Trois indésirables

Level-headed rancher Art Hindle, his hot-headed younger brother, and their Dutch immigrant cousin are forced into a confrontation with evil land-baron George Kennedy, when Hindle's brother shoots a man in self-defense and is framed by the local authorities under Kennedy's instruction. Soon, the ranch is torched and the whole family is turned into desperadoes.

There's really nothing new here and some of the performances are a little overwrought at times, but the story is straight-forward, unpretentious and entertaining, with a few timeless themes that are worth repeating. If you're expecting something slick though, you may be disappointed.

It's nice to see Canadian character actor Art Hindle in a starring role for once, instead of his usual appearance as second or third banana to some other star.

Some interesting moments involve a duel with whips, the outlaws being forced to birth a baby, and the satisfying, though open-ended finale that looked to me like a setup for sequels, or perhaps a TV series that never materialized.

Canadian-filmed television western which fails to make the most of its lush location and attractive cast. In Kansas, hunky young Tony Addabbo (as Matt Everett) visits a girlfriend; there, in self-defense, he shoots the man he finds in her boudoir. Unfortunately, the lass happens to be the sheriff's daughter, which contributes to Mr. Addabbo's becoming the outlaw known as "The Kansas Kid". Soon, he is joined by brother Art Hindle (as Cole Everett) and cousin Reiner Schoene (as Dutch Everett). The Everett Gang's main adversary is gravitas-lending veteran George Kennedy (as Deke Turner). Addabbo and duplicitous pal Howard Kruschke (as Jake Morant) lead the players in having excellent hair days.

**** The Gunfighters (10/27/87) Clay Borris ~ Tony Addabbo, Art Hindle, George Kennedy, Reiner Schoene

A good movie to watch when you're stuck at home in a blizzard, there's nothing else on TV, and you've seen everything else in your collection. The dialogue is bad, the plot unbelievable, and the ending beyond comprehension, but other than that, it's not bad.

One of the best westerns I have seen in a long time. Makes you wonder who was worse the outlaws or the law. The story was very convincing and makes you want to know more about the western families. The Everetts were able to understand what would happen when they took the law into their own hands. It tells how the rich were able to get the law to work for them. The common rancher has no chance against another rich rancher. The common rancher was not believed even when he had facts to back him up The rich rancher could pay the law to do what he wanted done. The Everetts did not want to kill and only wanted to be treated right and not cheated out of their land. The youngest was accused of murder only when he was defending himself and was framed by the law.

The Canadian TV movie "The Gunfighters" was apparently made to also be a pilot for a prospective weekly television series. Apparently the network decided against this, and I have to say, "Thank goodness!" This is a really bad TV movie, pilot or not. The production values are really poor, ranging from clothing that looks nothing like cowboy garb found in the 1800s to cheesy indoor sets. The musical score is sour, and at one point plagiarizes several bars from Ennio Morricone's score for "A Fistful of Dollars". The acting is sub par, with even George Kennedy (who obviously knocked off his scenes in a few days) unable to generate much enthusiasm. But the worst thing about the movie has to be the script. It is filled with one cliché after another, from the actions of the characters to their dialogue. The icing on the cake is the unbelievable final few minutes that gives us a deus ex machina resolution of sorts (though leave some plot points unresolved.) I find it hard to believe any western fan would be entertained by this.