Bullet for a Badman

• Directed by R. G. Springsteen
• September 1, 1964
• Based on the 1958 novel Renegade Posse by Marvin H. Albert

A former Texas Rangers tries to bring in his former to whose ex-wife he is married. That got messy!

Despite Bullet for a Badman being an Audie Murphy vehicle, Darren McGavin as Texas Ranger-turned-outlaw Sam Ward is the first major player we meet. I am rather struck by him playing a complex villain and playing it well. When I hear ‘Darren McGavin’ I think of ‘Carl Kolchak’ or ‘the Old Man’ of A Christmas Story fame. Jerks at times or just irritating people but not a threatening yet likable criminal.

McGavin-as-Ward establishes himself as a threat quickly. He kills casually yet proceeds intelligently. His violence is not blind but a means to an end and used at the right moment. He is thoughtful and manipulative. There is an almost civility to him explaining how he was once a man of the law.

There is some confusing (to me) dialogue when we first meet Logan Keliher (Audie Murphy). I swear I thought some local jerks were calling him a former buffalo hunter. Turns out it was the older gentleman next to him but they were looking at Logan and Logan largely responded. Logan was a great Ranger but turns out to be a terrible farmer with past with the ladies as shown by the friendly banter between he and Goldie (Cece Whitney).

Murphy’s character as per usual is guided by a strong sense of right and wrong but also conflicted because Ward is a man he once trusted that was once his friend and on some level he still thinks of as a friend. That is despite numerous points in the movie Ward tries to murder Logan or trick him.

Ward and his gang plan to rob the local bank followed by a revenge killing of Logan since he is not only married to Ward’s ex-wife Susan (Beverley Owen) but is also raising Ward’s son Sammy (Kevin Tate) as his own. Holy Maury!

As per usual Murphy attracted a few well-known faces to his film. Skip Homeier who plays Pink (not the singer) was in a ton of stuff, Alan Hale Jr. played Leach before he became the Skipper, and Edward Platt of Get Smart! fame is Tucker. These and more form a posse to capture Ward.

This is not the story of a heroic posse bringing the bad guy to justice. One of the elements present is that many of the members are pursuing Ward to kill him and take the money while getting the reward which is a contrast to Logan looking to bring Ward in to be hanged. Logan’s life is in increasing danger from his own while Ward slowly becomes an ally due to a shared enemy. During Bullet for a Badman this posse becomes the villain of the story.

Through much of the movie, Ward has the goal of killing Logan and getting back everything he views that Logan has taken from him. That is his wife and the son he never got to know. It’s not even that Ward really wants it all back. It was just not lost in the way he wanted or liked. In one scene, he sneaks to Logan’s ranch and puts the moves on Susan. In the next he’s hitting on Lottie (Ruta Lee) whose now dead boyfriend was killed during the robbery. Not exactly painting a picture of a good man or of a good woman seeing how she quickly reciprocates.

Ward gets rehabbed a bit and shown to not be all bad. He grows as a character coming to regret the things that made him a wanted fugitive facing a hangman’s rope. He has a bit of a redemptive arc and comes to realize that he hasn’t been living a good life. His final sign of change is at the end. He is dying from his injuries at Logan’s farm and meets his son.

It looks like he is about to upend Sammy’s world, but McGavin communicates the change of heart with tone and expression letting the viewer know Ward understands letting the fiction stand is for the best. The script has Ward convey as much as he can of his thoughts and feelings with maybe some understanding of the truth on Sammy’s part. McGavin had some real talent.

What breaks that moment for me is when it turns to credits with the death of Ward. While the camera pulls back the remaining trio just walks inside leaving a dead body in the warm sun. It’s as if they shrugged shoulders and said, “Time for dinner now.” It should have ended with them standing over the body rather than looking to have moved on.

Murphy could be a bit of a blunt instrument as an actor but he could convey authority and strength and here showed skill at the internal conflict of Logan. There’s a lot going on inside of the character. He must protect his family. His sense of justice wants to bring back Ward to hang but this man once was and he still thinks of him as the buddy who rode with him in the Texas Rangers even though he’s wanted fugitive. 

That conflict is evident in Murphy’s actions and words. Murphy manages to convey the tension and concern he has over the son learning the secret. A number of expressions are used to sell to tell that to the audience without doing it in so many words.

He’s really sells those elements while also navigating the nature of the posse that wants to kill Ward to take the money and get the reward. If Susan didn’t have some level of positive feelings towards Ward it wouldn’t really sell Logan would even a little bit about him. She has feeling there but not of romantic love. She’s also noticeably torn between her feelings for Ward and protecting the son who believes Logan is the father.

Bullet for a Badman is an excellent western drama that has plenty of action as it explores a complex relationship. Good viewing for genre fans or people looking for a good film.