Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 17, 2021

Don Siegel's "Stranger on the Run" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by film historian and screenwriter Gary Gerani as well as vintage broadcast trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Nowhere to hide

Ben Chamberlain (Henry Fonda), an alcoholic and ex-convict, arrives in a desolated railroad town looking for the daughter of a cellmate. The owner of the local saloon, Abraham Berk (Walter Burke), agrees to give him a bottle of whiskey if he helps him unload the latest shipment of supplies, and then warns him not to get involved with the girl because she has been making ends meet as a hooker and caused problems for the sheriff, Vince McKay (Michael Parks). But the newcomer ignores his advice, discovers that the girl lives alone on the outskirts of town, and prepares to immediately pay her a visit.

A few hours later, Ben enters the cabin where the girl lives and discovers her cold body. Realizing that he is in a lot of trouble now too, he decides to immediately leave town.

Meanwhile, the sheriff and his deputies learn from the saloon owner that Ben has gone to see the girl, and when later on pull her body from the cabin from a posse to catch the killer. They track down Ben in the desert, but instead of hanging him on the spot, the sheriff gives him a horse, a gun, and an hour head start to evade the posse.

As far as made-for-TV westerns are concerned, Don Siegel’s Stranger on the Run may very well be one of the best. It is based on a story by Reginald Rose, who produced the original material for the classic drama 12 Angry Men, and a script by Dean Riesner, who just a few years later collaborated with Siegel on his two greatest films, Dirty Harry and Charley Varrick. The cast is rock-solid, too.

The film understandably places the spotlight on Fonda because his struggle to stay alive after his release in the desert is the foundation of its story, but the drama that emerges from it relies on substantial and excellent contributions from the rest of the actors. For example, Parks routinely overshadows Fonda because the transformation he is desperately attempting to slow down reveals everything there is to know about the town he runs as well. Indeed, just like Parks the town is forced to maintain a particular image so that it pleases the Railroad Company, but this may very well have been the reason why the girl Fonda had agreed to meet has died. Anne Baxter’s widow, who later on befriends Fonda, urges her son to stop trying to be like Parks precisely because she recognizes that he is essentially an impostor as well. Parks’ deputies are mercenaries with long records, which the Railroad Company is happy to have around, but he is warned that they cannot be legally associated with its top brass.

The very particular editing gives the film the TV personality it needed to meet the expectations of its producers, but Siegel’s touch is still instantly recognizable. For example, there is a big shootout in the desert that is as ferocious as any other action sequence you can pull out of Siegel’s early theatrical films. The scope of the visuals is quite striking as well. Even the aerial shots seen during the opening credits quite easily could have been used in a big-budget theatrical western with a top-notch cast.

The film’s one and only weakness is the slightly rushed and a tad moralistic finale, where Fonda faces Parks and then chooses to follow his heart. Siegel would have done it differently if he did not have to worry about the type of audience the film was meant for. Parks is the perfect actor to wrap up a fine western the Siegel way, too. It would have been a darker and more cynical finale, culminating with Parks somehow forcing Fonda to realize that he should have never come to the railroad town and messed up with his crew.

The man moving the camera was Bud Thackery, a tireless pro who shot a massive number of westerns throughout his career. A year later, he again teamed up with Siegel on the excellent action thriller Coogan's Bluff.

Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stranger on the Run arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very beautiful new 2K master. I was so impressed with the technical presentation that at the moment I would not mind arguing that it is one of the best delivered by the folks at Kino Lorber. This film really does look spectacular on Blu-ray.

Delineation, clarity, and depth are so good that at times it feels like you are watching a film that was fully restored in 4K. Some of the outdoor footage, in particular, is flat-out gorgeous (See screencaptures #15, 16, and 17). The indoor and nighttime footage looks very impressive as well, though this may be the only area where some minor improvements can be made to further expose darker nuances. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The color-grading job is outstanding. The primaries are very solid and looking very healthy, while the equally impressive supporting nuances are perfectly balanced. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. Great presentation. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. The audio is very clear, sharp, and nicely balanced. Dynamic intensity is good too, and the big shootout in the hills actually reveals some pretty impressive contrasts. This being said, I have to mention that you will probably need to turn up the volume a bit to be able to hear absolutely everything Michael Parks' character utters.

Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage broadcast trailer for Stranger on the Run. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by film historian and screenwriter Gary Gerani. It is outstanding. Mr. Gerani offers an excellent, very detailed analysis of the film, and comments on the era in which it emerged as well as the careers of Don Siegel and key cast members. Find the time to listen to it in its entirety.

Stranger on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You can't compare Stranger on the Run to the other big films Don Siegel directed because it is a TV project, which means that it was conceived to please a different audience. If you keep this in mind, you will realize that Stranger on the Run is a near perfect film. It has a safe finale, but the rest is terrific. For obvious reasons, it puts the spotlight on Henry Fonda, but I thought that Michael Parks routinely overshadowed him. What a great, great actor. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a fabulous exclusive new 2K master, which is one of the very best I have seen the label use for a catalog release. Very impressive. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.