Gunfighters

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.

Back in his early days Randolph Scott did a whole flock of westerns for his original studio, Paramount, based on Zane Grey novels. In a sense Gunfighters is a return to those roots, but not terribly successful.

After he nearly kills a friend who just had to see if Scott's prowess with six shooters is for real, Scott determines to hang up the weaponry and look for an obscure place to settle down.

It's all been done before, the gunfighter with his skills are needed to right some local wrongs and Gunfighters is no exception. Before he knows it Randolph Scott is involved in the local range war and has to deal with such baddies as Forrest Tucker and Bruce Cabot and a pair of sisters who've got their eyes on him in Barbara Britton and Dorothy Hart.

Nothing terribly exceptional in Gunfighters, but Randolph Scott fans will like it.

Saying that a Randolph Scott film is ordinary is NOT a bad thing at all, as this ordinary was still amazingly good. While I like a good western, I always look forward to one of Scott's, as his films were consistently fine--and set a high standard for the industry. So, when I say that "Gunfighters" is about average for him, this is still more than enough reason to find this movie.

The film begins with a friend of Brazos Kane (Scott) challenging him to the draw. Without thinking, he turns and shoots the friend--nearly killing him. That's when Kane realizes he has got to hang up his guns, as practically all the punks are itching to duel it out with his legendary gunfighter. So, he leaves town and heads to the ranch belonging to an old friend--only to find the guy dead--a victim of a murder. Still swearing to avoid a life of violence, he swears to find out who did it and bring them to justice. However, naturally, there are some baddies (two of the baddest in these films, Bruce Cabot and Forrest Tucker) aren't about to give up and decide to shoot Kane--whether he is willing to pick up a gun or not. Along the way, Kane becomes involved with two sisters who look very much alike (oddly, they actually are played by two different actresses--not the same lady--but they do look like sisters!). Can he manage to maintain his vow never to shoot again and still get justice?

The best thing about the film is Scott's easygoing acting style. It manages to make all his films (even the poor ones) well worth seeing. The wonderful California and Arizona locations shot in vivid color didn't hurt, either! I also appreciate the ending, though it will no doubt disappoint many. It does NOT have the predictable and nice Hollywood ending--and this might be something you dislike, but I thought it added some nice tension to the film. Keeping things unresolved didn't bother me. The only thing that ever bothers me is because I am a history teacher I realize that this film represents a highly idealized version of the west--not what really was. In reality, shootouts were rare and most of the time it really consisted of some jerk shooting some poor slob in the back--not the clichéd shootout on main street at high noon! Still, entertaining and well made.

FYI--The film is currently available for legal free viewing and download at archive-org--a site frequently linked to IMDb listings.

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