Purely Joyful Movie!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Guy Madison made this picture near the end of his series run in "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok". I'm currently watching "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" running on Encore Westerns, and trying to decide who the better looking lawman was, Madison as Hickok or Hugh O'Brian as Earp. I guess it could be a toss up, so I bring it up for the reader to decide.Now if Michael Landon appeared here, it might have been a three way contest. Instead, his 'Bonanza' Dad Lorne Green played the quintessential bad guy/town boss who didn't like to get his own hands dirty, so he hired out gunslingers to do his nasty work. None of them proved to be a match for Madison's character, Steve Burden, who outdrew and out fought every henchman Rice Martin (Green) threw up against him. That included his wife Fern Martin (Valerie French), who had no problem using up men like paper towels and throwing them on the scrap heap.The story plays out rather formulaic, but what bothered me were the couple of times Steve Burden allowed himself to get up close and personal with the shrewish Fern Martin (French). I guess if part of his plan was to draw her out to expose her husband's rustling operation and implication in a friend's death at the beginning of the story, then it worked. But even if it hadn't, Fern made the same fatal mistake a lot of outlaws do when she shot her husband with three witnesses present. Losing one's head like that is always a bad career move.Since I brought up the Wyatt Earp TV series earlier, keep a sharp eye out for a couple of that show's regulars in the cast. Myron Healey doesn't last long in this story when he's shot by Burden to open the picture; he portrayed Doc Holliday for a couple of seasons along side O'Brian. Also on hand was that show's Old Man Clanton, Trevor Bardette, here playing an opportunistic weasel by the name of Willis, picking up stray jobs and booze for pay from Rice Martin. He's the guy shot off the roof by El Solito town sheriff Harker (Robert Burton), in a move described by Burden as 'the best shot he's ever seen'.

Steve Burden(Guy Madison)usually brings them in dead, maybe being easier than bringing the bad guy in alive. He actually loses his job for being too quick on the draw. The last man he was forced to kill was a friend from his past, who may have actually been framed for murder. The Sheriff of El Solito hires Burden to be his Deputy and he begins searching for the man who framed his friend. He thinks he has found that man...Rice Martin(Lorne Greene),who seems to have the town under his thumb. Martin's attractive wife Fern(Valeri French)warns Burden that her husband has hired gunmen to put him down.Madison seems to be a run-of-the-mill good guy. Greene(better known as Ben Cartwright, the Bonanza patriarch)makes for an overbearing villain. Also in the cast: Barry Atwater, Rudy Bond and Robert Burton. THE HARD MAN is no great shakes, but good enough to hold your attention.

This is a better western than some made in the 50's. Guy Madison is good as the reluctant fast gun. Lorne Greene (pre-Bonanza) is excellent as a thoroughly ruthless land baron. Valerie French is pretty. Myron Healy who has been in countless pictures is not even credited but is the reason for Guy Madison to go to the town where Lorne Greene is the boss. Madison does a good job of showing how a lawman can sometimes be as ruthless as the outlaws if not careful. He is forced to kill his friend and then finds out the friend may have been framed as a killer. He rides to the town where his friend committed the crime and runs into a lot of road blocks (most notably Lorne Greene's character) as well as a beautiful woman that he is not sure of.

The Hard Man does not stand out as anything unique, but it is an entertaining western that can hold your interest during viewing. Guy Madison does fine as the stalwart lawman/gunfighter brought in to clean up the town. Valerie French has the requisite beauty as the femme fatale, although it sounds as if her voice was dubbed by another actress. The greatest revelation about the Hard Man is seeing a pre-Ben Cartwright Lorne Greene play a ruthless, utterly despicable villain. This was made several years before Bonanza began, and Greene makes the most of playing the bad guy. This alone makes the movie worth watching. The Hard Man is a fine Western to watch to pass the time. The only thing noteworthy is to watch this while comparing Greene's character to his future Ben Cartwright role.