STRANGER AT MY DOOR: SAVED BY FAITH

Westerns were once the staple of the movie going public. Between the big budget films that featured John Wayne and the low budget B movies that played each week it was rare that a western wasn’t playing at one time or another. This is not to say they were all good, but they weren’t all bad either. So when you discover that some of those classic forgotten westerns are being released on blu-ray it’s nice to know that some film history will help them live on.

Among those forgotten and so-so movies you’ll now find STRANGER AT MY DOOR. The movie opens with some of the worst bad guys I’ve ever seen in a western, bank robbers not content to rob the bank but who try to set the entire town on fire as well while shooting anyone who walks into the street. On the lam the gang, led by Clay Anderson (Skip Homeier), splits up agreeing to meet later. Clay’s horse gets injured and he stops at the nearest farm to steal a horse there.

Instead he meets a young boy named Dodie who helps him water down his horse and Dodie’s step mother Peg (Patricia Medina). The young and attractive woman lets Clay know that her husband, local preacher Hollis Jarret (Macdonald Carey) will be home soon and help him with the horse. Giving her an assumed name, Clay thanks her for her help and Hollis soon shows up.

As the film moves on we see Clay and Dodie develop a friendship of sorts. The cold blooded killer may have some good in him after all. Then again he also begins hitting on Peg when the chance presents itself. Through it all Hollis begins to realize who Clay really is and rather than turn him in to the sheriff, he tries to convert him, seeing that conversion as the reason that God brought them together.

Various moments run through the film involving everything from taming a wild horse (a scene that actually becomes hilarious and thrilling at the same time thanks to a stuffed dog replacing a real one), a storm that threatens the homestead and watching as Clay move back and forth from the bad man he is known as and the possible saved soul that he could become. It’s played out in what most will view as a rather hokey way but still presents and entertaining film for those of us who recall not just these types of films but the law and order old west we grew up with on TV in shows like GUNSMOKE and RAWHIDE.

If you love those old westerns you’ll enjoy this movie from start to finish. If you’ve never experienced one of those old black and white westerns this would be a good place to start. And for film collectors this is a welcome addition in the western category. Saddle up and give it a watch pardner.

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