Review of More Dead than Alive (1969) by Tim S — 18 Jul 2015

More Dead Than Alive is a 1969 western starring Clint Walker, Vincent Price, and Anne Francis. It was a film that was released not long after the out-of-date Motion Picture Production Code (or Hays code) was discarded.

As such, it featured more on-screen violence and a somewhat darker tone than was common for an average western film at that time. It was directed by Robert Sparr, who was mostly known for his TV work, directing many episodes of Lawman, Cheyenne, and The Wild Wild West.

Thankfully, this movie didn't have the appearance of something made by a customarily TV director. It featured a lot quick panning, multiple angles, fast-editing, and unusual framing techniques. It's a film that, many years later, actually looks more sophisticated than it really is.

That all being said, it's also a movie that fails to live up to its own style and execution. The story, while unorthodox and featuring an ending that had the potential to be very effective, never has any true momentum behind it.

But the biggest problem with the movie is its ending, which attempts to be a down ending yet sails into the credits with a rousing and swelling number about Cain's character and his struggle. It's a tune that has no business in the final moments of this film.

It goes beyond softening the blow to the point where the hit just doesn't connect at all, making all of the previous effort almost pointless. So it isn't a western that breathes a lot of air into the genre of yesteryear, nor is it a brutal assault on the genre in the early days of the New Hollywood era.

It's more of a character study that tries to push the envelope a bit but tends to render itself moot rather than making any sort of a concrete point.