From Noon till Three Reviews

Interesting but unsuccessful Bronson vehicle that has a fine "revisionist" screenplay dealing with the making of western myths. Bronson plays Graham Dorsey, a drifter outlaw who has a brief liaison with Amanda Starbuck (Ireland), and whom she later transforms after his "death" into an outlaw legend. Amanda builds a giant commercial empire based on her fictional stories about the now-infamous "Graham Dorsey," and his name is forever emblazoned on the history of the Old West. When Bronson turns up very much alive, however, no one, not even Amanda, recognizes him or will believe his protestations that he is Dorsey. He ends up in an insane asylum, where the doctors just nod and smile at his delusions of having been a great gunfighter. It's admirable that Bronson chose to break type and play a likable, almost goofy character, but he's clearly struggling with an atypical role. The film is obviously intended as a vehicle for Ireland, but her performance isn't quite compelling enough, either. Playwright Gilroy, meanwhile, trying his hand at film directing, only compounds his casting errors. His heavy-handed approach to his own material only sabotages its merits, sapping the material of its power and rendering it pleasant at best.