"5 Card Stud" is a western that should have been a lot better. The plot setup was exceptional...but the film failed to adequately take advantage of this.
When the film begins, a man is accused of cheating at cards. Instead of calling the sheriff, the rest of the gamblers decide to hang the guy! Van (Dean Martin) tries to stop them and ends up getting beaten up for his efforts. Not surprisingly, after he awakens, Van decides to leave this hellish town. While he's gone, word gets to him that a couple members of the hanging party have themselves been strangled by someone...who, exactly, they didn't know.
Starting at this point, the film starts to fall apart because so often the film didn't make sense. Van decides to return to the hellish town....why? He easily could be next and it's not like Van is a sheriff or ninja!! And, once he's there, there's only one stranger in town--the weirdo preacher (Robert Mitchum) and he's pretty obviously the killer but it takes folks a very long time to figure this out. Other ridiculous plot problems include making Roddy McDowell the baddie who beats up Van!!! Heck, I think McDowell might have had trouble beating up Inger Stevens in this film and that just didn't make sense. Nor, did it make any sense his going into business with the killer...and vice-versa. It's all a real shame, as the film started off so well and degenerated due to poor writing and casting. Rarely have I seen a film go off the rails so quickly and completely. There's no mystery (there should have been), there are lots of inconsistencies and the film makes poor use of a fancy director (Henry Hathaway) and a decent cast.
When the film begins, a man is accused of cheating at cards. Instead of calling the sheriff, the rest of the gamblers decide to hang the guy! Van (Dean Martin) tries to stop them and ends up getting beaten up for his efforts. Not surprisingly, after he awakens, Van decides to leave this hellish town. While he's gone, word gets to him that a couple members of the hanging party have themselves been strangled by someone...who, exactly, they didn't know.
Starting at this point, the film starts to fall apart because so often the film didn't make sense. Van decides to return to the hellish town....why? He easily could be next and it's not like Van is a sheriff or ninja!! And, once he's there, there's only one stranger in town--the weirdo preacher (Robert Mitchum) and he's pretty obviously the killer but it takes folks a very long time to figure this out. Other ridiculous plot problems include making Roddy McDowell the baddie who beats up Van!!! Heck, I think McDowell might have had trouble beating up Inger Stevens in this film and that just didn't make sense. Nor, did it make any sense his going into business with the killer...and vice-versa. It's all a real shame, as the film started off so well and degenerated due to poor writing and casting. Rarely have I seen a film go off the rails so quickly and completely. There's no mystery (there should have been), there are lots of inconsistencies and the film makes poor use of a fancy director (Henry Hathaway) and a decent cast.