Some good supporting performances, especially from Laurence Hugo as a gambler who cannot choose between his two shapely card dealers and thus ends up rejecting both, Whit Bissell, a veteran character actor who's played everything from generals to school principals, as a nervous barber, and Dianne Foster as a sharp tongued saloon gal. Unfortunately, the two leads are saddled with really dull roles and respond in different, although equally unsatisfying, ways with Donna Reed over acting and Dana Andrews phoning it in. So naturally scenes between them tend toward the excruciating. Combine this central flaw with an easy to figure out whodunit and director Alfred Werker's rather uninspired handling of the main action scenes, a fistfight, a shootout, and an escape, and you can see why the next time I have an hour and twenty 1950s western minutes to kill I'll do it with Budd, Andy, Tony or Mr. Ford. Give it a generous C plus, mostly for the co stars.
Review of Three Hours to Kill
