Tonight's Movie: I Died a Thousand Times (1955) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES (1955), a worthy remake of Raoul Walsh's HIGH SIERRA (1941), has been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Achive Collection.

As with the 1941 version, W.R. Burnett wrote the screenplay from his novel HIGH SIERRA. Whereas the 1941 version also credits John Huston for cowriting the script, I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES is credited to Burnett alone.

The familiar story finds Roy Earle (Jack Palance), just pardoned after several years in prison, newly arrived in California to take part in a heist.

The others in the gang are portrayed by Lee Marvin, Lon Chaney (Jr.), Earl Holliman, James Millican, and Perry Lopez, with Howard St. John as their trusted doctor on call.

Earle falls for pretty Velma (Lori Nelson), a girl whose family (Olive Carey and Ralph Moody) he meeds on the road. He pays for Velma to have an operation to cure her clubfoot, only to have her spurn him in favor of an old boyfriend (Richard Davalos).

Earle turns to Marie (Shelley Winters) for companionship, but the robbery and its aftermath lead to Roy's inevitable confrontation with law enforcement at the top of Whitney Portal Road.

I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES may not resonate as a classic in the same way as the Humphrey Bogart-Ida Lupino does, but it's an involving 109 minutes, directed by Stuart Heisler.

Palance is strong as the vulnerable tough guy rejected by the sweet young thing but realistically better suited to Winters' dime-a-dance gal. I'll never be Winters' biggest fan, but I guess one could say I've gotten used to her after years of seeing her in film noir and crime films, and she's solid as the physically and emotionally battered Marie.

The actors play Roy's fellow hoodlums sketch characters of varying degrees of interest. Millican, in one of his last feature films before his too-early passing within days of this film's release, is especially good as a crooked former cop. I also enjoyed St. John as the doctor who takes a weirdly congenial interest in the criminal goings-on.

The film's supporting cast, in roles of varied sizes, includes Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Nick Adams, Olive Carey, Dennis Hopper, Mae Clarke, Fay Baker, Larry J. Blake, and Myrna Fahey. A hotel cigar salesgirl is played by Carol Kelly, the sister of Nancy and Jack (MAVERICK) Kelly.

Like HIGH SIERRA, I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES filmed in and around Lone Pine, California. One of the great things about this version is the CinemaScope photography (by Ted McCord) of Lone Pine's scenic vistas, including Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak.

For me part of the film's appeal is that I've been to most, if not all, of the movie's locations, including the previously mentioned Whitney Portal Road, which I wrote about here in 2019.

The film opens at a gas station in Keeler, California, which I wrote about in 2014. The gas station is still standing, although (like the entire town of Keeler) it's worse for the wear.

The next notable location in the film is the Best Western Frontier Motel, where I've stayed on multiple occasions.

From there it's on to Cuffe Ranch just outside Lone Pine, where I enjoyed a barbecue dinner in October 2024.

And just before turning onto Whitney Portal Road, Roy careens down Lone Pine's Main Street, where various buildings including the historic Dow Villa Hotel can be seen.

The widescreen Warner Archive Blu-ray print is excellent, with an equally good soundtrack.

Disc extras consist of the tailer plus the Bugs Bunny cartoons HARE BRUSH (1955) and SAHARA HARE (1955).

The movie and this disc are recommended viewing.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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