The Lonely Man (DVD)

The past and the future close in on a reformed gunslinger. Like Alan Ladd in SHANE, Gregory Peck in THE GUNFIGHTER and Clint Eastwood in UNFORGIVEN, Jack Palance's Jacob Wade in THE LONELY MAN belongs to that saddlebag full of Westerns about a gunslinger to coming to terms with his infamous past and uncertain future. He's a notorious outlaw trying to ride the trail of respectability. But where Wade goes, his reputation follows. And so does trouble. Fearful citizens are quick to turn him out of their town. Vengeful killers have vowed to stalk him to his grave. And Wade's son (Anthony Perkins), embittered over his father's long absence, cannot quell the pain and hate in his heart. Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins and Elisha Cook co-star in this spare, ruggedly entertaining sagebrush saga.

• western