Man in the Shadow

Not to be confused with the British crime film released with the same title in the same year, Jack Arnold’s Man in the Shadow presents a deep moral dilemma, especially common in Westerns, in which a man is compelled to choose between two paths: the dangerous, moral one or the easy, immoral one. In this case, it’s a matter of small town corruption. When a laborer is beat to death with a baseball bat on Golden Empire cattle ranch, the town’s primary employer, a timid witness informs town sheriff Ben Sadler (Jeff Chandler). Once it gets underway, Sadler’s investigation is thwarted by the corrupt ranch owner, Virgil Renchler (Orson Welles, whose presence can elevate even the most insignificant film), who wields his power over the local economy and influence over the local citizens to pressure Sadler to stand down (“If I say it was an accident, then an accident it will be”). Soon, the whole town, even his own wife Helen (Barbara Lawrence), is urging Sadler to let it go, but “What will we become without the law?” Colleen Miller plays Renchler’s daughter Skippy, who grows disgusted by her father’s cover-up. Sharing thematic elements with On the Waterfront (1954), the film’s low budget keeps it out of the ballpark of Kazan’s masterwork, yet Man in the Shadow, slightly more noir than Western, still makes its straightforward, small-town story entertaining enough for the most discerning noir fan.