Robert D. Ruplenas I found this one on TCM. I had never heard of this particular western, but because of the presence of Kirk Douglas, put it on my DVR, not expecting anything more than a run-of-the-mill western. What a surprise! This is simply top-notch in all respects, acting, writing, direction, cinemaography. The main asset is Kirk Douglas, whose tour-de-force performance here reminds us of just what a truly great actor he was. He plays the role for drama, but there ae touches of comedy as well. The theme of the movie - the conflict between open-range grazing and fenced spreads - is historically significant and well realized here. At no point does the dramatic tension lag; the movie keeps you involved from beginning to end. My only complaint is the execrable habit of westerns of this period incorporating the infamous solo song over the opening and closing credits. If you can make it through listening to Frankie Valli, the movie is well worth watching.

Kirpianuscus a classic western. with expected ingredients and love story, wise woman and the seductive one, fights, duty, painful memories and the voice of conscience. and , sure, Kirk Douglas who remains the lonely hero who saves the noble causes. to compared with A man called Gannor is not the best option against the detail than Michael Sarrazine is more convincing than William Campbell and to compare Kirk Douglas with Anthony Franciosa remains unfair for the last. but, like many others old movies, the flavor is the basic source of seduction. and the most important. so, a good film. for admire the art of a great actor near by his centenary. and to discover interesting performances of a couple of actresses.

dbdumonteil Jeanne Crain is one of those women who comes off even better in jeans than she does when she's wearing a dress.Coming after "Ruby Gentry" ,which gave Jennifer Jones one of her most intense parts and depicted a mad passion à la "duel in the sun" ,"the man without a star" is a male story though .Kirk Douglas carries the movie upon his strong shoulders and he succeeds in giving a subtle performance ,in a portrayal that shows every side of his fragility and despair ,under the guise of good humor and unlimited self- confidence:the scene in which he shows his chest packs a real wallop;the things we learn about his family tends to indicate he is not the man we thought he was .His pairing with Texas displays echoes of Howard Hawks' "the big sky" (1952):the users who have seen that movie will notice the similarities between the final scenes.The "father"/"son" relationship is common in westerns (see also Ray's "run for cover").

xredgarnetx MAN WITHOUT A STAR has to be one film the former Issur Danielovitch must surely wish he could erase from his resume. Douglas plays a ne'er-do-well ranch hand who ends up switching sides during a range war among two big cattle ranches. Jeanne Crain is the boss lady of the ranch he starts out on, and you can almost feel the beginnings of THE BIG VALLEY in this largely awful Western from the 1950s. Outfitted in stylish, form-fitting shirts, Douglas is simply terrible as the conflicted cowpoke. Talk about miscasting. Crain isn't bad as the boss lady, but she's no Barbara Stanwyck. A veritable army of familiar supporting players including Jay C. Flippen can barely keep this turkey afloat. The script stinks, the direction is aimless, the cinematography is wasted. If this was the kind of movie intended to keep viewers away from their TVs, I can't imagine it succeeded in doing so -- even though I understand it was a box office hit in its time.