Three Hours to Kill

Three Hours To Kill casts Dana Andrews as a man on the run for the murder of Richard Webb which he did not do, but for which he was nearly lynched. Andrews has the rope burn scar to prove it.

Four old friends of his who also knew the victim were the ones yelling loudest for the lynching. Andrews zeroes in on them for the answers. There's also saloon girl Dianne Foster who has a thing for Dana and the sister of Richard Webb who was violently opposed to her marrying Andrews who is played by Donna Reed fresh from her Oscar win for From Here To Eternity.

This western plays like a noir mystery even though it's set in the wide open spaces. Andrews is one grim western hero and hardly the role model for a cowboy hero. Still in the end he solves the mystery and he does it when all four of those he seeks are brought into the saloon and compare notes. All could not have been more neatly revealed by Hercule Poirot himself.

One of Dana's best films.

Westerns are always my favorite movies... Westerns, are something I go to see, and, if my memory serves me correctly, there are many I have watched in the theaters, with my father, when I was a little boy...

'Three Hours to Kill' is a decent little Western, though certainly not among the best... For a little-known film from Alfred L. Welker (that I saw lately on the Western Channel) I was surprised by the quality of the video transfer... What struck me most were the colors; they were accurate, well defined, and rich...

Welker's work on the film is satisfactory, although not impressive... The movie relies totally on Dana Andrews, the very definition of character and honesty, and on his determination to catch the real killer... At one point, he allows himself to be severely hurt by a rope tied around his neck, to give the scene a realistic look...

This is going to happen quickly, so don't blink because 'Three Hours to Kill' is a movie that can be quickly and easily summarized, when an innocent man escapes a lynching, he breaks all the rules to clear his name, disbelieving that no one of his hypocritical friends, will stand by him... Everybody want him to leave town... His enemies simply want him dead...

The supporting cast do well—particularly Donna Reed with her sensitive portrayal of a woman in love, shocked to see her brother getting shot in the back by her lover...

Welker makes great use of the limited locations and uses a wide variety of interesting angles and cuts to add some tension and excitement to the film...

A taut little Columbia western produced by Jimmy Cagney's brother William reminiscent of 'Fury', 'High Noon' and Dana Andrews' own 'Ox-Bow Incident'. A strong female contingent includes a brunette Donna Reed, a red-haired Diane Foster and a blonde Carolyn Jones; while two of the dramatic highlights feature Whit Bissell at his most cowardly, first in his barber shop, and later when Andrews sneaks up on him and his co.conspirators (observed only by the audience) while discussing him in the local saloon.

A superior B-picture dealing with a gunfighter accused of murdering his fiancee's brother . Jim Guthrie (Dana Andrews) is a fugitive who has been run out of town after being nearly lynched for the murder of a man he did not kill. As Guthrie is the Man With The Rope Scar on his neck . All but pulled to pieces by a small town lynch mob including many of his so-called friends . Framed for murder, he escaped for three years but returns to find the real killer. But Jim is back , and he feels himself betrayed . As Jim arrives in town and he meets his old flame Laurie Mastin (Donna Reed) who is married to another ex-friend .Then the would-be-lynchers , fearing that Guthrie will exact some kind of vendetta for their anti-social treatment to him , set out to get him before he gets them.

An interesting and moving Western with a suspenseful premise , as an accused gunslinger back in town and he wants to track down the real murderer , then to find him out ; who is the true killer ? .The picture neatly slots together the dual time frames , containing emotion , thrills , shootouts , fights and an intriguing whodunit . Enjoyable and thrilling screen play from Roy Huggins , Maxwell Shane, Richard Alan and based upon a story by Alex Gottlieb. Main and support cast are frankly good . Dana Andrews gives an acceptable and sober acting as Jim Guthrie who barely escapes lynching by the town mob, becoming a wanted fugitive , bearing the physical and mental scars of his experience, and subsequently determined to clear his name. This one results to be the best character , generating a strong sense of bitterness and pain at the speed with Dana Andrews feels himself double-crossed . Other players are pretty well , such as Donna Reed playing the pregnant girl he left behind who marries another man, and Diane Foster as the girl Andrews takes with him after the real killer has been identified and harshly dealt with . Adding other notorious secondaries as Carolyn Jones , Whit Bissell , Stephen Elliott , Richard Coogan , Francis McDonald , James Westerfield , Richard Webb , Charlotte Fletcher , among others .

It displays an atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr who photographed several Westerns . As well as evocative and adequate musical score by Paul Sawtell . The motion picture was well directed by Alfred L. Welker . This film was made from his last years , as Alfred L. Welker was working from the 30 in the business . He realized a catalogue of routine assignments broken by highlights including : The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1935 and He walked by night 1949 the prototype serial-killer film noir , and a string of Western oaters . As Alfred Werker directed all kinds of genres : Drama , Film Noir , Adventures , sagebrush Westerns , such as : The Last Posse , Devil's canyon , Repeat Performance , Pirates of Monterrey , Whispering Ghosts , The Mad Martindales , Moon Over Her Shoulder , My Pal Wolf , Rebel in city , At Gunpoint , The Young Don't Cry , Canyon Crossroads and Sealed Cargo , a WWII Thriller that also starred Dana Andrews . Rating . 6.5/10 . Better than average Western . Worthwhile seeing .

Dour little Western (just count the smiles) that still manages a few surprises. So, who killed Carter. Not Jim Guthrie (Andrews), even though an over-eager lynch mob thinks so, leaving him with a permanent neck burn and a smoldering desire for revenge. It looks like a lot of folks hated Carter, so now, three years later, Guthrie's sleuthing work is cut out for him. A grudgingly sympathetic sheriff gives the innocent man three hours to nail the real culprit. So, it's a suspenseful countdown to sundown. Can he do it.

Can't help noticing this tale of a driven man's revenge was produced by Harry Joe Brown who later produced the thematically similar Randolph Scott cycle of Westerns (The Tall T {1957}; Comanche Station {1960} et al.). There's a strong similarity in the character and temperament of the leads, which suggests producer Brown had both a definite point of view and at least some influence on the screenplays.

Director Werker gets a lot out of LA area locations and a mixed cast of veterans like Andrews and newcomers like Foster. The unstable relationship between Andrews and Reed is more interesting and complex than in most Westerns. But I did have some difficulty keeping track of the four prominent ladies, a more crowded field than in most oaters. Anyway, the movie is a neat combination of whodunit and sagebrush that'll keep you guessing, without the usual clichés.