Ride a Crooked Trail

In Ride A Crooked Trail a young fugitive Audie Murphy is forced to assume the identity of a famous US Marshal when he's seen with a broken badge that this marshal was known to wear. The marshal was killed on the trail, but Murphy had no hand in that.

This film is a treat for fans of Walter Matthau who plays a Roy Bean like judge who enforces his decisions with a shotgun that he wields to deadly effect. Being fast on the draw does nobody any good with Matthau having it out and ready to splatter an entire saloon full of outlaws.

But Murphy goes along as it fits into his plans to rob the town bank at an opportune moment. Gia Scala an entertainer from New Orleans and her outlaw boyfriend Henry Silva may spoil things. But Murphy has plans for both of them.

This is a decent enough Audie Murphy western, but Walter Matthau as the judge really makes this one special. Matthau did all kinds of roles before he became a star after the Oscar he received for The Fortune Cookie, some serious, some comic, some good guys, some bad. Here like Roy Bean he's the symbol for law and order in his part of the frontier, but like Roy Bean he makes it up as he goes along.

Audie's fans will like Ride A Crooked Trail, but for fans of Walter Matthau here's a chance to discover one of his more neglected performances.