Ritt in die Hölle

A Deputy Marshal in Arizona (Sterling Hayden) goes after a ruthless killer (Guy Prescott) in the sunny wasteland, where he meets a spitfire (Yvonne De Carlo) and a suave bounty hunter (Zachary Scott).

"Shotgun" (1955) is an obscure 50's Western so my expectations weren't exactly great, but it's actually pretty unique and commendable. At first, I thought it was going to be a town-bound Western, but the movie was shot primarily in the spectacular desert wilderness of the heart of Arizona. Hayden is laconic and determined while De Carlo is spirited and beautiful; meanwhile Scott is smooth and Prescott shady.

I like the psychological examination of the characters. Although the villain is wholly corrupt, most of the others function somewhere in the grey area, which makes for interesting social dynamics. The depiction of the Apaches is thankfully believable with many of them being of Amer-Indian stock. Lastly, the showdown in the last act is well done and inventive.

The film runs 1 hour, 20 minutes, and was shot at Vasquez Rocks in the high country north of Los Angeles (the opening) but mostly in the Sedona, Arizona, area (Red Rock Crossing & Oil Creek) with town scenes done at Universal City, California.

GRADE: B.

Shotgun is one of the best directorial efforts of Lesley Selander who has his name on about a gazillion B westerns, a large percentage of them the Hopalong Cassidy series. He brings a love of the genre to this ambitious Allied Artists films shot on location in Arizona with a fine trio of stars, Sterling Hayden, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Zachary Scott.

Guy Presscott should have left well enough alone because he decided to gun down marshal Lane Chandler on the street of his town. He also had his deputy Sterling Hayden in mind, but Hayden got one of Presscott's henchmen instead. After that Presscott goes about his usual villainy which includes selling guns to the Apaches.

Presscott took on the first mission because he blamed Chandler and Hayden for a stretch in prison. He should have nailed Hayden when he had a chance because now Hayden has a mission, to avenge the killing of the man who had rescued him from outlaw life.

Along the way Hayden picks up as traveling companions mixed racial Yvonne DeCarlo and cynical bounty hunter Zachary Scott. It's not a harmonious trio by any means. Scott has some really good lines in this film and gives one of his best screen performances.

The film has some beautiful Arizona scenery as it was shot in the desert country of Sedona. The final encounter with Hayden and Presscott features something I've never seen before or since in a western, a duel with shotguns. Really unique and original.

Try not to miss this one if it's broadcast.

Shotgun is directed by Leslie Selander and collectively written by Clark E. Reynolds, Rory Calhoun and John C. Champion. It stars Sterling Hayden, Yvonne DeCarlo, Zachary Scott and Guy Prescott. A Technicolor production with music by Carl Brandt and cinematography by Ellsworth Fredricks.

Standard revenge themed Oater set amongst the beautiful back drop of Sedona in Arizona. Story follows a familiar trajectory. Ben Thompson (Prescott) hits town after a long stint in jail, he's after the blood of the lawmen who put him there. When tragedy strikes during this act of revenge, Marshal Clay Hardin (Hayden) sets off in pursuit. Out on the trail he will acquire companionship in the form of saddle tramp Abby (DeCarlo) and bounty hunter Reb Carlton (Scott). A pressure cooker atmosphere is generated between the three of them as we head towards the finale where the Apache join the fray and truth, justice and consequence will out.

Selander was an old pro at the Western game, unfortunately in this instance his inexperience with "tougher" themed Oaters shows. It is all very workmanlike and he fails to rein in DeCarlo's overacting and ignite a flame in Hayden who is in one of his "I'm only doing it for the money" moods. However, spurts of violence are handled efficiently enough to liven up the middle third when the picture threatens to sink into a boorish pot of beans. There's also a nice twist on the duel formula at film's end, with machismo and tricks showing a hand to reward the patient. It isn't a must see for Western fans, and frustrations reside within, but there's enough to keep it above average. Sometimes beautiful scenery and Sterling Hayden riding into an Apache camp with muscles flexed is enough to pass the time of day with. And so it proves here. 6.5/10

Despite the promising setup where Deputy Marshal Clay (Hayden) vows to catch killers of his respected Marshal superior, the suspense of revenge fails to gel. The following pursuit carries him over miles of rugged western desert and sometimes hostile Apache. All in all, these are promising ingredients for a good dramatic oater.

Nonetheless, potential suspense fails to gel mainly because the storyline's cluttered by subplots involving DeCarlo and Scott. As scripted each detracts rather than adds to the main premise. But then both D and S were name performers at the time and I suspect they were added for marquee value. Nonetheless, what may have helped the box-office didn't help the end result, at least as scripted. And that's along with lots of meaningless slow riding that mainly pads the movie's runtime and adds nothing to a showdown build-up.

What the flick does have are dazzling red-rock backdrops of Sedona, Arizona. Thus eyes remain focused even as the story itself meanders. Then too, there are some good minor touches like Clay watering his desert-dry horse with his cowboy hat, a nifty unusual touch. Then there's Clay keeping his dirty shirt on after a dramatically staged fist-fight, thus showing an occasional concern for frontier realism.

My guess is that there's a good western buried somewhere beneath The Shotgun's meandering storyline. Certainly the Gary Cooper-like Hayden's capable of carrying out a really good oater. For example, the following year he would star in the best of all heist films, Kubrick's The Killing (1956), along with his many westerns.

Anyway, if you're more a fan of great natural scenery than a coherent storyline, then I recommend this Allied Artists 1955 flick, flawed though it is.

Well directed by Lesley Selander ( unknown as a director to me ) it has two major merits; one, the casting of Sterling Hayden and Yvonne de Carlo, and two the use of the outdoors, and only marginally using interior shots. The editing is excellent and not one minute of the film is wasted. Hayden plays an outlaw turned good and Yvonne de Carlo plays an ex-saloon entertainer. Their pairing here is of a rough romance but the ending is inevitable. No spoilers on the plot except to say that Hayden is hunting down a batch of killers and finds de Carlo on the way. The film shows the Apache people in a slightly less offensive way than usual. There is a scene where de Carlo bathes in a stream hidden by foliage and there is no come on scene as depicted on the sensationalist original poster. It is true that Zachary Scott who has joined them takes a peek and gets very badly beaten up for it, but it is certainly no open season for Abby. De Carlo's character. On the contrary she is dressed in men's clothes all through the film, and there is never a female garment in sight. The BBFC shows the poster and it just shows how far Hollywood would draw in an audience, and to put it lightly exaggerate the subject matter. To sum up Hayden and de Carlo are perfect together and they both had the rare art of acting while being simply themselves. On screen that is, and it is not as easy as it seems.