In “The Films In My Life,” Francois Truffaut reprints his original Cahiers du Cinema review of Edgar G. Ulmer's low-budget Western The Naked Dawn. Truffaut writes:

“The Naked Dawn is one of those small American films with so little advance publicity that you might easily miss them. Universal sabotaged this film instead of distributing it, as if they wanted to keep it away from the critics. But we won't give in to the merchandisers. The Naked Dawn, a low-budget film, is poetic and violent, tender and droll, moving and subtle, joyously energetic and wholesome.

“The opening credits unfold during a train holdup on the Mexican border. One of the two bandits dies in the arms of his accomplice, Santiago (Arthur Kennedy), who wanders around all night until he meets a young farmer, Manuel (Eugene Iglesias), and his charming wife, Maria (Betta St. John). The film tells the story of Santiago and Manuel's trip to the city to sell the watches Santiago has stolen, their stopover in a cabaret on the way home, and an explosive and unexpected finale.

“Edgar Ulmer is undoubtedly the least-known American filmmaker. Few of my colleagues are able to boast of having seen the few films of his that have made it to France, all of which are surprisingly fresh, sincere, and inventive: The Strange Woman (Mauriac crossed with Julian Green), Babes In Baghdad (a Voltairean tease), and Ruthless (Balzac). This Viennese, born with the century, first an assistant of Max Reinhardt's and then of the great Murnau, hasn't had much luck in Hollywood, probably because he doesn't know how to fit into the system. His carefree humor and pleasant manner, his tenderness toward the characters he depicts remind us inevitably of Jean Renoir and Max Ophuls. Nevertheless, the public on the Champs-Elysées took to this film, as they did a few months ago to Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly.

“Talking about The Naked Dawn is equivalent to drawing the portrait of its author, becase we see him behind every image and feel we know him intimately when the lights go back on. Wise and indulgent, playful and serene, vital and clear, in short, a good man like the ones I've compared him to.

“The Naked Dawn is one of those movies we know was made with joy; every shot shows a love of cinema, and pleasure in working in it. It is also a pleasure to see it again and to talk to friends about it. A small gift from Hollywood.”