''Tribute to a Bad Man'' is a 1956 American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
and starring
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
about a rancher whose harsh enforcement of frontier justice alienates the woman he loves. It was based on the short story "Hanging's for the Lucky" by
Jack Schaefer
Jack Warner Schaefer (November 19, 1907 – 24 January 1991) was an American writer known for his Westerns. His best-known works are the 1949 novel ''Shane'', voted the greatest western novel, and the 1964 children's book ''Stubby Pringle's C ...
, the author of ''
Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
''.
Plot
Rustlers rob horses belonging to wealthy Wyoming rancher Jeremy Rodock and shoot him. He is found by young cowboy Steve Miller, who digs out the bullet, saves Rodock's life and is offered a job at the ranch.
Rodock believes in lynching rustlers personally without arrest or trial. His wrangler McNulty describes it as "a hanging sickness" to Rodock's woman, Jocasta Constantine, a former dance-hall girl ashamed of her past.
McNulty makes a pass at Jo. A jealous and suspicious Rodock sees them leave a barn together and jumps to the wrong conclusion. He fires McNulty, then beats him viciously before ordering him off the ranch.
Rodock sets out to find the men who stole his stock and murdered Whitey, a ranch hand. He rides to former partner Peterson's spread and demands to know if Peterson and son Lars were involved. They deny it, but Rodock soon comes to believe that Peterson and partners Hearn and Barjak are the thieves. He kills Peterson and hangs Hearn.
Lars vows to avenge his father. He joins up with McNulty and Barjak and plan to steal every horse Rodock owns. Steve is sickened by watching a man hang and Jo urges him to speak with Rodock about his vigilante ways. Steve has fallen in love with her and begs her to leave with him, but she will not.
Valuable horses are stolen and McNulty files down the hoofs into bloody stumps. Rodock catches up to the three thieves, makes them dismount and remove their boots. At gunpoint, he forces them to walk to jail through sand, rock and cactus. Barjak ultimately passes out and McNulty begs for mercy.
Rodock comes to his senses. He lets the other rustlers go and returns Lars to the Peterson ranch, where he offers to make restitution. Upon returning home, he finds that Steve is leaving forever and taking Jo with him. Rodock cannot blame either, but when he rides out to bring her some jewelry she left behind, Jo has a change of heart and stays with Rodock after all.
Cast
*
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
as Jeremy Rodock
*
Don Dubbins
Donald Gene Dubbins (June 28, 1928 – August 17, 1991) was an American film, stage and television actor.
Life and career
Born in Brooklyn, New York. Dubbins began his career in 1953, appeariing in the television series '' The Doctor''. He also ...
as Steve Miller
*
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
as McNulty
*
Irene Papas
Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...
as Jocasta Constantine
*
Vic Morrow
Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series ''Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstandin ...
as Lars Peterson
*
James Griffith
James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter.
Education
Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...
as Barjak
*
Onslow Stevens
Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor.
Early years
Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley Ste ...
as Hearn
*
James Bell as L.A. Peterson
*
Jeanette Nolan
Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998) was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series '' The Virginian'' (1962–1971) and ''Dirty Sally'' (1974), and in films such as ''Macbeth'' ...
as Mrs. Peterson
*
Lee Van Cleef
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...
as Fat Jones
Production
Production began with
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
as the star of the film, but he clashed with director Robert Wise and was extremely temperamental causing several delays in filming. When Tracy claimed that the high altitude of the mountain set was making him ill and insisted that the set be moved to a lower location, he was finally dismissed from the film by MGM and replaced by James Cagney.
Robert Francis was originally cast in the role of Steve Miller, but he was killed in an airplane crash just before filming began. Francis was replaced by
Don Dubbins
Donald Gene Dubbins (June 28, 1928 – August 17, 1991) was an American film, stage and television actor.
Life and career
Born in Brooklyn, New York. Dubbins began his career in 1953, appeariing in the television series '' The Doctor''. He also ...
.
Irene Papas
Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...
replaced
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
who turned the film down as did
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
and
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...
.
[https://erenow.com/biographies/spencer-tracy/28.html ]
Reception
According to MGM accounts the film earned $1,193,000 in the US and Canada and $849,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $1,623,000.
See also
*
List of American films of 1956
A list of American films released in 1956
''Around the World in 80 Days'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A-B
C-D
E-I
J-M
N-R
S-Z
See also
* 1956 in the United States
Sources Footnotes
References
*
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External links
19 ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tribute To A Bad Man
1956 films
Films based on short fiction
Films directed by Robert Wise
1956 Western (genre) films
Films scored by Miklós Rózsa
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American Western (genre) films
CinemaScope films
Revisionist Western (genre) films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films