Top Gun

Western fans who like their stories brisk and to the point, should find enough reason to like this mildly interesting western with STERLING HAYDEN as a gunslinger who returns to his hometown after a prison stay and runs into trouble again when he finds corruption rampant and the town's citizens all have him wrongly responsible for a series of murders.

KAREN BOOTH is the love interest and she gets to play a crucial role toward the climax when she saves Hayden from a gunman's bullet. WILLIAM BISHOP is a corrupt landowner who had something to do with the death of Hayden's mom and becomes his staunch adversary throughout the plot.

The opening credits fail to mention ROD TAYLOR who plays a town bully interested in provoking Hayden into a gunfight. He makes a convincing braggart with hardly a trace of his Austrlian accent showing. But the real villain of the piece is JOHN DEHNER as the head of an outlaw gang that Sterling Hayden tries to warn the villagers about.

It's a decent enough western with a theme similar to HIGH NOON in that the town's sheriff has trouble rounding up a posse to take care of the invading outlaws.

Summing up: All of the principal players do a decent enough job but it's more or less a standard western with some conniving characters getting their comeuppance in time for Hayden and Booth to ride off into the sunset.

An awful western. The trite screenplay and minimal sets are especially bad. That it has a top notch cast makes it particularly laughable, and the acting was surprisingly poor; maybe the cast members were sickened by the embarrassing script and direction. Big disappointment as I am a big Westerns fan.

To give one example of how lame the movie is, I mention this laughable "gem:" the hero (Hayden) tries to gain the confidence of the leader of the outlaws (Dehner) by offering to tell him where $50,000 in money is hidden in the town they just shot-up. Dehner seriously replies: we're so bad there is no town we can go to spend it! Hayden then has to tell him of a wide open town. Good grief!

Karin Booth shined though. Very beautiful woman.

I'm surprised that the TV Guide and MSN movie web sites gave it relatively high ratings (2-1/2 of 4 stars; and 3 of 5 stars). I wonder if they really saw the movie they reviewed. (The MSN site incorrectly said that the Booth character was married to the main bad guy. Not so, just engaged.)

Thanks to Sterling Hayden, this Ray Nazarro movie is above average for a B western, but again, as I have said many times before in my reviews, no surprise here. It is tense, taut, gritty, and saved by Sterling Hayden's performance, never wooden, never lame, only the eternal Sterling Hayden, as we love him so much. Yes, a good western from a Lesley Selander like western director. It also looks like a Sidney Salkow film in the directing and overall atmosphere. After all, the latest also directed Sterling Hayden in westerns: IRON SHERIFF, GOLDEN HAWK - though not western. So don't miss it please. It is really worth.

This fairly typical formula Western of "Town not trusting a gun man", in this case a gun man who has a history with the town.

Sterling Hayden is the stone faced lead, and that's not unusual. In many cases, it is a stone faced lead who goes through the motions, surrounded by more likable characters. Here, the supporting characters aren't "likable", but are credible.

What I like best about this Western is the "bad guys". They are dirty, unshaven, sloppy, and imperfect even at mayhem. Quite believable. It is this group of ravaging skunks, flea bitten mongrels, that makes this Western superior to the modern idiotic spaghetti garbage in which the bad guys are demi gods.

The townspeople are credible once one gets past the few stereotypes, like the uppity young gun. Ironically, this most ridiculous cliché has one of the biggest names of the movie portraying him (Rod Taylor).

Just a few more assets than detriments make this a decent Western.

A High Body Count and a Decent Cast Highlight this slightly Above Average B-Western. Sterling Hayden is a Laid-Back Gunslinger trying to Outlive His "Top Gun" Status.

Returning to His Hometown seeking something Memorable He finds Animosity and Trouble but manages to make Amends and Help out. The Bad Guys are on Their way to Take Over. Said to have Killed 36 People in Their Last Rampage, this is a Gang to be Feared.

There's an Early Role for Rod Taylor as a Cocky Squirt and John Dehner is Slimy as the Gang Leader. The Ending Shootout with Guns Blazing contain come Good Stunts and the Whole Thing is Over before Much Happens.

Overall, Worth a Watch for Western Fans, but there isn't enough to attract Anyone Outside followers of the Genre.