Top Gun

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.

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.

Top Gun is directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Steve Fisher and Richard Schayer. It stars Sterling Hayden, William Bishop, Karin Booth, James Millican, Regis Toomey, John Dehner, Rod Taylor and Hugh Sanders. Music is by Irving Gertz and cinematography by Lester White.

Rick Martin (Hayden) is a notorious gunman who returns home to Casper, Wyoming, to tell of an imminent invasion by a gang of outlaws. But his reputation and vested interests see the town want rid of Rick quickly - something they may regret should they get their wish...

"You've been listening to a slippery tongued fella can make a lie stand up and take a bow"

Top Gun is no hidden treasure, neither for fans of 1950s American Westerns or of the under valued Sterling Hayden, you wouldn't be staking your life on this one knocking anyone's socks off. However, there is good cause to put it forward for a look see to both parties, for Hayden dose his imposing presence act and under the stewardship of the trusty Nazarro we get a meaty traditional genre piece of the era.

Front and centre is the anti-hero axis, where although his past deeds are unpalatable, the fact the townsfolk are in the main worm like, with chief heel duty falling to Bishop's Canby Judd, Rick is a man to root for. Loose canon role falls to a youthful smirking Taylor, making a good mark, and Dehner (wonderfully scuzzy) fronts up the villainous outlaws coming to sack the town of Casper.

Action is healthy in quota, the stunt men and sharp shooters earning their respective keep, while the look and aural technicalities are appealing when considering the budgetary restraints. Familiar traits such as a love triangle and the finale face off between good and bad does not a fresh film make, but the script packs some smart dialogue which in turn gives Dehner, Hayden and Millican room to hold court.

Good stuff for the genre faithful to sample. 7/10

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.