User Reviews

This is a lightweight but enjoyable TV movie..., it seemed weirdly out of place in a movie collection titled "The Grindhouse Experience" (which is where I found it). The content is much milder than a typical Spaghetti Western of the same era - there's nothing here to surprise or shock a fan of "Have Gun Will Travel" or "Wanted: Dead Or Alive", except this movie is in color. In fact,you could stick Richard Boone in here, or the "Paladin" character, and it would essentially be the same movie.

The acting is solid, middle-of-the-road TV movie work that doesn't call attention to itself. Clint Walker is in fine form here; his performance is oddly slick and shallow, but he looks good in the part and it's fun to watch him match wits and snarls with the characters around him. Richard Basehart is, well, Richard Basehart; he could have phoned his performance in, but I have to admit that his part doesn't give him much to work with.

The movie looks decent and the plot covers most of the standard Western plot clichés. It looks like they spent some money on location scouting and costumes and props and good lighting and camera work. But again, this isn't "Dances With Wolves" or "Silverado", it's TV level work. People watched it along with the commercial breaks, said, "Wow, Clint Walker is a good actor" when it was done, and then they watched the next show and forgot about it. I can barely remember the details myself, and I watched it last night. (Unlike "Any Gun Can Play" from the same collection, which I remember vividly as a half-rate rip off and spoof of much better Spaghetti Westerns.) Fine for what it is. Clint Walker obviously had some presence and talent but he couldn't boost this movie to anything special, and an obscure time filler is all it will ever be.

I'll say one thing about this picture, except for Clint Walker in a role he's accustomed to, there are a bunch of actors here playing against type beginning with Richard Basehart as Angus Keough, leader of a gang of outlaws looking to horn in on Kincaid's (Walker) five thousand dollar payday if he brings in bad guy Billy Riddle (John Ericson). You've also got Arthur Hunnicutt in the role of a sheriff instead of a sidekick or comedy relief player, and who ever figured Margot Kidder for a Western? If you're reading the short Storyline here on IMDb, you might be expecting a different picture because it states that a couple of rival bounty hunters are after the same killer. That's not really the case, unless you want to claim Basehart's character is a bounty hunter, but he's really more of a thug chasing down an opportunity.

The movie's turning point occurs when gal pal Mae (Kidder) gets her horse shot out from under her, and boyfriend Billy tells Kincaid to leave her be so they can escape the five man posse trying to catch his hide. Not a smart move as it turns out, as it advises Mae what kind of a dirt bag Billy really is. As Kincaid relates the story of his past and the seven year old son waiting for him to come back home, Mae finds it convenient to switch allegiances and turn on her beau. I didn't find the switch to be all that credible, more so from Kincaid's point of view, but I guess that's what the story called for.

What more than surprised me was how quickly the picture came to an end. At well under an hour and a half, it wasn't much longer than your average episode of 'Cheyenne' in which Clint Walker starred in the late Fifties/early Sixties. As a TV Western it had about the same appeal as that hit show, perhaps slightly better than your everyday B Western flick. For Clint Walker fans though, it ought to be a welcome treat.

Mean and formidable bounty hunter Kinkaid (a suberbly hard-edged portrayal by Clink Walker) nabs likable outlaw Billy Riddle (an engaging performance by John Ericson) in order to collect the substantial reward that's been placed on his head. Kinkaid and Riddle go trekking across a remote desert region. Riddle's naive, but loyal and feisty prostitute girlfriend Mae (a delightfully spirited turn by Margot Kidder) tags along. Complications ensue when the trio runs afoul of a no-count gang of mangy desperadoes lead by the shrewd and fearsome Angus Keough (Richard Basehart in deliciously robust and wicked form). Firmly directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, with a smart, intriguing script by Jim Byrnes, a steady pace, several exciting and well-staged action scenes, crisp cinematography by Ralph Woolsey, well-drawn characters (for example, Kinkaid is really a tragic and lonely figure while Riddle ultimately gets exposed as a sniveling selfish coward), a pleasingly harmonic folksy score by the Orphange, a tough, gritty tone, and a refreshing surprise ending, this film makes for an enjoyable and engrossing sagebrush saga. Moreover, this movie benefits from uniformly fine acting from a tip-top cast: Walker impresses in the lead, Basehart registers strongly as a memorably cunning and nasty villain, Kidder shines in the token female role, plus there's solid support from Arthur Hunnicutt as a grizzled sheriff, Gene Evans as amiable saloon keeper Tom Brady, Rex Holman as the laid-back Driskill, Dennis Cross as the hot-tempered Rufus, and Paul Harper as grubby trader Hargus. A nice little picture.

