Rächer ohne Waffen

Randolph Scott again tries to hang up his guns and walk away from violence, but those pesky bad guys just leave him with no choice in this good-looking Cinecolor potboiler that anticipates 'The Gunfighter'.

As usual it benefits from a literate script (by Alan LeMay), good production values and a good cast, including handsome Arizona locations and a pair of handsome female leads playing sisters, in the form of blue-eyed Barbara Britton and titian-haired Dorothy Hart (best remembered as Jane to Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan five years later in 'Tarzan's Savage Fury') in stetson and jeans.

I saw the movie the first time back in the late 1940's after reading the book "Twin Sombreros". When I taped it recently from the Westerns Channel, I noted that R. Scott's name was Brazos Keene in the book, but Brazos Kane in the movie. Also I still had a hard time telling the girls apart. The story drifted away a little from the book, the names were still familiar, Kiscaden, Inskip, Johnny, Beth and Jane. One of the greatest lines in Westerns was uttered by Kiscaden when he told Brazos that his badge represented the law..."if the man wearing it goes down, it just gets up and jumps on the pocket of another man, and keeps right on coming" (that's as close as I can remember the statement). You can still watch the movie, it was very interesting.

Gunfighters (AKA: The Assassin) is directed by George Waggner and adapted to screenplay by Alan Le May from the novel "Twin Sombreros" written by Zane Grey. It stars Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Bruce Cabot, Dorothy Hart, Griff Barnett and Forest Tucker. Music is by Rudy Schrager and Gerard Carbonara and cinematography by Fred Jackman Jr.

A gunman who has laid down his guns finds that circumstances test him to the limit...

It's a familiar formula that any Western film fan can acknowledge as being over used, that's not to say that the right production isn't worth visiting as such, but expectation of something fresh can often lead to disappointment.

Built on solid foundations due to scorching location photography and Randolph Scott prepping himself for greater things in the next decade (see also The Walking Hills 1949), it's a pleasurable piece. It also - via the narrative - isn't afraid to be bold as regards the ultimate decisions made by Scott's Brazos character, giving the pic a darker edge and being all the better for it. Elsewhere, the villains are standard stuff but entertaining regardless, the twin beauties of Britton and Hart have interesting parts to play, and the action scenes are well put together - with the pursuit sequences exciting. Filmed in Cinecolor, it's nice to report this is one of the better photographed Westerns in that format, which is just as well because the Sedona locations are to die for.

Not what you would term a keeper, but for Western fans of the era and Scott fans in general, it's worth its salt. 6.5/10

Good Scott oater. Looks like Columbia popped for an A-budget (for them), what with Technicolor, Sedona locations, and a large, accomplished cast. Seems Brazos (Scott) realizes the tragedy of being the fastest gun around, so he ditches the belt and heads for an old friend's place and what he hopes is a new peaceful life. Of course things don't turn out that way, otherwise we wouldn't have a real western.

The plot's pretty complex, but the many characters are mainly well etched, especially Grapewin's feisty old rancher Inskip. But what really had me going are the, not one, but two leading ladies (Britton & Hart). It's not that they're just attractive, which is expected, it's that they look exactly alike. The only way I could distinguish them was the hairdo's, but those kept changing, so I kept struggling. They're more like identical twins than just movie sisters. Okay, no big deal, but I've never seen such a resemblance in decades of viewing.

Anyway, Scott's near his physical peak and as convincing as ever. While Harry Joe Brown, who would later produce the legendary Ranown western series with Scott, produced this early scenic effort. In fact, some of those red rock spires soaring into the clouds are real visual grabbers. I guess my only reservations are with Cabot's baddie Bard who's too understated to compete effectively with Scott's Brazos, and a rather flat showdown. Nonetheless, it's post-war Columbia Pictures and the great Scott getting off to a fast Western start.

Very little.

Randolph Scott alone is enough to make a good movie, but here he has a superlative script performed by some of the best actors Hollywood has ever had, including the excellent Bruce Cabot, a wonderful Charles Kemper, and two lovely ladies who look surprisingly like each other (at least here), which is good because they are supposed to be sisters: Barbara Britton and Dorothy Hart, two great actresses.

Mr. Scott, a genuine gentleman, used to pooh-pooh the notion he was an actor, but in "Gunfighters" he gives not only one of his best performances, but a great performance by anyone's standards.

He is alternately subtle and obvious, showing just the right emotion and attitude called for by the script, by Alan LeMay, who knew a thing or two about westerns.

Mr. Scott has a lot of help in this powerful story, with the above and Forrest Tucker, rather quietly effective as the hired gunman, and Steven Geray as Jose in an intelligently funny role (so many westerns had very unfunny funny roles), as well as so many great atmosphere and minor players, such as the ubiquitous Hank Bell, as usual uncredited.

"Gunfighters" is not only one of Randolph Scott's best movies, it is a great movie, one of the best I've seen lately, and I've been watching a lot of them recently. I highly recommend "Gunfighters," and can even highly recommend the print at YouTube. Enjoy.