No Name on the Bullet [VHS]

No Name on the Bullet [VHS]
by Jack Arnold

No Name on the Bullet [VHS]

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Category: VHS Video
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Product details

Actor: Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Joan Evans, Virginia Grey, Warren Stevens
Director: Jack Arnold
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 77 minutes
Release Date: 1997-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios

VHS Movie Reviews of No Name on the Bullet [VHS]

Movie Review: The man behind the actor
Summary: 5 Stars

No name on the bullet
For those of you who think Clint Eastwood when you think Western or Cool or somebody you wouldn't want to end up looking down the barrel of their gun, I suggest you do a little research on Audie Murphy. This man was only 5'.5", but I wouldn't bet a nickle on Eastwood's survival if they had a real life gun fight. What kind of man would single-handedly hold off hundreds of Germans while telling the rest of his unit to go back and take cover? Well, that was real life, and only one indecent of many. In this movie, you see a gunfighter with a dangerous reputation ride into town and shake everyone up by his mere presence. As you watch his acting, keep in mind that in real life, his father had deserted the family when he was ten, his mother had died young and the only food that kept his brothers and sisters alive was what he killed with his gun. The high point of any gunfight is the look in their eyes. Compare the understated menace in his eyes to Eastwood while you keep in mind that this man really killed somewhere around 300 men in real life, while they were shooting at him. Audie Murphy is one of our most decorated war heroes and in the real sense of the word. Go ahead, do a Wikipedia search on this man, then buy this movie and watch it. The next time you are having a bad day do it all again. Just maybe, the things you have to contend with aren't quite as bad as you thought. One more thing after you do this; whenever you watch any movie again with a hero in it that you think is brave or cool- The word Murphy will appear in your mind -Trust me!

Movie Review: NO NAME ON THE BULLET
Summary: 5 Stars

This is , perhaps , the greatest western motion picture ever made . It stars Audie
Murphy in the role of a famous killer for hire named John Gant . A man who uses his particular gunfighting talent to stalk his prey . As Gant , rides into town the past of every man and woman flashes before their eyes . Has he come for me ? I always thought that a better title might be , "For Whom Does The Bell Toll ?" This , as you might imagine , is no Saturday afternoon shoot em up western .
It has a thriling plot , an excellant script , great acting , and the best sespense
anyone might expect from any motion picture . This a very adult and literate western .It is more a measure of philosophy and morality than gunplay . It certainly does have its share of action as Gant's presence lights up the screen and the town . I will not tell you the story , but no one who sees this film will be cheated . And the character played by Audie Murphy is one you shall never forget .

Movie Review: A pretty good and little-seen Western
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a pretty good little Western that I'd love to see remade. The title and premise are fantastic. Very simple, but ripe with promise. A known assassin-for-hire, John Gant (played by real life war hero Audie Murphy), arrives in town and checks into the hotel. Everyone has heard of him, but no one knows who he's there to kill. His method is also known: he provokes his target into a fight and then kills him in "self-defense," so he gets away with it legally. Gant plays it cool for several days, allowing the more tightly-wound members of the town to self-destruct under their own hidden guilt. He befriends the town doctor named Luke (Gant reflects on the Biblical reference to the apostle/physician) before Luke learns who he is.

The build-up is handled pretty well. The seedier residents immediately begin to panic and conspire against each other and Gant. None of them are particularly memorable characters, but they ratchet up the tension and provide a few great scenes when they each face Gant. The most memorable is when a tall, skinny, wife-stealing gambler gets drunk and confronts the seated assassin. Gant calmly prods him, even placing his palms flat on the table. "All right. If you think you can do it, go ahead and try. My hands are on the table. I couldn't possibly outdraw you. So go ahead and shoot."

Another stand-out scene features Gant facing down a large posse determined to kill him or drive him out of town. "There are many of you. Yes, you could kill me. If you're willing enough. But it's only fair to tell you that I'll kill you, Stricker. And you, Dutch Henry. The physician. His father. And there might even be time for you, storekeeper." The scene has been played out many times since then, most memorably for me in Tombstone, and while I don't know if No Name on the Bullet was the first to use this scene, it's certainly one of the most potent uses. (Warlock had a similar scene, and is also from 1959, by chance.)

Save for Murphy (and maybe Edgar Stehli as Judge Benson), the performances are mostly adequate. They do the job, they're certainly not bad, but they're nothing special, either. I'd like to see some stronger character actors filling the supporting roles in a remake, and a more interesting actor playing Luke. (The most interesting parts with Luke are always Gant's reaction to him rather than Luke himself.) Murphy as Gant captivated me, however. I don't think all of that was because of his talent, however. While he certainly plays his role well, with a Death-like calm and serenity, I had recently devoured his Wikipedia entry and was in awe knowing that this baby-faced actor was one of the most decorated soldiers in history. It was hard to divorce the man from the part while watching him.

