Bullet for a Badman (1964)

There’s nothing better than approaching a movie with modest expectations and then finding that it’s a much better movie than one expected. Universal’s 1964 western Bullet for a Badman was such a film for me.

It is included in Kino Lorber’s Audie Murphy Collection volume 5 Blu-Ray boxed set.

It was directed by R.G. Springsteen, a prolific B-movie and television director. It is based on a novel by Marvin H. Albert. More about him later.

Even a lesser Audie Murphy western is worth seeing but this is a very good Audie Murphy western.

Initially it seems like it will be a routine golden age western. Logan Keliher (Audie Murphy) is a former Texas Rager turned farmer. He has a wife, Susan (Beverley Owen), and a son, Sammy.

Now Sam Ward (Darren McGavin) is back in town, to rob a bank and to kill Logan. Sam was Susan’s first husband and he’s Sammy’s real father. Susan divorced him when he was sent to prison and married Logan. Sam wants his wife and kid back and he wants Logan dead.

The bank robbery goes wrong, Sam’s whole gang is killed but he escapes with the money.

A posse is formed to hunt him down. Logan is hunting him as well. They do track him down and it’s at that point that this movie gets interesting.

The good guys have found Sam and they have found the money. And when money is involved there are no good guys. This movie was made at the tail end of the golden age of westerns and it’s just a tad more cynical than the westerns of the 50s. In 50s westerns characters were often corrupted by money but in the world of Bullet for a Badman almost everyone is corrupted. The members of the posse represent the law but now they plan to kill Sam out of hand and steal the money themselves.

There’s also Lottie (Ruta Lee). She was the girlfriend of Ira, one of the gang members killed in the robbery. She mourns Ira for about ten seconds then hooks up with Sam. She will cause a lot of complications.

Now it’s a case of the good guys who are now the bad guys going after Logan (a good guy) and Sam (a bad guy). There is moral ambiguity in golden age westerns but this movie does push it a bit further.

And it gets very dark.

The most interesting thing is the complicated relationship between Logan and Sam. They had been best friends. Logan and Susan thought they were justified in marrying since Sam was in prison and no longer capable of fulfilling his duties as husband and father but Sam does have some valid cause to feel aggrieved. And he does actually love Susan, and his son. He hates Logan, but mostly because he was a friend who (in Sam’s eyes) betrayed him. Logan will do whatever is necessary to defend his wife and child but he has no desire to kill Sam. Logan hasn’t forgotten their friendship.

All of this works because Audie Murphy and Darren McGavin are so good.

And Lottie is a nicely ambiguous female character.

Bullet for a Badman is a very fine western, still basically a golden age western but slightly more cynical. Highly recommended.

As for Marvin H. Albert, he wrote some great stuff including the brilliant action/adventure novels (written under the name Ian MacAlister), Valley of the Assassins and Driscoll’s Diamonds and fine hardboiled crime (as Nick Quarry) such as No Chance in Hell. And under his own name a very good spy thriller, The Gargoyle Conspiracy.

You should also check out the review of this movie at Riding the High Country.

I've reviewed lots of Audie Murphy westerns. No Name on the Bullet (1959) remains my favourite.