Cagney's Henry

[Early Graves]

I recently saw"Tribute to a bad man",with James Cagney.I noticed that he carried a Henry rifle.In one scene,he was loading it.That's very rare for a '50s flick.

[Texas Lawdog]

Cagney was only in about 3 westerns that I remember, "Oklahoma Kid" in 1939,  "Run for Cover" in 55, and "Tribute to a Bad Man" in 56.  Spencer Tracy started the picture but quit and Cagney was re cast in the lead.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

This movie came on the Westerns channel and I was totally prepared to dislike it ....  What was Public Enemy #1 doing in a western?  I mean, really!

But the more I watched it, the better I liked the movie ... I even watched it when it was rebroadcast several times.

Early Graves was right, the movie is gritty and realistic as Hollywood got in the 50 .... cowboys worked hard in it, got dirty and tired.

A special extra was seeing Vic Morrow and Lee Van Cleef quite early in their carreers ....

[piebiter]

I agree with WaddWatsonEllis, the movie caught me a little off guard the first time I saw it. Cagney was surprisingly good in a western role. In fact the entire movie was very good. I now have it in my collection.