Although "Man Without a Star" was directed by the legendary King Vidor, it is nonetheless a routine (albeit a good one) western of the kind that Universal turned out in the 1950s. This one has the advantage of having Kirk Douglas as the star.
Douglas plays Dempsey Rae (Where DO they get these names?) a drifter on the rails to Wyoming from Kansas City. Also riding the freight is the young Jeff Jimson (William Campbell) who is caught by the brutal brakeman (Lee Roberts) who clubs him. Dempsey comes to the rescue and the young man hero worships Dempsey. The brakeman is murdered on the train by hobo Jack Elam and young Jim is accused by the sheriff's trigger happy deputy (George Wallace) of the murder. Sheriff Olsen (Roy Barcroft) accepts Dempsey's explanation and the two carry on into town.
Dempsey meets up with an old flame Idonee (Claire Trevor) who is now running a saloon. Looking for work, Dempsey and Jim sign on with the Triangle ranch with foreman Strap Davis (Jay C. Flippen). The triangle is the largest ranch in the area but has got along with the smaller ranchers led by Cassidy (Eddy Waller) and Toliva (Paul Birch)
The Triangle has been bought by an eastern buyer who turns out to be female Reed Bowman (Jeanne Crain). She has her own ideas for the ranch. She plans to fill the free range with cattle until the feed is gone, sell out and take in the profits while destroying the smaller ranches in the process. She winds up firing Davis and pursues Dempsey as his replacement as foreman.
Dempsey at first, is warm to the idea but relents when he learns that the smaller ranchers are planning to fence off their section meant for winter feed with barbed wire. Dempsey has a past hatred of barbed wire. Intending to leave the territory, Dempsey decides to help the smaller ranchers. In the meantime a large herd of cattle arrives from Texas with Steve Miles (Richard Boone) at the helm. Bowman hires Miles and his men to drive out the small ranchers.
Jim has remained behind at the Triangle as a protector of Bowman. In the saloon, Jim guns down a wrangler (Myron Healey) who was pestering Bowman. Bowman send Miles and his men to stampede a herd of cattle through the rancher's barbed wire and.......................................................................
Douglas plays Dempsey at first as a happy go lucky drifter and then a serious minded opponent of the lady rancher. I though that Claire Trevor would have been more appropriate as the lady rancher. Jeanne Crain although she does her best, simply didn't have the hard edge that Trevor could have brought to the part. I always liked Richard Boone as a villain even though he was an accomplished actor. He had that meanness. Watch for Myrna Hansen as Tess Cassidy who has her eyes on Jim, Sheb Wooley as Latigo a ranch hand and Mara Corday as Moccasin Mary, a saloon girl.
And oh yes, Douglas gets to strum a banjo to a couple of rousing saloon songs.
Douglas plays Dempsey Rae (Where DO they get these names?) a drifter on the rails to Wyoming from Kansas City. Also riding the freight is the young Jeff Jimson (William Campbell) who is caught by the brutal brakeman (Lee Roberts) who clubs him. Dempsey comes to the rescue and the young man hero worships Dempsey. The brakeman is murdered on the train by hobo Jack Elam and young Jim is accused by the sheriff's trigger happy deputy (George Wallace) of the murder. Sheriff Olsen (Roy Barcroft) accepts Dempsey's explanation and the two carry on into town.
Dempsey meets up with an old flame Idonee (Claire Trevor) who is now running a saloon. Looking for work, Dempsey and Jim sign on with the Triangle ranch with foreman Strap Davis (Jay C. Flippen). The triangle is the largest ranch in the area but has got along with the smaller ranchers led by Cassidy (Eddy Waller) and Toliva (Paul Birch)
The Triangle has been bought by an eastern buyer who turns out to be female Reed Bowman (Jeanne Crain). She has her own ideas for the ranch. She plans to fill the free range with cattle until the feed is gone, sell out and take in the profits while destroying the smaller ranches in the process. She winds up firing Davis and pursues Dempsey as his replacement as foreman.
Dempsey at first, is warm to the idea but relents when he learns that the smaller ranchers are planning to fence off their section meant for winter feed with barbed wire. Dempsey has a past hatred of barbed wire. Intending to leave the territory, Dempsey decides to help the smaller ranchers. In the meantime a large herd of cattle arrives from Texas with Steve Miles (Richard Boone) at the helm. Bowman hires Miles and his men to drive out the small ranchers.
Jim has remained behind at the Triangle as a protector of Bowman. In the saloon, Jim guns down a wrangler (Myron Healey) who was pestering Bowman. Bowman send Miles and his men to stampede a herd of cattle through the rancher's barbed wire and.......................................................................
Douglas plays Dempsey at first as a happy go lucky drifter and then a serious minded opponent of the lady rancher. I though that Claire Trevor would have been more appropriate as the lady rancher. Jeanne Crain although she does her best, simply didn't have the hard edge that Trevor could have brought to the part. I always liked Richard Boone as a villain even though he was an accomplished actor. He had that meanness. Watch for Myrna Hansen as Tess Cassidy who has her eyes on Jim, Sheb Wooley as Latigo a ranch hand and Mara Corday as Moccasin Mary, a saloon girl.
And oh yes, Douglas gets to strum a banjo to a couple of rousing saloon songs.