There Was a Crooked Man

Play trailer

There Was a Crooked Man

R

Released Dec 25, 1970

2h 6m

Western

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

After a botched heist, Wild West bandit Paris Pitman Jr. (Kirk Douglas) hides his newly stolen money where no one will find it, then loses his entire gang in a blaze of bullets before being captured by the law and given a lengthy sentence in a desert jail. Paris believes that he can buy his way out of his predicament by offering some cash to the guards, but the upstanding Sheriff Lopeman (Henry Fonda) makes sure his men remain honest. Running out of options, Paris begins plotting a jailbreak.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The penultimate film of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve) is a tart-tongued Western written by the same gents who had penned Bonnie and Clyde three years earlier.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 19, 2021

Full Review

John Mahoney

Los Angeles Free Press

Technically, the film is near perfect, reminding us how good a Hollywood programmer can be, even at an inflated cost of seven million dollars.

Jan 13, 2020

Full Review

Penelope Houston

The Spectator

If smart callousness, moral indifference and violence on the rockpile are what you are looking for, at least this ex- ample is rather conspicuously well acted.

Jul 9, 2018

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Fails to deliver on a promising story.

Rated: C+

Jan 14, 2018

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

FulvueDrive-in.com

Rated: 4/5

May 7, 2007

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a solid little Western that's worth a look if only for its refreshingly cynical sensibilities.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 24, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Alec B

There seems to a sizable chunk of missing material (evidenced by Lee Grant's blink and you'll miss it cameo) but it still has minor charms and some very amusing performances.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Good movie well worth the watch James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, December 2, 2023

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/04/23

Full Review

Alberto M

The smart thug and the honest and good director characters develop cleanly and subtly through the movie, until the end that amused me even more than the rest of the movie. Most secondary characters and stooges are up to the two main stars, particularly Hume Cronyn, playing a gentle hearted swindler.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/17/22

Full Review

Audience Member

There seems to a sizable chunk of missing material (evidenced by Lee Grant's blink and you'll miss it cameo) but it still has minor charms and some very amusing performances.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

delysid d

Kirk Douglas is one of the Greats!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/20

Full Review

s r

That song gets stuck in your head!!! Another lost flixster rating! It's a cynical western that comes across as silly. Good cast though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Kirk Douglas

Paris Pitman, Jr.

Henry Fonda

Woodward W. Lopeman

Hume Cronyn

Dudley Whinner

Warren Oates

Floyd Moon

Burgess Meredith

The Missouri Kid

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Wild Bunch

91%

90%

The Wild Bunch

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Wild Bunch

Lawman

73%

63%

Lawman

Watchlist

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

97%

97%

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Watchlist

High Plains Drifter

94%

86%

High Plains Drifter

Watchlist

Death Rides a Horse

50%

72%

Death Rides a Horse

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

After a botched heist, Wild West bandit Paris Pitman Jr. (Kirk Douglas) hides his newly stolen money where no one will find it, then loses his entire gang in a blaze of bullets before being captured by the law and given a lengthy sentence in a desert jail. Paris believes that he can buy his way out of his predicament by offering some cash to the guards, but the upstanding Sheriff Lopeman (Henry Fonda) makes sure his men remain honest. Running out of options, Paris begins plotting a jailbreak.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: R
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1970, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2014
Runtime: 2h 6m

Most Popular at Home Now