The dichotomy between the killer and the healer is perhaps a little too obvious, but it works here. Some of the dialogue from Luke is a bit on-the-nose, and I longed for a more interestingly written character, but Gant's dialogue is pretty good. He has some really good lines and only a few clunkers. (Anytime he makes medical jokes to Luke, like "that's your prescription doc... fill it," I groaned.)

With a length of just 77 minutes, this is a decent Western with a few exceptional elements that are worth your time.

Movie Review: Audie Murphy's best film
Summary: 5 Stars

This is not your typical Audie Murphy western and he does some of his best work in a less than heroic role. If you just like good old western or if you are a Murphy fan you need to add this to your collection

Movie Review: "Does it really matter how a man dies or when, when he really knows it's going to happen?" asks the judge. John Gant says, "No."
Summary: 4 Stars

"Buck, he's here! He's right here in town," says the out-of breath barkeep who just ran over from the town hotel to the sheriff's office.
"Who's he talkin' about? Who's Gant?" asks Harold Miller, the deputy sheriff.
"You mean you really don't know?" says the barkeep.
"I asked, didn't I?"
"He's a killer," says Sheriff Buck Hastings.
"So what? We've had some pretty good ones. We've been able to handle `em."
"Oh, no," says the sheriff. "A gunman is one thing. Gant's another."

John Gant (Audie Murphy) is a paid assassin, cool, quick, deadly and smart. He's given the name of his target and collects his fee, then sets out for a bit of lawful murdering. He arrives in a town, takes a room for a few days, scouts out his victim's weaknesses, and then goads the man into drawing on him. Gant has gunned down quite a few with this technique and has never been arrested. His services come high.

Now John Gant has ridden into the dusty town of Lordsburg, taken a room at the local hotel, and is biding his time. Every one in town knows Gant is going to kill someone, but no one knows who.

It's not long before venality, cowardice, suspicion and fear consume some of Lordsburg's leading citizens. Quite a few show that they wear a coating of moral slime. Their fear is justified by everything from double dealing, mine stealing and wife theft. John Gant is a paid assassin, but he also seems to be the dark side of humanity's conscience. Just his presence causes suicide, vigilantism and murderous gunfights between factions in the town. Gant just looks on. The one man in town who speaks for decency is the town doc, Luke Canfield (Charles Drake). Canfield is a dedicated young medical man, serious about healing, engaged to the daughter of a retired, consumptive, dying judge. Gant and Canfield find each other interesting. Canfield is intrigued by Gant's intelligence. He finds it difficult to believe Gant is nothing but a paid killer. Gant seems drawn to Canfield's honesty. They talk a little. They enjoy a game of chess. Canfield sees himself as a healer of men. Gant sees himself as a healer of problems. It can't last. We might think it's easy to figure out Gant's intended victim; we just have to remember all the clich?s of B movies. We'd be wrong.

No Name on the Bullet is an efficient B western, stuffed full with the familiar faces of B movie character actors. The acting is standard B movie quality, not bad but predictable. What makes the movie stand out as something other than just a time killer is that the plot is more intriguing than you'd expect. Essentially, one passive gunman raises havoc among the leading citizens as they unmask their own flawed motives and actions. This is accomplished within an efficient use of just 77 minutes. The movie doesn't dawdle.

And then there is Audie Murphy, playing a man who finds it easy to justify, for pay, bringing death a little earlier than expected to men who mostly deserve what he deals them. Murphy was no great shakes as an actor, and he learned his craft while doing it. Partly because of his extraordinary combat war record, his struggles with what now we call Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, his early hardscrabble life and being responsible for his younger brothers and sisters, and his modesty, I've always respected the man. He wasn't a big guy, he had a baby face that sometimes helped and sometimes didn't. He applied himself to the job at hand. He had sufficient screen presence to build himself into an above-the-title and popular lead actor. Most of his movies, in my opinion, are standard Hollywood fodder. In some circumstances, however, he could deliver unusually effective performances. He's at his best, in my opinion, in The Red Badge of Courage(1951), The Quiet American (1958) and The Unforgiven (1960). All three movies are flawed, with The Quiet American being awful (and a cynical and corrupt adaptation of Graham Greene's novel) and The Unforgiven being awfully long, but Murphy is just fine. I think No Name on the Bullet ranks among these in terms of Murphy's performance.

The DVD looks just fine. There are no extras.

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