In movies like this, bounty hunters don't go into the profession for reasons of justice. They go in for revenge, and as Clint Walker's story is revealed, that's exactly what he's there to do, going after the man who ran off with his wife and ultimately caused her suicide. He's already escorting one (John Ericson) to prison (accompanied by Ericson's younger girlfriend, Margot Kidder), and comes upon the gang of roughnecks he's really after, lead by Richard Basehart.

Moody and slow, it's frustrating waiting for things to get going, but when they do, the film finally gets on track. Walker's rather dour, but Kidder manages to add some life to this with her effervescent personality. Veteran actors Gene Evans and Arthur Hunnicutt add some much needed color to the movie, not helped by rattlesnake sounds mixed in to the music that serves no purpose.

Director John Moxey does a great job with writer Jim Byrnes' "Bounty Man," bringing sharp visual and moral contrasts, realistic period touches... and humor. (The humor is courtesy of the Basehart character, Agnus Keough, who has his own group of bounty men -- all fine in their roles.) Keough is a wily "man of the road," whose dialog is punctuated with gritty, picturesque phrases. A big plus is the musical score. (Most enjoyable entertainment is accompanied by good music!)

Synopsis (w/Spoilers): The Legendary Kincaid: Walker plays his "Kincaid" role believably and beautifully -- a mustachioed, hard, crusty, still gorgeous, blue-eyed man dedicated to the task. Going for Billy Riddle (John Ericson), his "retirement" catch with laser-like single-mindedness. (Please! Don't get in his way!) He gets provisions and advice from his old friend and former bounty man, Tom Brady (Gene Evans). (We get a hint from Brady that there is more to living than hunting men for money.)

Rousting his bounty amid the frivols of a wayside saloon (cum brothel?) The Man (Kincaid), extracts his catch -- and rides off to deliver Riddle to his destiny. -- However, they are followed by Billy's winsome girlfriend, young Mae (Margot Kidder). She was rescued from a dingy life by Riddle, and manages to retain an aura of innocence (and deep down virtue) that is touching.

Kincaid, Riddle and Mae are followed by Keough's group, who aim to take Riddle from Kincaid, providing an escalating level of dramatic tension. And some funny lines. -- Meanwhile, Mae helps Kincaid discover he is catching (and killing) crooks but missing out on life: "When did you stop living?," she asks. This question causes Kincaid to begin looking at his past. Mae also discovers the reason for the intensity of Kincaid's vendetta against wandering crooks and killers. (Enough said.)

Kincaid punctures some of her illusions about Billy, that "when the chips are down, he'll throw you to the wolves"; that Billy won't serve or save anyone but himself. It's proved at a couple of inflection points as the story unfolds. Mae finds herself turning away from narcissistic Billy and towards the strong, silent Kincaid.

Summary: This is a Western that's also a satisfying, nuanced romance. Characters very well drawn, acted; excellent score and photography and other production values. Beautiful, appropriate ending. Life and love. And some thrills along the way.

"The Bounty Man" follows the ultra-stoic manhunter Kinkaid on a quest for his most lucrative capture yet. Other reviewers have identified many plot points and characters very well, so I am focusing on Mr. Walker's performance. As we all know, he took the strong, silent, honorable type to a whole new level; in fact, coming after Gary Cooper (from the 1930s and '40s), Clint Walker pretty much defined it for an entire new generation. But what many critics don't consider is that Clint Walker was by nature most of the characters he portrayed so well onscreen, only without the guns. He wasn't really acting; he brought his own core values, style, and sensibilities to the part, and it always shone through even whatever gruff exterior the character might have required.

That he was impressive physically is obvious, but he was also basically kind, modest, gentle, capable, and honest ... all traits he brought to any part he played; he epitomized the upright, moral, decent human being that he actually was. Although it's the grittiest, grimiest example yet of his Old West depictions, "The Bounty Man" kept to that ideal; the basic character of the man is still the one he established so memorably in "Cheyenne." Of course, to a lot of us anything with Clint Walker in it is worth watching. In his prime he commanded the screen like no one else. Well into his eighties, in fact, he was an impressive man, with a resonant voice and humble manner that made you want to listen to what he had to say. We miss him, but his genuinely good guy legacy--very rare nowadays--lives on.

So our hero, the bounty hunter Clint Walker lets the rival bounty hunters take the body of the wanted outlaw (and the $5000 reward) while he gets to keep the girlfriend. Is this a fair swap?- that's debatable. Clint Walker plays the cool dude (as usual) but the rest of the cast is found wanting - Richard Basehart (with a horrible phony American accent) as the rival bounty hunter, Margot Kidder as the girlfriend and John Whatshisname as the captured outlaw.