The Lone Gun

Formulaic oater with George Montgomery in the straight shootin', straight talkin' , singular expression role of new town marshall, doing his best to clean up the lawlessness factor, best represented by a trio of reprobate brothers led by that eternal 50's B western expert scoundrel actor, Neville Brand. Every thing is quite predictable, but I like the way director Ray Nazzaro keeps propelling the story forward with an absolute minimum of padding , whilst maximising the action and proving once again, that the bad guys can never shoot straight. (LOL! Even one of the brothers notes this of one of his compadres, after a pathetically ordinary, failed dry gulch attempt.)

For extra amusement listen for Montgomery's mispronunciation of what I gather was meant to be "shady", as in "shady tree" in the third act, as a turncoat felon is handcuffed to a tree. To my finely tuned ears , it sounds like a very commonly used, coarse, 6 letter epithet, that just may have slipped past both the sound editors and the censors at the time. Another reason to see a movie, the likes of which they don't seem too inclined to make anymore.

Ray Nazzaro directs THE LONE GUN. Not too memorably, though I can sympathize with the fact that his budget cannot have allowed him room for more inventiveness and better production values.

The really interesting and eye-catching detail here is the appearance of a very young Dorothy Malone who would soon rise to stardom with the film WRITTEN IN THE WIND. Here, however, she plays a minor part, though the absence of female competition signals from the outset that she will ride off into the sunset with George Montgomery in the end.

There is an evil brotherly trio headed by the nefarious looking Neville Brand, and that trio is running the town ragged with its crimes, especially cattle rustling and, of course, some homicide for credible measure.

A couple of noteworthy details: 1. A fight on horseback among rocks, in which neither Montgomery nor the dastardly bros seem to care if they get into the line of fire; 2. Homeier as a kind of humorous Doc Holliday to sheriff Montgomery.

Forgettable cinematography and turgid dialogue. 6/10.

The Lone Gun is directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Don Martin, Richard Schayer and L. L. Freeman. It stars George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, Neville Brand, Frank Faylen, Skip Homeier, Robert Wilke, Douglas Kennedy and Fay Roope. Music is by Irving Getz and cinematography by Lester White (color by Color Corporation of America).

"The history of any frontier region . . . such as the great expanses of the new State of Texas . . . offered many examples of the strange way in which a few men of great evil could dominate whole communities of well meaning, but passive citizens...

...And examples, too, of men who rode out alone for law and order, with badges on their vests and handcuffs in their pockets . . . playing a lone gun against great odds"

It is pretty much as one would expect for a 50s "B" Western, there's nothing remotely new here, it's a good old honest Oater where a good man takes up a law badge in a town that doesn't deserve him, he takes on the bad guys and there's a pretty lady on his mind. Cue fisticuffs and shootings (including a particularly cold blooded murder), some nifty ambush sequences, a tension packed poker game and some neat dialogue - "one yell and you'll be waking up in a devil's cookhouse".

Cast are fine, with Montgomery doing his usual reliable and likable guy act, Brand doing another in his line of scumbags - backed by Kennedy and Wilke, and even though she's saddled with the token lady role that's sparsely written, Malone leaves a nice impression regardless. Bonus is Faylen, who as card conman Fairweather, shines in a cheeky chappie role, with quips and a glint in his eye even when he's in danger, Faylen enjoys himself in creating this fun character. Some good stunt work rounds it out as a safe and enjoyable Oater for fans of such. 6.5/10

Tidbib: Bizarrely the end credits have Wilke and Kennedy listed as playing each others roles?!

In The Lone Gun, George Montgomery rides into town and immediately inherits the job as marshal after he handles the Moran brothers, the local toughs who are into a lot of the crime in the area. The Morans are played by tough guy actors Robert J. Wilke, Douglas Kennedy, and Neville Brand.

Among their criminal enterprises is cattle rustling and they've got a perfect hideout on the spread of brother and sister Dorothy Malone and Skip Homeier. Homeier is into the Morans on some gambling debts and they're holding that over his head.

The other main character in this western is tinhorn gambler Frank Faylen who has a ready wit and a fast shuffle for all occasions. He and Montgomery form a Wyatt Earp/Doc Holiday like partnership. Faylen also took the Morans for plenty so they have it in for him as well.

The Lone Gun is an entertaining western in which all the players acquit themselves well in their performances. The story moves well and the direction is taut. A good one for B western fans.

One of the other reviews here summed this up very well: "routine but entertaining B-western with few surprises". It's not going to linger in the mind very long after it's over, but it's pleasant enough to watch while it lasts. It's got a clearly delineated hero and villain and entertaining supporting characters, with the expected brawls and gunfire and impressive rural scenery to take in.

The very stolid George Montgomery plays Cruze, our good guy, who makes the acquaintance of outgoing gambler Fairweather (Frank Faylen, who delivers a nuanced performance, easily the movies' best) while travelling. They arrive in the small town of Marlpine where the mayor (Fay Roope) makes note of Cruzes' fighting abilities and hires Cruze as the towns' marshal. Cruze soon has his hands full dealing with the thuggish Moran gang, a bunch of cattle rustlers led by beefy Tray Moran (Neville Brand, a good antagonist). Cruze falls for local cattle rancher Charlotte Downing (pretty Dorothy Malone) while the amiable Fairweather ends up accused of murder.

As directed by Ray Nazarro, a Western veteran whose career dated back to the silent era, "The Lone Gun" is really no great shakes but its story is easy enough to follow and reasonably enjoyable. Watching some of the actors at work is really the main attraction; also appearing are Skip Homeier as Cass, Charlottes' morally compromised but not really bad brother, Douglas Kennedy and Robert J. Wilke as members of the Moran gang, and Douglas Fowley as the sleazy bartender.

One good thing about these older movies is their often brief running times; for example, this only runs 75 minutes. They very much get to the point and don't waste time. The wrap up is quick and satisfying.

Overall, a fine diversion.

Six out of 10.