William James Harper I do NOT like Westerns. In fact, I never watch them because most are so clichéd as to boring due to the repetitions of the proceeding western. That said, I am glad that I read what other people wrote as my curiosity was aroused. Boy, am I glad I saw this movie on Turner Movie Classics! It has to be one of the best kept secrets in film making.How refreshing to see Cagney in a different type of role he's usually cast in. He shines. Watch his face during some of the scenes where he's shot close up. His expression(s) speak more than any words a writer could put in his mouth. Personally, I didn't find Papas that compelling but that's just my take.One of the strong points of the movie is to watch how Cagney's character changes from a hard nosed, determined man to some one who gains a different perspective from those he admires, the young ranch hand and the woman whom he befriended.As to the movie title, this has to be one of the most misleading titles of all times. Cagney is not a bad man by any means in this film. Trying to protect what you've worked all your life to build up makes you a bad man doesn't make you bad. And if you have to take the law into your own hands since there is not law where you live, so be it.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) I don't agree with the title because Cagney is not a bad man at all. He is just a man that in order to manage his business of breeding horses has to take the law in his own hands where there was no law at all. This western probably did not get the box office results it deserved because James Cagney and Irene Papas are not the actors you would expect in this genre. But Cagney has a superb performance in what is above all a love story, where he is a man with a hard character which becomes more human with the influence of his mistress, Irene Papas and Steve Millar(Don Dubbins, the narrator of the story.), who works for him. Irene Papas's acting reminded me a lot of Katy Jurado. Cagney and Papas are very similar to the couple played by Tracy and Jurado in Broken Lance. The efficient direction of Robert Wise, and the two main actors make this an above average film.

ma-cortes A tough and self-reliant rancher and landowner called Jeremy Roderick (James Cagney , though Spencer Tracy was cast as but was replaced , he complained and procrastinated about working on that location because of the altitude of working in the Rockies) will fight against anybody that attempt to rob his possessions . He's loved by a woman (Irene Papas) who lives in his home and hires a cowboy called Steve Miller (Don Dubbins , though Robert Francis was originally cast but he died in a plane crash) when is originated the classic triangle . The arrogant rancher will confront rustlers and he'll carry out the hanging's law (also called Lynch's law) against those . James Cagney's interpretation is outstanding , he plays magnificently as a pride and cruel proprietary , a merciless baron land . Irene Papas in her first movie is sweet and enjoyable , she demonstrates the excellent actress to result to be in the future with a career of successes that today continues . The third starring Don Dubbins is feeble , his career was a flop and barely made films after . The original cast were Spencer Tracy and Grace Kelly , however Tracy was dismissed but had complications with director Robert Wise . Grace Kelly left the picture due her marriage to Rainiero of Monaco . Support cast is astounding : Vic Morrow (who died in accident while realizing ¨twilight zone¨ by John Landis) , Stephen McNally , Royal Dano and of course the villain Lee Van Cleef , pre-Spaghetti Western . Robert Surtees' cinematography and Miklos Rozsa musical score are awesome , both of whom subsequently would make super-productions (Ben Hur , Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe...).The motion picture was well directed by Robert Wise , author of various cinema classics . He was a successful director of all kind genres such as musical as ¨West side story¨, ¨The sound of music¨ , Sci-fi as ¨The day the earth stood still¨, ¨Star Trek : the motion picture ¨, ¨The Andromeda strain¨ , Terror as ¨The body snatchers¨ , ¨ Curse of the cat people¨, ¨Audrey Rose¨ , ¨The haunting¨ , Epic or colossal as ¨Elen of Troy¨ , wartime as ¨The desert rats¨, ¨Run silent , run deep¨ , ¨Hinderburg¨ , ¨The sand pebbles¨ and Western as ¨Blood on the moon¨, and this ¨Tribute to a bad man¨.

Jugu Abraham This is a western without Indians, gun draws, foul language or sex. It is squeaky clean as one would expect of a film from Robert Wise, "The Sound of Music" director. Even the clothes of the lead actor James Cagney are clean.Morality, which set the tone to early Hollywood westerns, is emphasized here: the hero gets the girl, the interlopers who attempt to pull them apart are the losers. The anti-hero, warts and all, is not allowed to appear as an anti-hero--Wise transforms him into the traditional hero at the end. Had Wise retained the Cagney character's build-up as a misfit to the end, he would have made a great film. I guess the Studio bosses and Wise preferred a conventional end to a dramatic, unusual one. How interesting it would be to see the outcome of Peterson boy's anger (doused by his mother) towards the hero--but Wise chose to close the story than drag it on. Wise, who went on to make "The Sound of Music", chose Miklos Rozsa to provide the music. The Hungarian musician is a legend. Yet I was surprised that several bars of music were repetition of Rozsa's work in "Quo Vadis", "Ben Hur" and "King of Kings" or very similar variants.The squeaky clean film has beautiful blue skies and white clouds that produce a picture-postcard effect(the stamp of Robert Surtees)--rarely repeated in westerns made towards the end of the century.Irene Papas is a talented and mesmerizing actress. Her films with Michael Caccoyannis bear testimony to her remarkable abilities. Wise allows Cagney to do what he wants, but seems to have reined in Papas in her first Hollywood film. Papas is great to watch when she plays impetuous and tortured characters in other movies. Even in this tepid role, Papas imbues her character with strength and vitality. Papas and Cagney dominate the film, relegating even Lee van Cleef (playing a good guy) to the periphery.