Guns of Diablo

Guns of Diablo (1964)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

By the numbers Western will work a lot better if you're fans of Charles Bronson and Kurt Russell. In the film, wagon trail leader Linc Murdock (Bronson) and his young pal (Russell) head into town for some supplies but once there Linc sees the woman (Susan Oliver) who he fell in love with years earlier but also the three brothers who kept them apart and now want him dead. This feature was taken from episodes of "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" and you can see in various scenes that it has a TV look. While there's nothing overly special here I think fans of Bronson and Russell with enjoy their performances enough to make this film worth viewing. What we've got here are two TV episodes built around some new footage, which includes a pretty risqué love scene between Bronson and Oliver, which was clearly added for the European market where this film mostly played. This and the rather violent shoot-out at the end are two of the better sequences but we also get a pretty good open with the wagons trying to cross a violent river when Bronson must jump in to save a man. Another good sequence is a 20-minute flashback where we see how Bronson came to be so hated. This here was taken from the TV episode but it actually features some pretty good cinematography and nice drama. Bronson actually turns in a pretty good performance here as he gets to throw in some romance as well as tender drama, which is something he wouldn't get to do decades later when he was appearing in various Canon films. He works well with Oliver and the two have great chemistry together and really sell the love story side of the film. Russell is also very energetic here and makes for a good sidekick to Bronson. Seeing the two (now) legends together was a lot of fun and I think fans of both will enjoy seeing them here. The supporting villains aren't written too well and John Fiedler (12 ANGRY MEN) doesn't come off too well either. Douglas Fowley gets some good scenes with Russell as the elderly man who claims to be a millionaire. If one comes to this film expecting a John Ford production then they're going to be disappointed. If you have 79-minutes to kill and are a fan of the cast then I'm sure you'll at least stay entertained from start to finish.

This is actually a couple of episodes of the short-lived TV series "The Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters" edited together. Though the production values are decent, it never quite shakes the TV feel it has.

It's not terrible at all - just rather ordinary, with not much excitement and a lot of chat. However, there is definite interest in seeing a young Kurt Russell, especially seeing him with Bronson. Bronson fans might get more enjoyment out of this, because he plays a different character than the usual hard-ass he played. He even has a love scene, which is surprisingly revealing for the period - hard to believe they got away with it on American TV in the early '60s!

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I knew beforehand it was a snippet of the series released as a full-length feature, but it plays as a movie very well. The acting was great, some of the best I've seen of Bronson, and Kurt was just as good as the young Jamie. My only complaint is the very low video quality, but it was not enough to stop me from wanting to finish it. I was completely intrigued within the first five or ten minutes. Deserves way more than the 4.9 rating on here.

Strong acting and story, realistic dialog, and neat to see Kurt as a young boy.

During the Sixties MGM packaged episodes of TV series as feature movies for distribution in Europe. "Guns Of Diablo" represents two episodes of the series "The Travels Of Jamie McPheeters". Some comments note the daring love scene (for TV at the time). Actually sometimes MGM would add footage not in the original episode to make the feature more adult for European audiences. This was the case for "Guns Of Diablo".

This feature has been released on both video and DVD on budget labels. The print quality is fairly good under these circumstances.

When you consider its origins, "Guns" comes off as a reasonably entertaining western. It certainly showcases Bronson's talent and on screen charisma. For an example of how not to turn TV episodes into a feature check out "The Meanest Men In The West" also starring Bronson. It consists of two episodes of "The Virginian" with Bronson and Lee Marvin as brothers who do not share any scenes together but with editing appear to.

"Guns of Diablo" currently has a rating of 5.7...which is rather on the low side. I was surprised, as I loved this film and nearly gave it a 9! It's original, well acted and directed as well as quite enjoyable.

The film begins with Linc (Charles Bronson) leading a wagon train across the country during the old west period. When a member of the expedition is badly injured, they decide to stay put for a few days to enable him to recover as well as allowing Linc to go into town to get provisions. He takes a precocious young man (Kurt Russell...who is excellent here) with him and although the trip should have been uneventful, they walk into a hornet's nest of sorts. This is because some sociopathic brothers have moved there and they run the place...and they would love to kill Linc. Can he and the boy survive this hellish town and the trio of bullies waiting to exact revenge?

The film really delivers in many ways. It's tense, exciting and really interesting. Bronson is simply terrific in one of his earlier starring roles and as I mentioned before, young Kurt Russell is shockingly good. Overall, a real sleeper which deserves to be seen.