Une arme pour un lâche

More a domestic family drama than a Western, "Gun for a Coward" explores sibling rivalry among three cattle-rancher brothers. The three Keough brothers work the spread left by their deceased father, while jockeying for their widowed mother's affection and the love of a neighboring rancher's daughter. Directed by Abner Biberman, the film has little new, although an attractive cast offers passable entertainment.

In a rare Western role, Fred MacMurray is Will, the eldest son, who wrestles with his siblings for his mother's love, while procrastinating on intended marriage to Aud Niven, played by Janice Rule. The Keough matriarch, Josephine Hutchinson, is cold towards Will, but possessive and manipulative with blue-eyed Jeffrey Hunter, who is mom's favorite son, Bless. Gentle, peaceable Bless does his own wrestling to break free from his mother's grip and to salvage his reputation as a coward. Dean Stockwell as the youngest Keough, Hade, has little screen time as the rebellious little brother. Add Chill Wills to the mix as Loving, a wizened ranch hand with a long family association, and the six central performances hold the film together.

Beyond a few brawls, a shooting or two, and some bronco riding, "Gun for a Coward" is short on action and long on drama, with overtones of "East of Eden;" Janice Rule has the Julie Harris role, promised to Will, but drawn to Bless. Fred MacMurray in the James Dean part seeks his mother's approval, but she spurns him and dotes on Bless. Poor Hade, meanwhile, is neglected all around. Not a great film, nor a particularly bad one, just fodder for a lazy afternoon and rewarding for fans of Fred MacMurray and Jeffrey Hunter.

It is a small budget and very intelligent psychological western, speaking of cowardice and the elements in relation of this. But I guess it could have been a bit better though, more gritty, poignant, with a different ending. The director Abner Biberman offered us good stuff, but not too many films, unfortunately. This one is also a family - brothers - story, with the good tension that supposes. I did not expect to see Jeffrey Hunter in this movie, besides Fred McMurray. His character is riveting, and only for this, this western is worth the watch. Universal Studios really made interesting westerns.

Fred MacMurray starred in a number of interesting color westerns in the 1950's. In this film, 3 brothers come face to face with violence, cowardice and personality conflicts. MacMurray , with his laconic sense of irony, shines in this film.

Jeffrey Hunter has the key role of the the young brother. Hunter was a great actor, who is best remembered to day for his role in The Searchers. He performs well in this one and is a good match for this interesting role.

This movie is only slightly above average, being aided by two fine actors at the top of their game. Worth a look for that alone ........

Gun for a Coward is directed by Abner Biberman and written by R. Wright Campbell. It stars Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, Janice Rule, Chill Wills, Dean Stockwell and Josephine Hutchinson. Out of Universal International Pictures, film is a CinemaScope production in Eastman Color, with photography by George Robinson and music by Joseph Gershenson.

Three brothers must contend with big personal differences whilst also trying to see off a band of cattle rustlers who are pillaging from their herd.

But you don't cover me with your shadow.

So many good things involved with this production it feels unfair to label it as dull, but dull is ultimately how it ends up being after film has run its course. The cast assembled is a strong one, the dialogue is sharp and well written, and the location photography out of Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is most pleasing. Prolific Western scorer Gershenson also produces a highly effective score, very reflective of the characters' stuttering emotions. But with a running time of almost 90 minutes the makers have over stretched the family feud premise by having too many periods of story inactivity. Biggest problem of all is that the coward of the title, Bless' (Hunter) back story is never fully formed, adding little snippets here and there doesn't do it justice. For instance: it's only late in the day that we find his reputation is tarnished outside of his family, the whole damn town are down on him. A better director than jobber for hire Biberman would surely have got more from this tortured character axis.

Stockwell and Hunter are not the best of actors all told, but they fit right into the roles of two brothers made of different stuff. Stockwell does a good turn as the young and fearless one, and Hunter as the middle brother of the three effectively conveys the psychological pangs that sting him during the plot. The elder brother is played by MacMurray, who offers up a weary surrogate father performance for this fatherless family. It's the death of the father that is the catalyst for Hunter's problems. While Hutchinson adds a bit of class as the fretful mother and Wills is always good value for money. Rule gets the short straw from the screenplay, in what is a critical (two fold) role, she isn't asked to do anything other than look pretty and say soothing words to tortured Bless. The action is competently constructed, though the art of throwing a convincing punch is sadly missing here. And the ending, whilst being predictable (no shades of the far superior Saddle the Wind here), has enough warmth about it for those not in need of blackness in their Western viewings.

By definition it is very much a B movie in the truest sense of the term, but there is good in the production, even if it is undone by slackness elsewhere. 5.5/10

I read most of the reviews here, but saw the movie anyway because I like Westerns and Janice Rule, and I especially enjoyed two other Fred MacMurray Westerns, "Good Day For a Hanging" and "Face of a Fugitive." The latter is a classic in my opinion.

Most of the movie was worthy -- the stars, production values, general story outline, dialog. It held my attention. But, I have to agree with most of the reviews here: there were long, boring, repetitious stretches. There were too many indoor talky scenes. The cattle drive scenes seemed small, cramped and cheap. There were hardly any scenes involving action, excitement or suspense.

My biggest complaint is that the movie consisted mainly of repeated boring scenes where Jeffrey Hunter's character declined to fight (with fists or guns) his adversaries. Some branded him a coward for this, but the way the scenes were structured, it seemed to me like a smart move to avoid meaningless, risky fights.