Tonight's Movie: Man From Del Rio (1956) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Anthony Quinn stars as the MAN FROM DEL RIO (1956), just released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

The movie is part of a one-disc, two-film set along with THE RIDE BACK (1957), also starring Quinn.

In MAN FROM DEL RIO Quinn plays David Robles, who has spent half a decade learning how to become proficient enough with a gun to go after the men who shot up his hometown, Del Rio.

He finds the last man, Dan Ritchy (Barry Atwater), in Mesa and promptly kills him in a gunfight outside the saloon.

The townspeople soon hire Robles to replace the previous sheriff (Douglas Spencer, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD) after the sheriff is nearly killed by a bunch of hooligans. They want Robles -- and his quick gun -- to restore order. First and foremost that will mean getting rid of saloon owner Ed Bannister (Peter Whitney), who wants to run the town.

Robles learns the hard way that while the townspeople are happy to rely on his gun, they're not enthused to have him in their midst socially. Dave might move on, except that he's fallen for Estella (the always-interesting Katy Jurado), who works as housekeeper and nurse for the town doctor (Douglas Fowley).

There's an undercurrent of possible racism in the townspeople's social rejection of Dave, though they accept Estella readily enough. The stronger issue seems to be distaste for the fact that Dave is a rough man who's a killer, even though it's on the side of justice; Estella warns Dave that he's akin to a snake used to kill rats. When the rats are gone, the townspeople will also be anxious to get rid of the snake.

When Dave's gun hand is injured in a brawl, Estella and the doctor urge Dave to leave town. However, Dave realizes he can't take the easy way out and maintain his self-respect, even knowing Estella is now willing to go with him. It all builds to quite an interesting climax on the streets of Mesa.

This is a modestly entertaining Western, elevated by the presence of Quinn and Jurado and the black and white cinematography of Stanley Cortez (THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and NIGHT OF THE HUNTER).

Quinn is excellent hitting all the notes, yet at times I found his socially awkward character -- and the way he's treated -- somewhat painful to watch. He's uneducated and lonely, and is thrilled when he thinks he's finally found a place of respect with his new job.

It thus really hurts to watch as the townspeople turn their backs on him at a dance. He ends up outside with the town drunk (Whit Bissell), then having an upsetting confrontation with Estella.

In time, though, Dave proves to be smarter and have more guts than anyone else in town, winning the admiration of both Estella and the viewer, who is left quite satisfied at the end of the film's 82 minutes. All in all, I found it a worthwhile film.

The movie was directed by Harry Horner. The supporting cast includes John Larch, Bill Erwin, Adrienne Marden, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. Quinn's wife, Katherine DeMille (THE CRUSADES), has a bit role.

The good-looking Kino Lorber Blu-ray print of MAN FROM DEL RIO is from a new 2K master. The soundtrack is excellent.

In addition to the second film, the disc includes a trailer, as well as four additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

I'll be reviewing the other Western in the set, THE RIDE BACK, at a future date. (Update: Here's my review of THE RIDE BACK, which is a fine film.)

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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