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Rating:  - Robert Ryan in a Memorable Performance
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker
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Robert Ryan was one of Hollywood's finest actors and he gives one of his more memorable performances in this well-made western, THE PROUD ONES (1956).
He plays an honest lawman who not only must deal with a crooked gambling hall owner (Robert Middleton) in his town who has hired some top gunmen to kill him, but also a corrupt city council and his own deputy (Jeffrey Hunter) who would like to see him dead.
If that isn't enough, Ryan has received a gunshot wound that leaves him temporarily blinded at the most inopportune moments.
Robert D. Webb directed the tight script by Edmund North and Joseph Petracca. Virginia Mayo, Walter Brennan, Ken Clark and Arthur O'Connell co-star.
© Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Rating:  - Ryan in a rare role
The late Robert Ryan rarely played sympathetic characters since he was usually relegated to the vicious, bigoted villain you'd loved to hate. This fine little B-western was an exception. In this film and later in "Lawman", he plays an ageing marshall who is slowly losing his sight and knows his days as a lawman are numbered. He is looking forward to retiring with lady love (a gorgeous Virginia Mayo) but the evil forces of the town won't let him until one day a young man (Jeffrey Hunter) rides into town with thoughts of revenge toward Ryan. How he confronts his dilemna with Hunter and Robert Middleton as an evil saloon owner is intriguing to watch. If you are like me, and am a fan of this greatly under-rated actor--you'll like this little Western.
Rating:  - Man who knows his job
This is 1956 movie and a very good one ,it will keep you up to your seats till it is finished.Print is digitally masterd to a very good quality.It is wide screen and full screen version.Sound is good what more we need to Injoy.Robert Ryan as Marshal (Cass Silver)is a man who walks and talks with full Authority,His Dialogues are powerful as always and thats what i like about him and then lovley Virginia mayo who is always there sticking by him is running a Hotel. Jeffrey Hunter comes to town with the cattle drive, Revenge in his heart to kill the Marshal,So is Robert Middleton (honest john)wants him dead,the town gets divided with no help,it is a fast pace movie and i liked it.
Rating: - Building blocks stolen from HIGH NOON
The pieces of this story clunk into place with all the finesse of concrete building blocks. And some of those blocks wear the HIGH NOON brand. Except that Robert Ryan is no Gary Cooper and Virginia Mayo is no Grace Kelly. Altho, Jeff Hunter just about matches Lloyd Bridges thanks in large part to a larger, more sympathetic role. By the end of the film, the parallels to the older film were too blatant to ignore or deny.
The only reason I watched this one again, anyway, was for the music -- the haunting theme song by Lionel Newman, whistled against a guitar riff.
There are other virtues, however. Director Robert Webb and cinematographer Lucien Ballard and crew made this Western look fresh (don't base your impression on the cover art to this DVD which seems to come from another source). In a supporting role, the normally distracting Walter Brennan gives a good, restrained performance. And for those of us who remember that era, there are soooo many familiar faces (eg, Robert Middleton, Rodolfo Acosta, Arthur O'Connell, Whit Bissell, Ed Platt, Richard Deacon and, fleetingly, Jackie Coogan).
If I can get a hold of the theme song for my CD player, I'll probably never visit this film again.
Rating: - Fine western for its era
Other reviewers have rightfully noted the excellent performance of Robert Ryan in this picture. Jeffrey Hunter is less impressive, which is a shame, since his role in The Searchers was proof that he was capable of good acting.
This movie features some fairly good action for its day, including what might be the earliest example of a bullet hole appearing in a bad guy's head (actually, his hat). By the 60s, this had become a commonplace, but here it is another example of how film-makers were scrounging around for inventive ways to film gunfighting.
Look also for the Ryan's character's criticism of the profit-motive on the part of the townspeople, actually calling them thieves (They were raising their prices to take advantage of the recently paid cowpokes.). This is particularly interesting, given Ryan's real-life liberal political opinions.
This movie is a keeper for our household.
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