The Slowest Gun in the West

This is an innovative and hilarious western starring veteran comedians Jack Benny and Phil Silvers. The town of Primrose, Arizona is filled with outlaws. In desperation, the law-abiding townspeople hire the cowardly Fletcher Bissell III (aka The Silver Dollar Kid, played by Silvers) as their new sheriff. The townsfolk are convinced that law and order will be restored because the local outlaws will be too proud to gun Bissell down. This proves to be the case, because none of the outlaws wants to ruin his reputation by being "the man who gunned down The Silver Dollar Kid." In retaliation, the outlaws hire their own cowardly gunfighter, Chicken Finsterwald (Benny), to go up against The Silver Dollar Kid. Finsterwald's "style" of gunning people down theretofore amounted to knocking out an old lady's cane in a dark alley and shooting her in the back. Despite pressure from the townspeople and outlaws, both Finsterwald and The Kid manage to avoid confrontation until the final, surprising showdown in the street.

Benny and Silvers are at their best in this one, with Silvers' wisecracking and Benny's low-keyed, self-effacing humor and deadpanned looks. Great support work is provided by veteran heavies Ted DeCorsia, Jack Elam, and Lee van Cleef. The dialogue is smooth and never forced, probably due to a combination of such a "veteran" cast and a good script. Nat Hiken wrote and produced this film. TV buffs will recall that he wrote, produced and directed "The Phil Silvers Show" in the 1950s and "Car 54, Where Are You?" in the 1960s.

This is a movie the whole family can enjoy. The movie was made for television and I do not know if it is available on videocassette. I highly recommend it.

This seems to have been made immediately after the "SGT Bilko" show went off the air, as a vehicle for Phil Silvers by Nat Hiken, the mind behind "SGT Bilko." It may have started out as a pilot for a new show starring Silvers. If so, it is not surprising that it was never made. Silvers' character as a fast-talking con-man does not merge well into the western genre.

It is always good to see Silvers in anything, but he's not very convincing as a cowboy, even "the slowest gun in the west." There are some funny moments, but many of the jokes fall flat. The theme-song, a western-style ballad about the Silver Dollar Kid (Silvers' character), is repeated far too many times, far too loudly, and gets intrusive after a while. The rest of the cast is stiff, and do not seem to be very well-rehearsed.

The movie picks up when Jack Benny's character appears. Benny was rather famously not very good in movies, but he is very natural in this role -- which is just an extension of his character from radio and TV. Unfortunately he isn't in the movie very much, and the climax of the movie is a big letdown.

It might be fun to see for fans of Silvers or Benny, but don't expect big laughs.

Finding this by accident on YouTube, I was excited because I vaguely remembered watching it on TV, 'way too many years ago.

I had not remembered it as a Phil Silvers special, for some reason. But watching it and him, I was again reminded what a really fine actor he was.

Yes, he generally played the similar kind of bluff con man, but watch his face. Watch his body. He was incredibly expressive, so very much in control.

Jack Benny also very much played his well-known character, but, again, watch him, closely. He really could be a good actor. And was in this funny story.

Then we were given some of the very best villains ever filmed, including Bob Wilke and Lee Van Cleef and Jack Elam. And they and all the others were so excellent in their portrayals, I can't help wondering why this little gem of a TV movie is not better known and presented more often.

It has one flaw: That intrusive and annoying laugh track. There is absolutely no good reason for such interference.

But I highly recommend "The Slowest Gun in the West" for a less-than-an-hour's entertainment

I think I can see why The Slowest Gun In The West was not picked up as a pilot. It might have been hard to come up with reasons why someone did not shoot Phil Silvers despite the plot premise that any self respecting gunfighter would have been laughed at for killing such a coward. It's a variation on the premise of the Abbott&Costello classic The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap.

Nevertheless this is a pretty funny pilot film especially when the bad guys go find their own cowardly gunslinger in the person of Jack Benny to face Silvers.

A whole lot of western film heavies get to appear in this but as comic foils for Silvers and Benny. Worth watching for them alone.

Phil Silvers cleans up a western town in this ultimate fish-out-of-water story.

Since it's about an hour long (and black and white) it's hard to talk about without dropping spoilers, so this review will mention some of its better aspects.

Is it funny? Most of it is simply light. It does have some out-loud laughs but once the delightful premise is established it drags a few minutes before the great Jack Benny shows up. An hour is about the extent this premise will stretch.

Does Jack Benny have a worthwhile part? Yes, but don't expect him until after it's half to two-thirds over.

Who else is in it? Parley Baer, Bruce Cabot, Jack Albertson. Two noteworthy rising western stars have small but pivotal roles: Jack Elam and Lee van Cleef. Later in the decade Elam would appear in a funnier western spoof. "Support Your Local Sheriff."