Director King Vidor had seen better days by the time he came to make Man Without a Star in 1955. It's a surprisingly routine film both for Vidor and star Kirk Douglas. The story of a freewheeling cowboy who gets more than he bargained for when he gets involved with a rancher has existential undertones that make it stand apart from the typical oater of its time, but not far enough. Kirk Douglas is, as usual, energetic in the lead, but was never a credible cowboy; and while he's well cast, his modern personality and style of acting continually obtrude, and destroy what small chance this modest film had of becoming the sleeper it was intended to be.
Review of Man Without a Star
