Fury at Gunsight Pass

It is clear that Sears made sci-fi horror films and that can be seen in a gun battle amid open coffins, and the body count is high. Richard Long and Neville Brand are excellent in their roles, on opposing sides in a long drawn out fight for some ' lost ' bank money. The ringleader of the gang that want the money is played by David Brian and he too gives a good performance. A woman is a catalyst in the film, but other than that there are few female actors in the story. It is the final twenty minutes or so of the film that its originality truly shows and no spoilers as to why that is. I urge viewers to be aware of this underrated Western, and it sometimes turns up on a UK television channel. I firmly believe that it should be given an outing on DVD.

An outlaw gang plots a bank robbery. Trouble is there's a double-cross in the works, plus a timetable and a wedding to contend with. Then too, not all the people in town can be trusted. So how will it all work out.

Money, money, who's got the money. $35 thousand stolen from the bank, but lost in the shootout that follows. This is a better-than-average western. Frankly, I had few expectations when I saw pedestrian Fred Sears as the director. He rarely adds anything on screen to the scripts. Here, however, he appears engaged with some good staging, especially in and around Vaszquez Rocks. Though I don't buy one guy (Brand) sticking-up a whole posse. And get a load of that windstorm, enough to blow Hollywood off the map, but it does add a lot to the climax. Note how there's even dust in the interiors—a good touch from somebody. I wonder if the big wind-blown cast got hazardous duty pay-- they deserved it. Anyhow, there're a number of sub-plots and lots of characters, plus a few twists, especially that overturned buckboard at the end. So bring your scorecard. Then too, no film with the great Neville Brand can afford to be passed up.

The most interesting in this western is that there is no real lead hero, as we can see in other movies of this kind. There are many characters and some subplots, thanks to an intelligent script. It seems that it's difficult to say who the good guys are in this film where honesty seems very rare. It reminds me some Universal western of this period, bringing unusual plots, agreeable for a change. And not always predictable miles ahead. Produced by Wallace Mac Donald and not Sam Katzman, maybe this explains that.

When bandits steal $35,000 from the bank and kill Charles Hanford, Richard Long's father, they claim Hanford was in on it with them. The town shuns Long. When the bandits escape and discover the money isn't were they hid it, they take the town hostage.

It's a fine B western directed by Fred F. Sear. At first it looked like a slightly souped-up V episode, but the large number of extras, effects, and tough script put an end to that impression.

Sears had begun in the theater. After the War, he started working at Columbia as an actor and dialogue director. He took up directing in 1949 and directed fifty movies. An fantastically fast worker, this is one of nine movies he directed in 1956. He is credited with five movies released in 1958, even though he had died the previous year at age 44!

The last half or so of the film takes place in a sandstorm in a town, which makes it extra exciting. The plot is pretty riveting and kept me glued the whole time. Neville Brand and Richard Long are the standouts in the cast, not as stodgy in acting style as sometimes movies in the 50s and earlier were. Unexpectedly enjoyable shoot-em-up, well worth the watch if you're into that genre.