Day of the Outlaw is a 1959 Western film starring Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, and Tina Louise. It was directed by Andre DeToth; this was DeToth's final Western feature film.
At the end of the 19th Century, the tough rancher Blaise Starrett arrives in the snowing village of Bitters with his foreman Dan with the intention of killing the farmer Hal Crane: using the pretext of the barbed wire he is running around his farm. However, Blaise really wants Crane's wife Helen with whom he had a love affair. During the showdown between the cowboys and farmers in the saloon, a violent gang of outlaws led by Captain Jack Bruhn appears out of the blue interrupting their quarrel. Jack Bruhn, who is a notorious captain of the army responsible for the massacre of a village of Mormons, disarms the men and explains that they have robbed the payment of the army and the cavalry is chasing them. Bruhn is wounded and wants to spend the night in the village and he gives his word to the locals that his bandits will not touch the women. Further, he orders the barman to hide the booze from his men. When the local veterinary removes the bullet from the chest of Jack Bruhn, he realizes that he might have an internal bleeding and not survive. Blaise decides to lure the criminals out of town and lead them on a journey of no return.
Tropes:
- Affably Evil: Bruhn is never less than unfailingly polite to the townsfolk he is holding hostage, and keeps the wilder members of his gang in line.
- Attempted Rape: The lecherous Tex looks like he is about to force himself on Helen but is is stopped from doing by bandit leader Bruhn; at gunpoint.
- Brutal Brawl: The fight between Starrett and Tex in the snowy street has no finesse: it is just two tough men hammering away at one another until one of them falls.
- Call to Agriculture: At the end of the film, Gene, the only outlaw to survive, gratefully takes takes a job as a hand on Starrett's ranch.
- Closest Thing We Got: Bruhn was shot and badly wounded during the robbery. Knowing he needs to get the bullet out, he asks if Bitters has a doctor. He is told that there is Doc Langer, who is a veterinarian. Bruhn asks if Langer can remove a slug, and is told that he has in the past. Bruhn then forces Langer to operate on him.
- The Coats Are Off: When Tex expresses his desire to kill Starrett, Bruhn tells him to go ahead, but orders him to do it with his fists. Tex and Starrett both take off their heavy winter coats before they engage in a Brutal Brawl in the middle of the snowy street.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Captain Bruhn takes Gene's gun off him and orders him to give Tex his horse, telling him that he is being dismissed from the unit. Bruhn then rides off, leading the others, leaving Gene afoot in the snowy wilderness. However, Bruhn is actually doing this because he knows he is dying, and once he is dead, there will be nothing to stop Tex and Pace killing Gene. This way, Gene has a chance to survive, as he is still close enough to Bitters to make it back to town.
- Dangerous Deserter: Captain John Bruhn used to be a captain in the US Army who infamously lead a massacre of Mormons in Utah. He now leads a ruthless band of outlaws; several of which used to soldier under his command.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Captain Bruhn is a Dangerous Deserter responsible for the massacre of a Mormon town who now leads a band of robbers and murderers, but he will not tolerate any of his men molesting women, and prevents Tex from raping Helen by pulling a gun on him.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The events of the film cover about one day. One of the film posters even used the Tag Line "Twenty Four Hours Of Hell In The Life Of A Trapped Town".
- Hard-to-Light Fire: Starrett runs off, leaving Tex and Pace stranded on top of the mountain in freezing conditions. They are struggling to light a fire as it keeps blowing out in the freezing wind. Pace eventually resorts to using a gunshot to get the fire going, but the shot panics the horses and they run away. When Tex and Pace return from unsuccessfully trying to catch them, the fire has gone out again. Pace pats his pockets only to realise with horror that he has no more matches.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After Starrett wins his Brutal Brawl against Tex, Bruhn orders Shorty and Denver to take him down: using their fists. Already injured by his fight with Tex, Starrett is in no condition to stand up to the two outlaws, and Shorty grabs him from behind while Denver pounds him to a pulp.
- No Honor Among Thieves: After Bruhn dies, Tex and Pace decide to kill the rest of the gang and keep the entire $30,000 they stole from the army.
- Nothing Up My Sleeve: Bruhn intervenes to stop Tex pawing Helen, and probably raping her. Tex starts to reach for his gun, but Bruhn slides a derringer out of his sleeve and Tex changes his mind.
- Open Heart Dentistry: Bruhn was shot and badly wounded during the robbery. Knowing he needs to get the bullet out, he asks if Bitters has a doctor. He is told that there is Doc Langer, who is a veterinarian. Bruhn asks if Langer can remove a slug, and is told that he has in the past. Bruhn then forces Langer to operate on him.
- Slasher Smile: Tex and Pace, the two most psychotic members of Bruhn's band of outlaws, sport these much of the time, but especially whenever they raise the prospect of raping the townswomen.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: Dangerous Deserter Captain Jack Bruhn is still wearing his very well-maintained US Army uniform.
- Taking Over the Town: The gang holds the town hostage while Bruhn, wounded in a recent bank robbery, receives medical treatment.
- Twilight of the Old West: An exact year isn't given but Wyoming is still a territory, so it is before July 10, 1890. However, Starrett's feud with the homesteaders over barbed wire indicates it is late in the Wild West period.
