A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
R | 01 May 1968 (USA)
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die Trailers

A famous gunman decides to change his life around and turn himself in when amnesty is declared by the new governor of the New Mexico Territory, but a vindictive sheriff sets out to stop him from reaching the Territory.

Reviews
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
AaronCapenBanner Alex Cord plays Clay McCord(how apt!), an outlaw who has traveled to New Mexico on the promise of amnesty given by its governor(Robert Ryan). Unfortunately, Clay gets challenged by the local sheriff(Arthur Kennedy) who doesn't agree with the governor's plans, and decides to use Clay to lure other outlaws to the state, so that he can deal with them all at once. This leads to a big showdown at the end.Not bad western is clearly based on the style of the Sergio Leone westerns, and is a decent attempt at doing so, though of course is not as stylish or memorable. Good cast, and an interesting character detail of Clay having epilepsy like his father, which sometimes makes him vulnerable.
boardwalk_angel 118 minutes...was claimed on the DVD......but it only runs 98. The 20 minutes cut seems to have made a very choppy...rather unabsorbing film out of what apparently..with the INTENDED..(but chopped off here) ironic ending.. some nice bits..and a very good performance by Robert Ryan..a wonderful actor...could have been at least a pretty good film. As it is now...it's confusing.....and discordant...and exceptionally ordinary..a harkback, visually & musically, to the Hollywood carbon copy Westerns that Italy used to churn out before the 3 Sergios started weaving their magic. It was nice to see Arthur Kennedy & Ryan shoot it out with the bandits at the climax...and Alex Cord had a few good moments of action...other than that...a very forgettable film.
Mike Carcasses galore do not a better movie make. Some guy with an unnamed palsey like affliction in his hand goes around blowing people away by the dozen. For an example he rides into a camp, shoots about fifteen people and next is seen riding off on their wagon. He must have needed a wagon. We get a flashback scene wherein the principal is seen as a boy of around nine kneeling over his father in the street while his dad is having an attack of the obviously genetic palsey. Ten or so men stand around and laugh at the boy's father in derision. The kid gets mad and grabs a gun and shoots them all dead. We are supposed to presume the kid goes on with the business of growing up without answering any repercussions from having committed this mass murder in the middle of town. Uhh...ok. Right. That could happen.This movie plays like a Sergio Leone copy done by an elementary school drama club. When in doubt, shoot some characters.The most unrealistic aspect of this film is that there is no way the main character would have been able to travel around on horseback carrying that amount of lead ammunition required to kill as many as he does. Hey, maybe thats why he needed the wagon.
dinky-4 The cast alone tells you this will be a notch above the usual Italian western. Veteran actors Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy team up with Alex Cord who, at the time, seemed on the verge of stardom. The result is a movie that's both off-beat and down-beat and yet it'll satisfy those who seek more from a western than just gunplay. Especially interesting here is the character played by Alex Cord. One expects the "hero" in these westerns to be taciturn and introspective, but "Clay McCord" is an extreme example and, surprisingly enough, he's often shone in a passive, even weak position. Much is made of the fact that he fears falling prey to the epileptic fits which immobilized his father, and in these moments of helplessness he's either at the mercy of those who wish to harm him or those who wish to help him. To emphasize his passivity, Clay McCord -- don't you love that name? -- is often shone stripped to the waist as if he were little more than an attractive plaything being put on display. There's even a strong masochistic streak in his nature, most in evidence when he's used as a punching bag by his enemies and then suspended by his wrists and left hanging above the middle of a street. Not only does he often fail to protect himself, but McCord is equally ineffective in protecting those around him. Nearly everyone who helps him is killed. While "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die" is far from being a complete success, it has a depth and a tone which sets it apart and causes it to linger in the memory. It's also a good showcase for Alex Cord whose career tended to decline after this point following a few promising years in the mid-1960s. He must have been about 34 years old when he filmed this -- in his physical prime -- and the scene of him hanging by his wrists, bare-chested and sweaty, is a memorable piece of cinematic "beefcake."