Interesting idea of big-city Tommy-gun carrying gangsters trying their tricks out on the range during the Depression.
Ordinarily I don't like the anachronism of horses and cars, or cowboys and city-slicker gangsters, but in "Gun Grit," it's a combination that works beautifully.
Jack Perrin is not a household word these days but he is very personable and handles the action well.
He is aided immensely by some excellent directing of William Berke, who for some reason is known here as Lester Williams.
Director Berke uses brilliant camera angles and close-ups with superior cutting to create or give the impression of action that a lesser film or lesser director would not.
We viewers are greatly the beneficiaries.
Perrin and Berke are also helped immensely by the presence of the very great David Sharpe, known generally as a stunt man, but by me as one excellent actor, one superlative active actor, and one of my favorites. (To my dying day I will regret having missed an opportunity to meet and talk with him when he was living at the Motion Picture Home.)
Also present was one of the finest character actors the B Western ever had, Earl Dwire.
My first experiences with him were roles where he was the strong and silent bad guy. If he spoke he was in a quietly menacing tone.
In "Gun Grit," he is a high-voiced almost-comedic "Uncle Joe," and shows he was an actor, An Actor, a very talented Actor.
Quite unusually for a B Western, the bad guys have their own personalities, and are almost likable, or would be if they were not killers.
Directing and writing give us rounded personalities -- strangely, especially for the bad guys.
Directing and writing are what make this an excellent B Western, and I highly recommend "Gun Grit," which is available at YouTube. (Be prepared: There were several commercial interruptions! Irritating, but I guess that's the price we pay for "free" movies. Sorry. I hate it. But it's better than not seeing "Gun Grit.")
