User Reviews

Well this one was a bit anti-climactic when all was said and done, wasn't it? After all, the first four of the five guys The Domino Kid set out to kill to avenge the murder of his father were dispatched within the first twenty minutes. That left almost a whole hour to get to the final showdown with bad guy Lafe Prentiss (Peter Whitney). But say, weren't you sidetracked by that ending just a bit? After all, in your typical oater, the fifth man should have been well dressed town boss Wade Harrington (Andrew Duggan), who had an eye on Domino's old girlfriend (Kristine Miller). All signs pointed to him and then, nothing. And I thought I knew every Western convention there was to know.

Anyway, if I didn't know better, this looked like Rory Calhoun's warm-up for his TV Western series that came out the following year - "The Texan". In fact, he didn't even have to change his outfit. His character Bill Longley rode into town wearing the same vest and intimidating potential outlaws with the same fast gun reputation. It comes as no surprise then that Calhoun and his partner Victor Orsatti produced that series just as they did the movie here. The series had cooler music over the end credits though.

Well if you're a Rory Calhoun fan, this one is OK, but the gunfights are somewhat awkward. He takes an unnecessary bullet to the shoulder against Number #4 Sam Beal, and the gunfight finale against Lafe defies all semblance of credibility, as this villain couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if he walked into it. A couple other reviewers on this board question the accuracy of Domino getting his fifth man, so a quick recap goes like this: #1 Haines in the opening scene; #2 Trancas in a showdown; #3 Ed Sandlin who sent Dragger (Denver Pyle) to bring him in; #4 Sam Beal; and #5 Lafe Prentiss. I thought Harrington would be a bonus.

Usually B westerns don't require much depth, but thanks to an above-average screenplay, well-developed characters and a very interesting story, this one ends up being actually really good. Rory Calhoun is a Civil War veteran who comes home and find out that his father has been murdered and his farm stolen from under him, so he sets out to get revenge and is a one-man posse of settling a vendetta. His old girlfriend (Kristine Miller) pleads with him to settle the score legally, but in the old west, there's no such thing, especially when you're dealing with people in power such as the character played by Andrew Duggan.

There are genuinely shocking moments of violence from some very shady villains, and bar girl Yvette Duguay finds herself victimized by one of those characters. But she's able to stand up for herself with feistiness and spitfire, and it's not the usual stereotypical kind. In fact, the script presents the Mexican Americans in a fair light rather than the excessively cheerful or downright ugly. The depth is much more realistic. It's the desperate men (all white) whom Calhoun is after who get one dimensional treatment, although Duggan as the main villain isn't presented in black or white terms as his desperation grows. Definitely one of the best B westerns of the 1950's.

"The Domino Kid" is a serviceable "B" plus western, one of many Rory Calhoun turned out in the late 50s and early 60s. He was co-producer, Ray Nazzaro the director and it was released by Columbia Pictures.

Calhoun plays the title character a civil war veteran who has returned to find his family's ranch, "The Double Six" represented by two dominos, over run and his parents killed. Apparently one of post civil war roaming gangs was responsible. Domino sets out to find the five members of the gang in question. He knows who four of them are and starts off the film by gunning two of them (unnamed) down. The girl he left behind, Barbara Ellison (Kristine Miller) beggs him to give up his quest.

While camping out on the trail a shadowy figure tries to ambush him. He turns out to be Dragger (Denver Pyle) who was sent by Ed Sandin (Roy Barcroft), one of the raiders. Domino gets Dagger to indicate who Sandin is in a saloon then guns himdown. Domino's next target is Sam Beal (James Griffith) who wounds Domino in the gunfight that kills Beal. This leaves only the fifth member of the gang whom Domino doesn't know.

Meanwhile, Wade Harrington (Andrew Duggan),, a land speculator, has begun to romance Barbara. A rivalry develops between the two men. Rosita (Yvette Duguay) runs a saloon where Domino hangs out. Juan Cortes (Eugene Iglesias) a former ranch hand at "The Double Six" plays guitar there and is a close friend of Domino. Rosita is attracted to Juan but he rejects her for some unknown reason.

Domino tries to borrow money from Harrington but he is turned down largely because of their rivalry over Barbara. Sheriff Travers (Robert Burton) tries to discourage Domino from going after the fifth man. When Harrington erects a dam over a stream on public land that supplied water to the "Double Six", Domino feels that he has no choice but to face his rival in a showdown.

