Too Tough to Kill: Fistfights and Tunnels in the Desert

Is it worth your time?

If you like movies where guys in suits solve industrial disputes by throwing haymakers in the middle of a desert, then sure, go for it. It’s snappy, it’s short, and it doesn't try to be anything more than a glorified Saturday matinee. If you need complex character arcs or, I don't know, a plot that actually makes sense, you should probably skip it.

Victor Jory plays O'Hara like he’s got a permanent case of indigestion, which is honestly the perfect energy for a guy tasked with finishing a tunnel. He walks onto the construction site, looks around for about five minutes, and decides that everyone is a criminal. It’s that kind of movie.

Sally O’Neil shows up as the reporter, Ann Miller, and she’s mostly there to ask questions that the audience is already thinking. Their banter is… well, it’s dated. It feels like they were reading their lines from cue cards held just out of frame, but there’s a weird charm to how blunt the whole thing is.

The desert vibe

The Nevada backdrop is mostly just rocks and dust, but it gives the fights a certain crunch. You can tell they filmed some of these scenes in actual sunlight, and the shadows look sharp and jagged. It reminded me a bit of the rough-and-tumble feeling you get in Killers of the Chaparral, where the environment is almost a character in itself.

• Victor Jory’s chin deserves its own credit.
• The tunnel set looks suspiciously like a basement with some plywood.
• There is a scene where a hat is knocked off, and the actor clearly forgets to look where it fell.

There’s a specific fight near the middle that goes on for a solid minute, and it’s basically just two guys hugging while swinging their arms wildly. It’s not graceful. It looks exhausting. It’s great.

I caught a glimpse of Ward Bond in the background, which is always a nice treat. He’s got that way of standing in a scene that makes you think he’s about to start a fight even when he’s just holding a shovel.

The movie doesn't bother with a slow build-up. It just dumps you into the desert and says, 'Okay, someone is sabotaging the tunnel, go punch them.' It’s refreshing, in a very low-stakes, dusty kind of way. It lacks the weird, experimental edge of something like The Sin Ship, but it hits the marks it sets for itself.

Don’t go in expecting a masterpiece. It’s just a movie about a guy who is Too Tough to Kill and, apparently, too busy to do anything besides scowling at rocks. 🌵