THE BOUNTY HUNTER (USA, 1954) ***
Distributor: Warner Bros.; Production Company: Warner Bros. / Transcona Enterprises; Release Date: 25 September 1954; Filming Dates: 14 July–early Aug 1953; Running Time: 79m; Colour: WarnerColor; Sound Mix: Mono (RCA Sound System); Film Format: 35mm; Film Process: WarnerVision (dual-strip 3-D); Aspect Ratio: 1.75:1; BBFC Cert: PG.
Director: André De Toth; Writer: Winston Miller (based on a story by Winston Miller and Finlay McDermid); Producer: Samuel Bischoff; Director of Photography: Edwin B. DuPar; Music Composer: David Buttolph; Film Editor: Clarence Kolster; Art Director: Stanley Fleischer; Set Decorator: William Wallace; Costumes: Moss Mabry; Make-up: Gordon Bau; Sound: Francis J. Scheid.
Cast: Randolph Scott (Jim Kipp), Dolores Dorn (Julie Spencer), Marie Windsor (Alice Williams), Howard Petrie (Sheriff Brand), Harry Antrim (Dr. R.L. Spencer), Robert Keys (George Williams), Ernest Borgnine (Bill Rachin), Dub Taylor (Eli Danvers (as Dubb Taylor)), Tyler MacDuff (Vance Edwards), Archie Twitchell (Harrison), Paul Picerni (Jud), Phil Chambers (Ed), Mary Lou Holloway (Mrs. Harrison).
Synopsis: A year after a violent train robbery the Pinkerton detective agency hires a bounty hunter to find the three remaining killers.
Comment: Scott is in great form as a single-minded bounty hunter hired by Pinkerton’s to track down three fugitives. This takes him to a respectable town where the fugitives have blended in with the decent townsfolk. Scott takes time to romance Dorn (making her big-screen debut) whilst he slowly coaxes out his prey. This is an above-average Western, initially shot in 3-D but never released in that format. Some shots betray the process origins, but the action scenes are well-handled, the plot bubbles along nicely and De Toth gets the best out of a decent cast. A rousing score from Buttolph helps heighten the drama.