Face of a Fugitive ** (1959, Fred MacMurray, Lin McCarthy, Alan Baxter, James Coburn, Dorothy Green) – Classic Movie Review 13,154

The nimble 1959 colour Western film Face of a Fugitive stars Fred MacMurray as a bank robber who is wrongly pursued for killing a deputy sheriff but starts afresh.

‘JUST TIME ENOUGH… to changes his clothes… his girl… and his name!’

Director Paul Wendkos’s 1959 Eastman Color Western film Face of a Fugitive stars Fred MacMurray, Lin McCarthy, Alan Baxter, James Coburn, and Dorothy Green.

Fred MacMurray does well in his star role as Jim Larsen (aka Ray Kincaid), a bank robber who is wrongly pursued for killing a deputy sheriff. He starts afresh but falls for the dead man’s sister, Ellen Bailey (Dorothy Green).

Face of a Fugitive is a very fair, if minor B-movie Western, with nimble plot turns and well-fleshed character sketches, and a chase finale to liven things up. MacMurray was handy in oaters and so was Coburn, who gets a useful support part as Purdy on his way up, after his debut in Ride Lonesome (February 1959).

The  screenplay by David T Chantler and Daniel B Ullman is based on the short story Long Gone by Peter Dawson, the pen name of Jonathan H Glidden, who was the older brother of popular Western writer Luke Short (born Frederick Dilley Glidden). Dawson was the author of 120 Western short stories and novels as well as 15 book length Western serials.

It was released in May 1959.

The working title was Justice Ends with a Gun.

It is shot at the Columbia/ Warner Bros Ranch, Burbank, California (main filming studio); the Bell Moving Picture Ranch, Santa Susana, California; Corriganville (for the ghost town at end of film); and on the Sierra Railroad.

It features an early score by the Jerry Goldsmith (credited as Jerrald Goldsmith).

The cast are Fred MacMurray as Jim Larsen aka Ray Kincaid, Lin McCarthy as Sheriff Mark Riley, Dorothy Green as Ellen Bailey, Alan Baxter as Reed Williams, Myrna Fahey as Janet Hawthorne, James Coburn as Purdy, Francis De Sales (billed as Francis deSales) as Deputy Sheriff George Allison, Gina Gillespie as Alice Bailey, Ron Hayes as Danny Larsen, Paul E Burns as Jake the Barber, Hal K Dawson, James Gavin, Robert ‘Buzz’ Henry, Harrison Lewis, Rankin Mansfield, John Milford, and Stanley Farrar.

Face of a Fugitive is directed by Paul Wendkos, runs 82 minutes, is made by Morningside Productions, is released by Columbia Pictures, is written by David T Chantler and Daniel B Ullman, based on the short story Long Gone by Peter Dawson, the pen name of Jonathan H Glidden, is shot in Eastman Color by Wilfred M Cline, is produced by Charles H Schneer (executive producer) and David Heilweil, is scored by Jerry Goldsmith, and is designed by Robert Peterson.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,154

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