I Died a Thousand Times
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| I Died a Thousand Times | |
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 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Stuart Heisler |
| Produced by | Willis Goldbeck |
| Written by | W.R. Burnett |
| Starring | Jack Palance Shelley Winters |
| Music by | David Buttolph |
| Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
| Editing by | Clarence Kolster |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | November 9, 1955 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
I Died a Thousand Times (1955) is a color film noir directed by Stuart Heisler. The drama features Jack Palance as paroled bank robber Roy Earle, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Lon Chaney, Jr., among others.[1]
I Died a Thousand Times is a scene-by-scene re-remake of the 1941 popular film High Sierra, which was based upon a novel by W.R. Burnett and starred Humphrey Bogart as Earle.
The film marks the third motion picture appearance of Dennis Hopper's six-decade career, and Nick Adams makes an uncredited appearance as a bellhop in the film.
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[edit] Plot
The picture tells of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle (Jack Palance), an ageing bank robber who intends to pull off one last heist before retiring.
Sprung from prison by crime boss Big Mac (Lon Chaney Jr.), Earle agrees to plan the robbery of a resort hotel. His partners include the hotheaded Babe (Lee Marvin), Red (Earl Holliman), and Louis Mendoza (Perry Lopez), as the "inside man." Along for the ride is Marie (Shelley Winters), a dance-hall girl whom Babe recently met.
Marie falls in love with Earle, but he is more interested in Velma (Lori Nelson), the club-footed daughter of a farmer (Ralph Moody) whom Earle had earlier befriended.
Intending to use his share of the loot to pay for Velma's needed operation, Earle goes through with the robbery, only to be thwarted by the ineptitude of his gang, the treachery of the late Big Mac's successors, and, the fickle Velma.
With the still faithful Marie by his side, Earle makes a desperate escape into the High Sierras, but noir fate is against him.
[edit] Background
The stereotype comedy-relief character played by black actor Willie Best in the original film has been replaced by a Mexican stereotype played by Gonzales-Gonzales.
[edit] Cast
- Jack Palance as Roy Earle aka Roy Collins
- Shelley Winters as Marie Garson
- Lori Nelson as Velma
- Lee Marvin as Babe Kossuck
- Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Chico
- Lon Chaney Jr. as Big Mac
- Earl Holliman as Red
- Perry Lopez as Louis Mendoza
- Richard Davalos as Lon Preisser
- Howard St. John as Doc Banton
- Nick Adams as Bellboy
- Dennis Hopper as Joe
[edit] Critical reception
Bosley Crowther, writing for The New York Times, did not like the remake, specifically the screenplay and its inadvertent message, and wrote, "Somehow it isn't quite as touching as it was fourteen years ago. Not by a lot-—and the trouble is not wholly Mr. Palance...But the reason this film is not so touching is because it is antique and absurd—-the kind of glorification of the gunman that was obsolescent when High Sierra was made. It is an insult to social institutions and to public intelligence to pull this old mythological hero out of the archives and set him on a mountain top again. The pretense is so blunt and sentimental that it makes the whole thing a total cliché. And the acting does not greatly improve it...It is obvious that High Sierra has come to pretty low ground."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ I Died a Thousand Times at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, "Total Cliche; I Died a Thousand Times' at Globe," film review, November 10, 1955. Last accessed: January 29, 2008.
[edit] External links
- I Died a Thousand Times at the Internet Movie Database.
- I Died a Thousand Times at Allmovie
- I Died a Thousand Times at the TCM Movie Database.
- I Died a Thousand Times at Rotten Tomatoes
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