Product Description

Saddle up for a thrilling tale of heroes and villains in this "thought-provoking" western with "an ending that is truly different" (Film and Television Daily). Starring "tall, dark and handsome" (Hollywood Citizen-News) Clint Walker (Sam Whiskey) and the legendary Vincent Price(The Pit and the Pendulum) in one of his most colorful roles, this action-packed drama aims high and hits its mark! After serving 18 years, "Killer" Cain (Walker) is released from prison, determined never to touch a gun again. But the only job he can get is with Dan Ruffalo's (Price) traveling sideshow as the sharpshooting main attraction. As Cain works to build an honest future free of bullets and bloodshed, his enemies look to settle old scores. Now Cain must risk his new lifeto become the "Killer" once more or be haunted by his past forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14503 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2005-05-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 101 minutes

Customer Reviews

Basic but enjoyable
If you're prepared to forget one of the worst music scores in movie history and the fact that this looks and plays like a TV episode, then you're in for a reasonably enjoyable time. In fact, because it plays like a tv episode, it moves along at a fair old clip. The story is a cliche - gunfighter is released from prison but can't escape his murderous past. He joins a travelling Wild West Show (owned by a wonderfully hammy Vincent Price) as a sharp-shooter, much to the ire of the current gun-sharp (who's even hammier than Price). There's a lot of talk, and the big action sequence comes at the beginning of the film which tends to throw everything out of kilter. The other factor working against this is a lack of strong villains. The jealous gun-sharp is quickly established as a cowardly blow-hard, and the only other villain of note (played by ex-grid-iron star Mike Henry) disappears after twenty minutes and stays out of the action until right at the end. Even with all this working against it, More Dead Than Alive is an enjoyable, undemanding romp. Vincent Price bites the dust in what is possibly his bloodiest on-screen death (with maybe the exception of Witchfinder General) and there's a down and dirty fight between Walker and Henry at the end (even if they do tend to throw too many things at each other). I took the risk in buying this dvd and was pleasantly surprised.

Strange But Typical Late Sixties Western
As the country changed, so does popular culture. And the Western genre, which had been a movie mainstay for thirty years at this point, began to change. The Western was traditionally one of the most stable and dependable genres. The good guys were good, the bad guys were bad, and happy endings were always in store.

More Dead Than Alive is very typical of the Westerns that took over the genre in the late Sixties and early Seventies. The good guys were not always so good, the bad guys were either not so bad, or even worse than the typical bad guy, and the ending was never a happy one.

To be really subversive, More Dead Than Alive starred a Western stalwart, Clint Walker, who came to fame as Cheyenne Bodie in the long running TV western Cheyenne. Walker plays "Killer Kane", a notorious gunfighter who is freed from prison after 18 years. Kane is determined to live a respectable, law abiding life, but can't catch a break. He can't find a job except as a sharpshooter trading off of his reputation in a Wild West travelling show owned by Vincent Price. Price already has in his employ a young sharpshooter who becomes jealous of all of the attention that Kane is getting. Kane is also being pursued by a gang of outlaws seeking revenge.

The film seems slow at times, and features a conclusion that is sure to upset traditional Western fans. Everyone does their best, but the film seems too smart for it's own good. Actors walk directly into the camera, there's a touch of spaghetti western in the dialogue and direction, which really doesn't go with the nature of the film, and the film seems to really be a subversive parody masquerading as a serious Western. More Dead Than Alive is not the worst Western, but many will find it to be slightly below average.

"never holster an empty gun"
Made just before the "wild bunch" this features several bloody shoot-outs with vincent price getting a gun(in slow-mo)emptied into him. Much of the movie has walker unsuccessfully re-starting his life after leaving prison. His past as gunfighter keeps him from getting hired anyplace where he is known, his limited work is ruined by old enemies and some new ones, it is hard to keep track of how many people want him dead. A friendly carnival owner(price)is only out to exploit him while his other young sharpshooter tests cain's skills and patience. Painfully, he meets a good, loving woman, that he knows he can't have around when his past frequently catches up to him. The beginning hanging/prison break scene gets the movie off to a good start. My favorite scenes are when "killer kane" teaches the young cocky fast-gun lessons that are soon to be tested for real, and kane's ending fight with former "tarzan" mike henry. Clint Walker is his usual cool self with Vincent Price good in a totally different role.