Jeff (actionrating.com) See it – "Even the fastest gun can be beaten. Things are different when the target can shoot back." In this largely unknown western, Clint Walker plays a reformed convict who vows never to use a gun again. Things change when he has trouble finding a job and agrees to become the main attraction of a traveling wild west show. But when the star trick-shooter gets jealous, there could be trouble. This is one of the most unique westerns ever made. It has a great story, a smart script, and a shocking ending. The only problem is that there is a gunfight at the beginning and at the end and nothing in between. If you get bored easily, stay away from this one. Otherwise, enjoy a one-of-a kind western.

Scarecrow-88 Luke Santee's boys slip inside a fort(using caskets to hide in!)to rescue his brother out of a hanger's prison. Luke's brother is denied his chance to escape thanks in part to a prisoner named Cain who is soon let out as a rehabilitated man.Living a life outside bars without using a gun again, however, won't be an easy task. More mellow, with no interest in picking up a Colt, as proposed by traveling showman with cat-like grin, Dan Ruffalo(Vincent Price, in a wonderful change of pace, in a rare western role)for a role in his shooting gallery, Cain really wants to go legitimately straight, but in comes Luke Santee to make his life miserable. Roughed up by Luke and his men, no work available for released cons, Cain will have his hands full.Cain befriends a painter named Monica(the beautiful Anne Francis; Forbidden Planet)while encountering her in an abandoned town. Unable to hold a job due to his notorious reputation, he finally decides to join Ruffalo. Ruffalo has in his possession a Colt with 12 notches depicting the number of men Cain killed during his outlaw days before 18 years behind bars.Young sharpshooting Billy, very talented with a gun, who had idolized Cain, with dreams of living the life of a gunfighter, is the star of traveling show. Billy resents Cain(Ruffalo has a particular interest in him due to his draw of the crowd, bringing in big profit), and wants to upstage him, always engaging in intense arguments, often attempting to cause a gunfight.MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE carries that familiar theme of a man trying with all his might to escape his past, a past which haunts him wherever he goes. We see at the conclusion that maybe there's no way to avoid fate..a son, father, retired marshal still holding a grudge, there'll always be someone appearing out of the blue looking for revenge.Through the only friendship he's able to develop, with Monica, Cain could just maybe find the peace he's been looking for. He wants to help build a place with Monica as the two eventually fall of love.Billy, really immature even if he's good with a gun, is psychotic and unstable and it's only a matter of time before he'll be confronting Cain for a duel..interesting decision by the filmmakers, though, to go in a different direction with Cain getting the upper hand against his young rival.Particularly brutal is Price's fate, in slow motion, like a mutt in the street. I must say that I hated the music used in this movie, the upbeat score seems more suited for a slapstick comedy than a serious western about men with guns. Odd structure, too, setting chapters in the film through different seasons, also moving the pace a bit faster, eliminating chunks of story, like specific passages of time when life wasn't exactly kind to Cain(the plot is uninspired when it comes to the relationship between Cain and Monica, although Francis does what she can with a rather underwritten role). I also found the song which opens and closes the film particularly dire..it's a Dimitri Tiomkin knock-off that doesn't exactly work for this film, and, if anything, sounds really outdated and corny. Plenty of bullets and blood, though, including a spirited brawl between Cain and Luke within the old buildings of the abandoned town. Billy whimpers and sobs when anyone puts him in an uncomfortable position, and his fate shows how pathetic he is when the gun isn't available for use. I think the major flaw of the film is the diminishing of Luke Santee's character after setting him up in such a way at the beginning. Clint Walker is rather a bore, if I were to be truly honest, but he's a beefcake so I can see why he was used in the role of Cain. Paul Hampton really steals the film in the most colorful part of Billy, a certifiable headcase who stirs the pot, the one behind animosity, always a needling prick. Mike Henry is Luke Mantee, a mean criminal who isn't someone you hope to cross hairs with.

brownish33 OK, saw the movie on DVD, it must have just been released on DVD which is good for the other reviewers who were asking for it. anyway, the story revolves around Clint walkers character "killer Cain" who killed 12 men and went to jail for about 20 years. finally gets set free and tries to start a new life, but encounters problems along the way, and cant seem to keep a job until he joins Price's gun-shooting show. this really weird kid called henry (whos supposed to be i guess a kid of 18-19 but looks like late 20's) is with Price and is very good shooter but he is also a bit off his rocker and comes off as almost homicidal at times, constantly wanting Cain to kill people and add notches to his gun, but Cain simply wont have it. he knows the error of his deeds and wants to start a new. its a very good little B-western that i enjoyed, Vincent price is chews up the scenery as always which is a good thing. Clint walker,whom i never saw before this movie, was very good as the big gentle soul who tries to redo his life. my mom grew up watching him in Shiane and she loved him as a kid. so we watched this and it was touching, at times you can tell its very 60's looking. but price was so enjoyable, as always, and it was so sad to see him die. but he got really good screen time so i cant say i feel jipped. however, the REAL shocker, and don't read anymore if you don't want to be *SPOILED!!!!*...................................Cain, who now has a wife and property and looks to finally found his place, gets visited by some guy we keep seeing earlier in the film but isn't revealed who it is, and the guy just shoots him! yeah! the guy just kills him right away, and then tells Cains crying wife that Cain killed his father 20 years ago and deserved what he got...and then simply rides away with a look of pride for avenging his fathers death. movie ends with this and shots of Cains wife crying and Cain lying dead. its very sad and VERY shocking. but this i guess was maybe a popular thing to do at the time. maybe it was to show that "violence begets violence"?perhaps was influenced by those gritty spaghetti Westerns that Eastwood made popular. i don't know, but it was a very weird ending, especially when you think its all over. but don't let that put you off from this, its still very much worth seeing. but seriously, if ANYONE could bother to explain what the hell the ending was about, i'd really appreciate it! also, movie has a WEIRD music score that i compare to the movie "ryans daughter", 2 movies that have a offbeat musical score that doesn't fit. during prices dramatic death, they play weird kinda "circus" type music and its just weird and doesn't quite make sense for such a tense scene. must've been a 60's thing, i don't know. well, enjoy the movie!

BachlorinParadise More Dead Than Alive turns out to be a surprisingly entertaining and fairly well-acted B movie.Clint Walker gives his typical "gentle giant" performance as Killer Cain, a convicted murderer who is released after 18 years in prison. After a senseless prison shootout in the beginning of the movie, you expert this film to be nothing more that a "shootem-up". However, once Walker's character is released from prison, the movie becomes a well-acted drama about such topics as prison reform, parole, murder, hero worship, forgiveness and the desire for fame.More Dead Than Alive's best performance is from Horror King, Vincent Price as Dan Ruffallo, a carnival barker with a traveling gun show. It's one of Price's best latter career performances.The kicker in More Dead Than Alive is the shocking surprise ending. So, if you're a fan of Clint Walker or Vincent Price, More Dead Than Alive is the film to see.