Man in the Shadow is directed by Jack Arnold and written by Gene L. Coon. it stars Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller, Ben Alexander, John Larch and Barbara Lawrence. Uncredited music is by Hans J. Salter and Herman Stein, and cinematography by Arthur E. Arling.

The cattle town of Spurline is ruled by Virgil Renchler (Welles),one man refuses to bow to his despotic rule - Sheriff Ben Sadler (Chandler).

Obreos No Son Permitidos A Traves De Esta Cerca.

The above statement means that field hands are not permitted beyond this fence, it's an opening salvo that greets viewers of this atmospheric and relevant CinemaScope picture, and it's something that perfectly sets up the unseemly tone of the story.

The story is simple enough, a town is run by an unsavoury business man who thinks he and his cronies are above the law, the townsfolk think he is as well and tow the line, even in view of the overt racism and treatment to those of other ethnicity. When a murder is committed it brings in the upright and loyal to the law Sheriff, who as you might guess will have to stand alone against tyranny.

"Now you're shocked? All you decent people were shocked? For god's sake why? Because my name's Ben Sadler instead of Juan Martine, cuz I'm a tax payer instead of a drifter?"

With mood established, both in narrative thrust and monochrome magic, film is more concerned with political bile, the abuse of power and troubled consciousness than being an action piece. You may well know how this is all going to end, but it's told and performed in such a gripping fashion that it holds court from first frame till last. A number of striking images would grace many a film noir, the night shots of the town, a dastardly crime perpetrated in the shadow of a swinging lamp, the ominous lighting of the Renchler Ranch, and then there's the potency of the criminal acts, which are admirably constructed. Both Arnold and Arling proving to have keen eyes for visual impact.

Welles doesn't have to stretch himself but makes a telling mark as the big bad, while Larch does a nice line in snarly henchmen villainy. Sadly where Miller is concerned, as Renchler's daughter it's a token role that any gal could have played, the role seemingly only serving to have her strip to her undies and be annoyed with her dad. Head and shoulders above everyone is Chandler, there are those who call him wooden (amongst over things),not a bit of it. The right role, such as this, showcases his worth, his subtleties, his physicality and a calming grace that makes one lament his too short career and life.

Thematically this sort of piece has been done much better elsewhere, but this is laudable stuff all told and well worth discovering for potential first time viewers. 7/10

"Man in the Shadow" is a vigorous movie. Maybe an Orson Welles presence in a movie has the maximum temperature level, because, most of the time, having bought a certain effect over the years, Welles started to use roles of irascible, violent, arrogant men, exactly the role which was booked in this great movie starring Jeff Chandler, an underrated actor who lived very little. It's really a violent movie set in a small town dominated by a completely unscrupulous man. Its plot allows a certain parallelism with Arthur Penn's "The Chase, 1966", whose sheriff played by Marlon Brando faces a similar situation. It is a great movie in black and white. But the fact is that black and white only exceeds the violence, the racism and the growing tension that eventually explodes at the end of the movie. Jack Arnold, I think, made a great movie here, and Chandler has one of his best film performances, with Welles showing an all-time skill. Great representative of the 50's, great movie !!!

No question this isn't a great film, but I have to say it had me hooked from the outset. I haven't seen Jeff Chandler in much before, but I got into his earnest portrayal of a small town sheriff out to do the right thing, even if it meant bucking up against the local town boss and riling the citizens of Spurline. This had the feel of 'Dragnet' crossing paths with 'Wanted:Dead or Alive', and having Orson Welles on hand was just a bit of icing on the cake.

One thing for sure, this picture is a treasure trove of character actors that will have you grasping for names because you've seen them so many times before (at least for old timers like me who grew up on TV fare of the Fifties and Sixties). In no particular order, you've got Paul Fix, John Larch, Leo Gordon, Mort Mills, William Schallert and Royal Dano. Rocco looked familiar too though I couldn't readily place him. TV Westerns of the era would pop one of these guys into a story one at a time, but having them all together in one place is a neat trip down memory lane.

No sense in beating a dead horse regarding the story as other reviewers have done so nicely. The payoff here is having the local town folk arrive at the final showdown just in the nick of time since no way it was going to be a fair fight. In that respect, the picture does a one eighty against one of my all time favorites, "High Noon". The look on Orson Welles' face when he realizes the jig is up is just priceless, especially since daughter Skippy (Colleen Miller) earlier vowed she would see him pay for his ruthlessness. Wait a minute - Skippy? Who came up with that one?

Interesting side note - who would ever have guessed back in 1957 that a half century later, you could reverse the Royal Dano character's name and come up with an American Idol superstar. There's a trivia question you could have some fun with.