1/29/09: Day of the Badman (1958)
Somewhere around here, we’ve got a VHS tape with
3:10 to Yuma and
Day of the Badman. It’s an interesting contrast. That’s one great western with a lousy ending, and one dull western with a great ending. Both of them also play off the One Man Against A Cowardly Town theme that was bungled in
High Noon. To be clear,
3:10 to Yuma is the good western with a lousy ending. We certainly weren’t offended when it was recently remade.
Day of the Badman would really benefit from a remake—although Fred MacMurray got the formula right the next year with
Good Day for a Hanging.
This one has MacMurray as Judge Scott, who’s not exactly a dashing figure of the Old West. He’s not nearly as dashing as Sheriff Wiley. Scott’s a regular guy with a girlfriend who also thinks Sheriff Wiley is more dashing. After all, the sheriff has arrested Rudy Hayes for murder. Everyone in town is excited about the trial—until Rudy’s brothers and cousins arrive in town and start roughing up the locals. They threaten all the lawmen, the widow, and Judge Scott. If Rudy gets the death sentence, everybody gets the death sentence.
By the time Judge Scott is ready to pass that sentence, everyone in town has decided that Rudy should just be banished. Scott’s not willing to go along. He’s conducting the trial in the same town where he’s set to settle down after years of riding the circuit. He’s not happy to see the locals giving up on justice. He gets even less happy when his girlfriend ditches him for the sheriff—who’s also decided that Rudy isn’t such a badman, after all.
We weren’t being fair to this film as we were watching it. There didn’t seem to be much going on, and we were waiting for MacMurray to rouse the townsfolk with a stirring speech, or for the sheriff to show a surprising reserve of strength. Instead, we got the big moment that makes this film so memorable. That’s a SPOILER warning, by the way.
Judge Scott takes the bench, sentences Rudy to be hanged, and then pulls a gun from under his robe to keep all the evil relatives at bay. Maybe that plays better than it reads. Maybe you had to be lulled into disinterest to really appreciate how neat it is to see the judge take the law into his own hands. He is the law, of course, but it’s a great moment for MacMurray’s character. He’s been called an underrated actor often enough to no longer be one, but this twist really shows off MacMurray’s brilliance at both genial heroics and evil.
Judge Scott keeps the gun pointed as he tells the sheriff to get Rudy off to another town for the hanging. The lawman is happy to jump on his horse. Scott then heads back to his house to provide an alternative target for Rudy’s angry brethren. It goes back to being a typical western from there, but the film’s already beaten that evil
High Noon influence. As noted, the next year would correct that drift with
Good Day for a Hanging,
Rio Bravo, and
Warlock. At least
Day of the Badman pioneered the course change.
Make it your own: It’s not difficult to find a bootleg DVD, but
Day of the Badman has never seen a proper home video release. Maybe we shouldn’t even have bothered with the film. Two entries barely count as a theme week.