At Rosita's saloon, a brutish burly man, Lafe Prentiss (Peter Whitney) tries to assault Rosita. Domino seeing this slugs the brute. Juan drags Prentiss out into the street. When he comes to, he thinks that it was Juan who slugged him. He and his men, Buck (Ray Corrigan) and Haims (Fred Graham) drag him off to a barn where Prentiss plans to torture him. Domino intervenes and frees his friend.

All indications point to Harrington as being the mysterious fifth man. As he is about to face Domino in a showdown.............................................................

I found it unusual that there were so many unbilled and recognizable western performers in the cast. In addition to Barcroft, Pyle, and Griffith look for Tom London, Dennis Moore Paul E. Burns and Don C. Harvey.

I really wanted to like this Western. It had a promising start. I expected good results from Rory Calhoun who starred in and co-produced the movie along with an experienced director of Westerns and a good cast of actors. But the movie became laughable due to (1) the script and direction which was loaded with incredible coincidences and lucky encounters, everything is telegraphed in the previous scene; and (2) poorly filmed shoot-outs where the hero should have been killed many times over. It had a good ending, though.

***Spoilers***. The story: while Calhoun is fighting in the Civil War, five bad guys kill his family. Calhoun knows who four of them are, but not the 5th. He kills the four one-by-one in a man-to-man duel instead of just shooting them on sight. It is also unbelievable that he can't get the name of the 5th man from any of the four.

After killing the 4th man, Calhoun heads home. By coincidence his girl visits his deserted home with her oily new "boyfriend" who is intent on acquiring the home. He tells her that Calhoun likely was recently killed (because left wounded in bad terrain!), and then he departs. The girl mopes inside Calhoun's neat deserted home, and mops, but lo and behold, Calhoun is inside. She tells Calhoun that most of the town is against him since he became a gunfighter tracking down those who had killed his family. Lo and behold, in the next scene Calhoun is in town getting the cold shoulder from most of the townsfolk (why?). Calhoun needs a loan from the local banker, who lo and behold, is the one pursuing his girl and who wants his land.

Calhoun knocks out a boorish saloon masher and has his Mexican friend drag the masher outside. The masher and his friends start to torture the Mexican in the mistaken belief that the Mexican (not Calhoun) knocked out the masher, but incredibly the Mexican doesn't say that he only dragged the guy out to the street! Then --most incredible of all-- the masher turns out to be the 5th man Calhoun was looking for, and for no good reason he starts a shoot-out with Calhoun! Why? Calhoun would have no idea who was the 5th man! The masher did not know that the Mexican would tell Calhoun.

Rory Calhoun had already established himself as a veritable presence in the western genre by the time he made this modestly budgeted oater for Columbia Pictures. Mostly it is an unremarkable picture, thought it does contain some good moments. It feels like an extended episode of a western television program, which isn't a bad thing, and indicates the actor's career was transitioning. Especially since he would soon star as The Texan at Desilu, in a weekly series.

The opening sequence certainly pulls us into the story. Mr. Calhoun plays an ex-Confederate soldier who recently returned home after the war. Instead of being greeted by his father, he learned the old man was senselessly killed by five men- rustlers who took off with the cattle from the Domino Ranch. When we meet Calhoun at the beginning of the movie, he is on a quest to avenge his father's death by hunting down the five culprits.

Calhoun is known as Domino Kid, a reference to the family ranch, and in quick succession he tracks down four of the five killers and takes care of them. However, the fifth assailant is unknown. Because Calhoun has been on the warpath, he has made himself vulnerable to a reprisal from the mystery killer who would know all about him without revealing one aspect of his own identity.

Meanwhile there is a bit of a love story that occurs, because after Calhoun returns to his ranch, he catches up with a former girlfriend (Kristine Miller). She hopes his need for revenge is over, but he says it won't be over until he gets the last man. At the same time, she is being courted by a land baron (Andrew Duggan) who is fighting over water rights with Calhoun. Duggan offers Calhoun a deal to sell the Domino Ranch and leave, but of course things won't be settled so easily.

For awhile I thought the film would go the predictable route and have Duggan turn out to be the mystery killer. A few red herrings occur to suggest this, especially when Duggan has conversations with the local sheriff about Calhoun's mission. But surprisingly Duggan turns out to be just a rival for Miss Miller's affections, and nothing more. The fifth killer is revealed to be a drifter that has come to the area to get rid of Calhoun.

There is an interesting final sequence, where Calhoun is supposed to have a duel with Duggan about the water rights, but this is interrupted by the presence of the fifth killer. As a result, we have a three-way confrontation that takes place on main street, with Calhoun battling both his enemies. Duggan ends up helping Calhoun defeat the killer, and he graciously steps aside to let Calhoun have a romantic reunion with Miller.