Crappy film

Best movie ever!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A talkative and somewhat slow-moving western that gradually builds to a good climax, The Lonely Man is further hampered by the casting of two super-slow talkers, namely Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins, in the leading roles. When these two men are on screen, I always have the feeling that they speak slowly because they feel the dialogue has a depth to it which is not readily apparent to a bum director like Henry Levin, so they are forced to do his job for him by speaking extra slowly so that the audience will get all the hidden nuances that Levin has neither the guts nor the ability to bring out. True, Levin had a reputation as a fast shooter and I've no doubt the movie is not as effective as it might have been had Levin been forced to direct the rest of the film with as much care as he brings to the Palace-Perkins scenes and to the climactic gun fight. Fortunately, the rugged natural locales of the story are impressively captured by cinematographer Lionel Lindon, and a young actress named Elaine Aiken makes an impressive debut, but alas, nothing came of her career. She had minor roles in Doomsday Voyage, Night Flowers, Caddyshack and that's it! The Lonely Man is available on a very good Paramount DVD.

The Lonely Man is a decent little tale about manhood highlighted by the presence of the orc-like Jack Palance as one of the most frightening looking heroes any Western's ever seen.Jacob Wade (Jack Palance) is a gunfighter with a long and murderous reputation. 14 years after abandoning his wife and child, Wade returns home to teach his hateful son how to be a man. Riley (Anthony Perkins) has nothing but contempt for his father and since his mother's death has become a bum, living in a hovel and hanging around the local saloon. Things are further complicated by the fact that Wade's villainous past is well known in the area, making him and his son decidedly unwelcome in any law abiding town. When Riley falls ill, Wade is forced to return to the horse ranch and the woman he left on his quest to redeem his child. Aida (Elaine Aiken) is desperately in love with Wade and only wants him to stay with her. She's even willing to put up with his pain-in-the-butt son if it keeps Wade near her.As Wade tries to make a man of Riley in the pursuit of a wild stallion, he's helped by one member of his old gang and menaced by another, while a threat grows in the unseen distance. A man named King was nearly killed by Wade in a fight over Aida, but they fished the bullet out of him and he's determined to end Wade's life with it. There's also another problem Wade has kept secret from everyone and it's the real reason he's so desperate to turn Riley from a whining child to a grown man.At its heart, The Lonely Man is about the 1950s definition of masculinity, or at least the 1950s fantasy about the masculinity of the Old West. Jacob Wade may be a terrible killer, but he's a man because he takes control of his life and makes no excuses for the decisions he's made. His old friend Ben (Robert Middleton) is an intemperate loudmouth, but he's a man because he's true to his friend. Even Aida fits into the concept of manhood through a feminine lens, being willing to sacrifice everything she is to protect the people the man she loves. Riley, though showing some strength of character, isn't a man because of his wallowing in self-pity and adolescent sloth. Even King is the bad guy of the story not because he seeks to kill Wade, but because of the unmanly way he plans to do it.Acting-wise, Anthony Perkins does a good job playing the emotionally wounded and callow Riley, though he seems a bit too old for the role. Elaine Aiken as Aida fits beautifully as a woman in this manly world and she looks right for the part, as well. Put most attractive women next to the terrifyingly striking Palance and they'll look like two different species, but Aiken has a tough, somewhat worn edge to her appearance. She's the sort of hard woman that could love a hard man. Palance almost perfectly embodies the pre-1960s image of American masculinity. He's stoic and taciturn and haunted and strong. He's the hero from a time when heroes weren't supposed to say funny one-liners after they killed someone. It was sidekicks, women, children and even villains who used to get the humorous or poignant dialog while the men were plain and without affectation.The Lonely Man was one truly "EWWWWW!" producing moment and ends in a fairly clichéd gunfight after promising something more interesting, but it's a fast-paced and relatively adult story that only seems dated in contrast to modern standards of manhood (or the lack thereof). I'd definitely recommend watching it.

Jacob Wade (Jack Palance) used to be a celebrated shootist just stepping into middle age and mortally weary of having to be asked to leave every town he rides into… To make matters worse, a few notorious outlaws, led by the vile King (Neville Brand), are also out to take him down… Now he tries to do something for his boy Riley (Anthony Perkins) by catching and breaking mustangs in Echo Canyon, the best wild horse country in the territory… Complicating the situations further is Jacob's bad relationship with a kid who hates him, and Ada Marshall (Elaine Aiken), a young woman whom Jacob met in a gambling hall, and shot a man on account of her…Here is a thinking person's Western that deals with one ex-gunman who also is unable to shake his past and whose ultimate goal for taking root again is by lynching… Levin shows a dark, depressing, and sadly realistic face of the west... In fact, the entire movie is a drama of characters… But watching the film, you would be able to feel how Levin equates victory with redemption

This film has got merit not least the photography. It is beautifully shot and the location has much to admire. There is a touch of John Ford in parts. Its main strength is the performance by Jack Palance. Anthony Perkins is ok but he has not a lot to do. Small parts by familiar actors adds to the attractions of the film which is well worth a viewing. One of my childhood best loved films which I was not disappointed with when I watched it recently.