The Gun and the Pulpit

In The Gun And The Pulpit, Marjoe Gortner stars as an outlaw running from a hanging party, who stumbles upon the body of a deceased preacher. Assuming his identity and his assignment, he ends up inciting the townspeople of an oppressed community against villainous big-wig David Huddleston and cleaning up the town of Huddlestons cronies.

The endlessly glib Gortner, who was no doubt cast due to the fact that he was (no joke) a real life fraudulent Pentacostal minister, is charismatic and well cast as the gun-fighting conman and heads a great supporting cast of character actors including Slim Pickens and Pamela Sue Martin.

This has probably the most clever script ever in a seventies TV movie western (by Academy Award nominated screenwriter William Bowers) with excellent tongue-in-cheek humor and wordplay in some fantastic scenes. One of which involves a miracle gunfight and an excellent cameo appearance by Geoffrey Lewis.

Great fun.

i saw this funny western only once when it came on TV when i was a mear eleven years old,but i was in love with the vivacious pamela sue martin who i'd seen in 'the posideon adventure' two years before and of course because of her i loved it then very much. as for now i'd say it was kinda corny in an 'alias smith and jones' kind of way,but harmless and fun just the same and of course who can deny a film with marjoe gortner its due. i wish it was on video so i could leer at the gorgeous ms. martin once again,but it is rare to find a 70's TV movie on video,let alone DVD. but for old time sake,i give it five stars. i hope this nostalgic rant helps somebody.

I have been involved in Fundamentalist/Evangelical worship all of my life and I find myself in agreement of what Marjoe did years ago although when it happened I felt different. Every time a fake preacher is exposed it makes it more difficult for those who are sincere in their work and it also causes those who are looking for spiritual guidance to feel they have been lied to. I know preachers who are sincere about their mission and service to the Lord and nothing makes them sicker than these fakes who are in it for the money and to show off. I know at least one who is very clear that he has no respect for these fakes and I know well enough not to get him started about these frauds. Marjoe blew the whistle on this racket and God bless him for it. I wish he would have continued his acting career because I liked a lot of his work and I hope his has found the faith that is genuine and able to put the fake stuff behind him. Those who are in it for the money or to show off will answer to the Lord one day. I also hope those who were turned off by these fakes will give faith another chance and find someone who is sincere to guide them into finding the faith they were looking for. God bless you Mr. Gortner and best wishes to you. I hope you have found the true faith that many were looking for before you exposed the fakers.

I've seen this movie about 4 times, under various circumstances, including a night in the hospital when I couldn't sleep. I have always liked Marjo Gortner in his limited career, and this movie was a lot of fun. It reminds me of the old TV westerns like "Maverick" in its humour and characterizations. I can't believe it's not had 5 votes yet.

About seven years earlier Robert Mitchum essayed the character of a gunfighter/preacher in Five Card Stud. Although that film was far better than The Gun And The Pulpit, this made for television is a cut above average for television film. It also has the unassailable casting of Marjoe Gortner as a false preacher.

As we know Marjoe who was only using his first name when being a child preacher did a documentary exposing the racket that huckster evangelism is. So it's fitting and proper that he play a phony preacher in The Gun And The Pulpit, a gunfighter on the run who exchanges clothes with a dead preacher on the road to escape a posse.

There's plenty of trouble in the town where he takes up the pulpit, the local Ponderosa owner David Huddleston is leaning on everybody with his gunfighters on the payroll. Marjoe's fast draw wins him a lot of admirers most especially Estelle Parsons and her nubile young daughter Pamela Sue Martin. She's the reason he's staying. And there's also Slim Pickens who knows his secret and his real identity, but knows the town needs a savior. {pun intended}.

This western moves real nice with the kind of plot that was standard fare for the front row matinée kids of the 30s and 40s. Marjor is a good western hero, maybe he should have gone into that line of work.