Mickey-2
"Five Card Stud" is one of a few westerns that combine a western background spun with a murder mystery. As such, the formula works fairly well. Starring Dean Martin as a gambler and Robert Mitchum as a preacher with a hidden past, the scene takes place in Rincon, Colorado, where a gold strike of some size has been discovered and where tensions are a bit high. One night, Martin, as Van Morgan, hosts a 7 player game of 5 card stud, a game at which he is fairly competent with. He takes a break, Roddy McDowell takes over, and immediately catches an outsider trying to palm a card, and a lynching ensues. Morgan attempts to stop the lynching, but is knocked unconscious for his effort, and the hanging concludes. Later, two murders occur, and the connection seems to be that both murdered players were in this particular card game. Mitchum arrives on the scene, playing a western preacher as only he could, and unfortunately, the murders keep happening, again by some form of strangulation or hanging. Tensions continue to mount, until finally only Morgan and McDowell's character are left, and the preacher, Jonathan Rudd, is watching with some degree of mystery and an aura of suspense. The final confrontation does take place, and the murders do stop in Rincon. Good musical background by Maurice Jarre, fine support cast in Inger Stevens, Denver Pyle, Yaphet Katto, and Katherine Justice, with able direction by Henry Hathaway. Good western fare.
drystyx
This is a formula type story told in a Western. The plot: A lynch mob forms at a poker table after one of the players is caught cheating. Rody McDowell steals the show as the evil leader of the lynch mob, a spoiled rich kid with nothing but meanness in his soul. Dean Martin plays a Hollywood style poker playing pro who tried to stop the lynching. The players keep quiet about it, but find themselves being killed off one by one. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the killer is very early. The situations are contrived, but at least fun. The plot follows a logical, easy to follow pattern, and resembles mindless fun. Still, the script and characters are so weak that only McDowell's evil gives the viewer someone to root for or against (in this case against.) But it is not a dull movie, and does entertain to some extent.
Nazi_Fighter_David
Despite his attempt to stop the execution, Van Morgan (Dean Martin) was hit by a gun on his head and thrown out, at night, in the streets of Rincon, Colorado and the clumsy crook was lynched
Feeling uncomfortable, Van Morgan leaves for Denver the next day
In the days of his absence, two of the seven card players have been dead, one being drowned in a flour barrel, the other got it with a twist of wire
For Little George (Yaphet Kotto) who went to see Van in Denver, it looks to him somebody is out to kill every man at that party which is a real good reason for Van to steer clear of Rincon if he is figuring on coming back
Meanwhile, a gold rush has brought a bunch of outsiders to the town so, on his return, Morgan finds new faces like Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum), the preacher with a Bible in his hand and a Colt in his belt ; and Lily Langford (Inger Stevens), with her elegant barbershop and her gorgeous lady 'barbers.'Robert Mitchum plays the man who is looking for the man who is looking for him
Tension mounts when Nick Evers (Roddy McDowall) saves the hunter a long hunt
Dean Martin waits as the gambler who doesn't bank on his cards, because if he does, he winds up broke
bkoganbing
5 Card Stud is a re-make of Dark City which was released in 1950 and was Charlton Heston's feature film debut. Dean Martin is now playing the Heston part and in many ways he's reprising the role he did in Some Came Running. The role of gambler comes natural to him, it was one of many professions Dino tried in his youth before discovering show business. In the original the part Robert Mitchum plays originated with Mike Mazurki. Mazurki had a limited role in Dark City so Mitchum's part has been built up considerably. As always Robert Mitchum is interesting.The original Dark City involved a high stakes poker game in which Don DeFore got trimmed of the rent money and just about everything else. Rather than go home, he kills himself. Soon afterward his psychotic brother goes on a rampage against everyone in that game.It's no suicide here, but a lynching as the victim is caught cheating. If you've seen Dark City than you already know who the murderer is and it's not too hard to figure it out here. In the supporting cast, standing out are Roddy McDowell as the spoiled son of a local rancher who leads the lynch party and Yaphett Kotto who is the bartender in the saloon where the fatal poker game took place.Martin and Mitchum work well together, this is good entertainment.
AD
