Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Oslo Jargo (Bartok Kinski) While The Hard Man (1957), isn't the best western film, it isn't that awful.Most of the action takes place in town, so that may put off some of the audience. Guy Madison is a bit of a square-jawed, tough guy here, who is used by the law to hunt for murderous outlaws. He shoots one of his old cowpoke friends in self-defense, and the guy claimed he was innocent. Guy Madison gets picked up by an elderly sheriff to be his side man and use his gun if he has to. That puts him at odds with Lorne Greene, who continues his "bad guy streak" (Tight Spot (1955)). He isn't half bad. Guy Madison finds out that Lorne Greene was behind his cowpoke friend's setup.There's a love interest in the form of Valerie French (from Jubal (1956)), and she is lovely to look at. I think they should have had more bad guys that were formidable instead of being cartoon rogues.The film is a barely above the average, and although it's not that exciting, it wasn't a bad view for an American western film.Also recommended: Jubal (1956) Hour of the Gun (1967) A Man Called Gannon (1968) The Last Hard Men (1976)

chipe This is a very poor western; I found it difficult to watch. For the first 80% or so, it has a ridiculous, pompous, almost juvenile, turgid screenplay. A second strike against it is that it is bad despite its decent production values and cast. One interesting aspect is that it is unlike most poor movies which often start out as an intriguing, entertaining situation, but are eventually found out for what they are when it's silly plot plays out for all to see. But this movie reverses that -- things actually improve in the end.Typical of the many embarrassing plot contrivances is when Valerie French, the wife of the overwhelmingly richest man in town, sneaks into Guy Madison's room. She walks up to him (a complete stranger to her); they embrace and she offers to hook up with him if he'll take her from her husband! In another silly scene, Lorne Greene (the husband) is in a Guy Madison-friendly place at night, and he tells Madison that he has hired someone to kill Madison. By all rights Madison could safely and should have killed Greene right there, but no.Some decent scenes at and near the end of the movie do NOT redeem it: (1) there was a fun, campy whose-afraid-of-Virginia-Wolf-type scene between Greene, French and Greene's lawyer (who is involved with French). They let it all hang out. Greene leaves a gun near the other two; French grabs it, points it at Greene and clicks the trigger, but Greene deliberately left it there unloaded. Still Greene won't let his wife leave him! And (2) there is a suspenseful shoot-out at the end, which leads to a twist in the story.

bkoganbing Guy Madison plays the title role in The Hard Man, a rather ruthless deputy sheriff who prefers to bring in his fugitives draped over the saddle. Saves a lot of judicial proceedings that way. But when an old friend he's sent to track down tries to outdraw him, Madison is forced to shoot Myron Healey who's been accused of murder. Before Healey dies he gives Madison a convincing story he was framed. Shooting down a friend who may have been innocent sends Madison off to a nearby town looking for answers. All lines of inquiry lead to cattle baron Lorne Greene and his wife Valerie French.I don't think Lorne Greene was cast as Ben Cartwright in Bonanza on the strength of this role. Greene's a mean one here, a guy who has increased his herd through rustling and he's got a nice batch of gunfighters on the payroll to keep questions to a minimum.However Valerie French who played Ernest Borgnine's unfaithful wife in Jubal plays exactly the same kind of part here. She's looking for a way out of her marriage, one way or the other. Both these issues figure prominently into why Healey was killed.The Hard Man is a nicely done adult type western with some solid performances by Madison and the rest of the cast. With some bigger name players this film would be more known, but I can't fault anyone either behind or in front of the camera for their work.

Terence Allen The Hard Man does not stand out as anything unique, but it is an entertaining western that can hold your interest during viewing. Guy Madison does fine as the stalwart lawman/gunfighter brought in to clean up the town. Valerie French has the requisite beauty as the femme fatale, although it sounds as if her voice was dubbed by another actress. The greatest revelation about the Hard Man is seeing a pre-Ben Cartwright Lorne Greene play a ruthless, utterly despicable villain. This was made several years before Bonanza began, and Greene makes the most of playing the bad guy. This alone makes the movie worth watching. The Hard Man is a fine Western to watch to pass the time. The only thing noteworthy is to watch this while comparing Greene's character to his future Ben Cartwright role.