Duell im Sattel

There seems to be a lot of the same kind of people that inhabit the town that Hugh O'Brian is the sheriff of as there were in High Noon where Gary Cooper was the law. O'Brian gets about the same amount and kind of support that Cooper did.

The Brass Legend has Sheriff O'Brian getting a tip from young Donald MacDonald that notorious outlaw Raymond Burr is in the area and keeping company with a lewd saloon woman Rebecca Welles. Before they get down to business O'Brian has the drop on Burr.

Well by God this is not according to the code of the west where you're supposed to face the bad guy down and maybe get killed. Bad enough that Welles believes it and makes no secret about it, but half the town thinks like she does and thinks that Burr got a raw deal.

Further they don't like that O'Brian tried to keep young MacDonald's name out of it thinking that one of Burr's friends might want to shoot the snitch even if he's 12 years old. Sure enough a particular low life specimen does.

O'Brian is a stalwart hero in the mold of Wyatt Earp whom he just started playing on television. Burr is always an interesting villain and Welles as the vengeful saloon woman is fascinating.

The Brass Legend a good B western, fans of O'Brian and Burr will not be disappointed.

Routine Western with not much to recommend it, which is rather surprising since director Gerd Oswald has something of a cult following. The problem lies with a stone-faced O'Brien and an undistinguished script whose high-point comes in a gun jousting showdown along a country road. In fact, only bar girl Millie (Rebecca Welles, aka Reba Tassell) manages to inject some life into the proceedings. Too bad Raymond Burr's villain Tris Hatten doesn't get more screen time. He has all the makings of a good florid baddie. It's odd to see Burr in such a leering role after his career years as the super-straight Perry Mason. Anyway, the European-born Oswald plays the unfamiliar material of a Western in pretty straightforward, unimaginative fashion, when what's needed is something to lift the movie above the ordinary.

This was made about the time b westerns were in decline. I watched it just to see Hugh O'Brian (TVs Wyatt Earp)and Raymond Burr ( TVs Ironside). Not bad but but no where near being a classic. Hugh O'Brian plays the strong Sheriff and Raymond Burr as usual is very strong in the role of the bad guy Poor script and low budget show up throughout the movie. I must have been difficult at that time to put much money into a b western. Enjoyed watching for old times sake, alaways have a soft spot for the western.

Hugh O'Brien plays Sheriff Addams--one of the few inhabitants of a stupid old west town. I say stupid because the folks don't seem all that bright and they seem to appreciate their sheriff about as much you'd appreciate Eczema!

Clay Gipson is a 12 year-old who happens to see the wanted killer, Tris Hatten (Raymond Burr). When he tells the sheriff, Addams is able to capture the baddie. Oddly, many of the townsfolk seem to feel sorry for Hatten--even though he's killed several people! As I said, it's a very stupid town!! So, the trick is to bring Hatten to trial and convict him--while at the same time Addams and Gipson remain alive to see it! But, the conspiracy of stupids is strong!!

The biggest weakness of this film is how fickle and stupid the townspeople were--a bit too stupid if you ask me. I also thought a few of the characters were ridiculous--such as Hatten's girlfriend (???). Clay's father wasn't much better. But, O'Brien does a nice job as does Burr--who is always great in baddie roles. On balance, worth seeing but far from a must-see picture.

Interesting little western, as Allied or United Artists could provide from time to time, or Universal B department. But Budd Boetticher also made his famous Randolph Scott westerns more or less in the same manner. Nothing spectacular but quite surprising, unpredictable, which is not the case for every western. This kind of plot was often used in ZANE GREY THEATER series episodes, small cute engrossing stories, sometimes poignant, far far from clichés. Gerd Oswald was not a major film maker, not an ambitious one, but his films were not uninteresting. FURY AT SHOWDOWN starring John Derek was also a cute little western.