we watched this and it was touching, at times you can tell its very 60's looking. but price was so enjoyable, as always, and it was so sad to see him die. but he got really good screen time so i cant say i feel jipped. however, the REAL shocker, and don't read anymore if you don't want to be *SPOILED!!!!*...................................Cain, who now has a wife and property and looks to finally found his place, gets visited by some guy we keep seeing earlier in the film but isn't revealed who it is, and the guy just shoots him! yeah! the guy just kills him right away, and then tells Cains crying wife that Cain killed his father 20 years ago and deserved what he got...and then simply rides away with a look of pride for avenging his fathers death. movie ends with this and shots of Cains wife crying and Cain lying dead. its very sad and VERY shocking. but this i guess was maybe a popular thing to do at the time. maybe it was to show that "violence begets violence"?perhaps was influenced by those gritty spaghetti Westerns that Eastwood made popular. i don't know, but it was a very weird ending, especially when you think its all over. but don't let that put you off from this, its still very much worth seeing. but seriously, if ANYONE could bother to explain what the hell the ending was about, i'd really appreciate it! also, movie has a WEIRD music score that i compare to the movie "ryans daughter", 2 movies that have a offbeat musical score that doesn't fit. during prices dramatic death, they play weird kinda "circus" type music and its just weird and doesn't quite make sense for such a tense scene. must've been a 60's thing, i don't know. well, enjoy the movie!