Man Without A Star (1955)

A drifter (Kirk Douglas) hooks up with a young cowpoke (William Campbell, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY) while riding the rails. When they both get hired as cattle ranch hands, trouble brews when the new and ruthless ranch owner (Jeanne Crain) decides to usurp the grazing lands for herself. This nifty western directed by King Vidor (DUEL IN THE SUN) is a superior effort that needs a wider audience to solidify its reputation. This was Vidor's first wide screen film and he was lucky to have that wizard Russell Metty (WRITTEN ON THE WIND) behind the camera. The film foreshadows the westerns that were to come (particularly in the 1960s) dealing with the transition of the Old West and how emerging civilization would change it forever. The casting of Crain, usually the sweet natured ingenue, as the hard and calculating ranch owner was inspired. With Claire Trevor, Richard Boone as the villain, Jay C. Flippen, Mara Corday, Sheb Wooley, Myrna Hansen, Jack Elam and Malcolm Atterbury.