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)

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.

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.

This is a better western than some made in the 50's. Guy Madison is good as the reluctant fast gun. Lorne Greene (pre-Bonanza) is excellent as a thoroughly ruthless land baron. Valerie French is pretty. Myron Healy who has been in countless pictures is not even credited but is the reason for Guy Madison to go to the town where Lorne Greene is the boss. Madison does a good job of showing how a lawman can sometimes be as ruthless as the outlaws if not careful. He is forced to kill his friend and then finds out the friend may have been framed as a killer. He rides to the town where his friend committed the crime and runs into a lot of road blocks (most notably Lorne Greene's character) as well as a beautiful woman that he is not sure of.