The Lonely Man – Blu-ray Review

Let’s look at The Lonely Man. Though he started his career as an actor, Henry Levin got his first Hollywood job at Columbia Pictures in 1943 as a dialogue director. Within a year, he made his directorial debut with the horror film Cry of the Werewolf (1944) and by the end of the 1940’s, he was one of the studio’s top directors with films like The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946), The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947), The Man from Colorado (1948) and Jolson Sings Again (1949). By 1957, he was under contract to 20^th Century Fox, but was lent out to Paramount Pictures for the western The Lonely Man. Previously released on DVD by Paramount in 2005, Kino has licensed the movie for its Blu-ray debut.

The Production: 4/5

Once a notorious outlaw, Jacob Wade (Jack Palance) spends his days drifting from place to place across the West – most citizens want nothing to do with him – before riding into Red Bluff to reconcile with his grown son Riley (Anthony Perkins). However, Riley has a deep, burning anger in his heart towards his father for abandoning his mother – who later killed herself, but Riley blames Jacob for her death – and intends to keep his father at arm’s length by any means necessary. However, as family friend Ben Ryerson (Robert Middleton) tells Riley the truth about why Jacob left him and his mother, another man from Jacob’s past with an axe to grind – the hot-headed King Fisher (Neville Brand) – has a grudge of his own to settle with Jacob. The revelation of these facts – including Jacob’s failing eyesight – compels Riley to set aside his anger and help his father with what may be the final gunfight of his life.

One of the more underrated westerns of the 1950’s, The Lonely Man is one of the best at dealing with the “gunslinger with a past” trope of the genre. Under the direction of Henry Levin, the film wastes no time in setting up Harry Essex and Robert Smith’s story, which follows in the footsteps of George Stevens’ Shane (1953) yet carves out its own trail here. Perhaps the chief visual asset here – besides the fact that VistaVision is used to great effect here – is the cinematography of Lionel Lindon, who makes the Lone Pine locations used in the film (in addition to shooting at the famed Iverson Ranch) seem brooding and moody in black and white; longtime Paramount stalwarts Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson and Sam Comer – three-quarters of the film’s production design team here – and Nathan Van Cleave (who composed the film’s score as well as the titular ballad sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford during the opening credits) should also be commended for establishing the atmosphere here. However, the best part here are the strong performances from the cast that brings this well worn story to life. So, while it falls under the shadows of Shane and even the later Unforgiven (1992), The Lonely Man is still one of the best – if underrated – westerns to tackle a familiar trope of the genre and bring it to vivid life; in short, it’s one of those hidden gems from the 1950’s worth seeking out.

Though previously netting two Best Supporting Actor Oscar nods for Sudden Fear (1952) and the aforementioned Shane, Jack Palance has one of his best leading roles here – and a non-villainous turn at that – as Jacob Wade, the gunslinger trying to make amends for his past; he would eventually win his Oscar for playing the crusty trail boss Curly in City Slickers (1991). Coming off of the only Oscar nomination of his career for Friendly Persuasion (1956), Anthony Perkins has one of his best roles prior to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho as the embittered Riley; the same year as this movie, Perkins appeared alongside Henry Fonda in Anthony Mann’s The Tin Star in a role not too dissimilar to the one he played in this movie. A decorated U.S. Army Sergeant during WWII – he won a Silver Star and a Purple Heart – and relatively fresh off of a BAFTA nomination for his role in Don Siegel’s Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), Neville Brand has another one of his villainous tough guy performances here (he made a career out of playing these parts) as the vindictive King Fisher; a year prior to this movie, he achieved fame by being the first actor to portray outlaw Butch Cassidy in the film The Three Outlaws. Rounding out the ensemble cast here are Elaine Aiken – in her film debut – as Ada Marshall, Robert Middleton as Ben Ryerson, Elisha Cook Jr., Lee Van Cleef and Adam Williams as members of Fisher’s gang, Claude Akins as Blackburn, James Bell as the judge who forces both Jacob and Riley out of his town, Taggart Casey as the sheriff of the same town who forces Riley out physically, Denver Pyle as the Red Bluff sheriff and Harry Shannon as Doc Fisher (no relation to the hot blooded King); look for John Ford regular Russell Simpson as one of the poker players in Red Bluff.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

For this Blu-ray release, the film is presented in its original 1:85:1 VistaVision aspect ratio, taken from a brand new HD transfer created by Paramount Pictures from a 6K scan of the original 35mm VistaVision camera negative. There’s minimal cases of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer while fine details, film grain and gray scale are all presented faithfully with strong clarity without giving the image a waxy appearance. When compared to Paramount’s previous DVD release from 2005, this Blu-ray is by far the best the movie will ever look on home video.

Audio: 5/5

For this Blu-ray release, the film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a 2.0 dual mono DTS-HD Master Audio track. There’s minimal instances of distortion issues like crackling, popping, clicking and hissing present while dialogue, sound mix and Nathan Van Cleave’s music score – along with the titular ballad co-penned by Jack Brooks and sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford – are all given a strong and clear audio presentation. Again, when compared with the previous Paramount DVD, this Blu-ray release will likely be the best the film will ever sound on home video.

Special Features: 3/5

Commentary by film historian Toby Roan – Recorded for this release, Roan goes over the background on the cast and crew as well as the production on the film.

Theatrical Trailer (2:18)

Bonus KLSC Trailers – Shane, High Noon, Backlash, Night Passage & The Big Country

Overall: 4/5

Though it has fallen by the wayside over the years, The Lonely Man is still an underrated gem of a western that gave Jack Palance one of his best lead performances and is likely the best film Henry Levin directed. Kino has likely delivered the definitive edition of the film on home video, with an excellent HD transfer and an informative commentary track as a special feature. Very highly recommended and absolutely worth upgrading from the previous Paramount DVD

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Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.