Gun Belt

Former outlaw George Montgomery and his young nephew Tab Hunter are trying to make a go of ranching, but there are forces at work trying to bring Montgomery back into the outlaw trade. Like Don Corleone they keep dragging him back in. And they've even sweetened the pot somewhat by busting from prison his brother John Dehner to bring Montgomery in on a big Wells Fargo robbery planned by saloon owner Hugh Sanders.

Now just why Montgomery was so badly needed in this caper we never really find out, but Sanders is a real piece of work, hiring two sets of outlaws to do the job hoping that the outlaws will kill each other off and him left with the loot.

I have to say that I've rarely seen such double crossing among the cast in any film as I've seen in Gun Belt. With a little better writing this could have been a classic western. In fact with such worthies as Douglas Kennedy, William Bishop, and others in the cast who play some real nasty villains on the big screen, take your choice who will be king of the double crossers.

In fact the only one Montgomery does trust is the girl he's planning to marry Helen Westcott. Even Hunter is a mixed up stupid kid who doesn't know who to trust.

Gun Belt is a good western programmer with unrealized potential for greatness.

Yet another George Montgomery oater to pass 90 minutes when not much else to do. I can never get very excited about George M as he lacked the X factor for me as a western hero but maybe female viewers liked his good looks. The only real spark in this action packed item is a brutal performance for it's time, from William Bishop, an actor who died from cancer at only 41 years old, a shame as he makes a terrific villain here. There's also a notable minor henchman in the gang played by the great Jack Elam in an early part. The plot involves various double crosses over a shipment of gold of half a million dollars, an amount that makes the crooks willing to kill anyone to get a share of it. Other cowboy actors of B pictures of time, Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy and Rory Calhoun for example had far more screen presence for me than Mr Montgomery but the colourful scenery and action help make up. It also has James Millican as the worst miscast Wyatt Earp I've yet seen . Ok for passing the time.

In this western, the specialist Ray Nazzaro, the most prolific western provider - with Lesley Selander - borrows some elements from director Ray Enright ; I mean westerns from the last forties where true celebrities of the conquest of the West history were used in terms of characters names. For instance, here, you have the Ringo brothers - from OK Corral myth - and also Wyatt Earp in a supporting character. I would have never imagined Ray Nazarro making his westerns this way. Plus, such a grade B western maker hired Tab Hunter, Jack Elam...George Montgomery is not a surprise though for this cute little and agreeable movie.

A low budget 50's western that is not really all that bad. George Montgomery is the hero and Tab Hunter as his nephew. Hunter is so young in this movie that he's almost unrecognizable. You keep looking at him and thinking is that Tab Hunter? The villain is a real scary bad guy whose name is Ike Clinton. Why Clinton? Why not Clanton? Were they going for historical accuracy? The marshall in the town is named Virgil Earp so its hard to say what they were trying to do history-wise. It's slow-paced, melodramatic and cartoony: everything it should be.

A former outlaw, Billy Ringo (George Montgomery) decides to hang up his guns, buy a ranch, wed Arlene Reach (Helen Westcott), and let his nephew Chip Ringo live with them, however that ideal state is tenuous at best when Chip's father Matt Ringo (John Dehner), fresh from escaping prison, arrives coaxing the two brothers to follow a life of crime - Billy is then framed into pulling a bank robbery with Matt and his gang.

After accidentally killing Matt, Billy pretends to side with the gang after informing Marshal Wyatt Earp of the gang's plan to rob a Wells Fargo express wagon. But Billy's main intention is to stop Chip from going down the outlaw trail.

Formulaic, yet watchable western with some finely drawn characters. The plot drives you in, it's brisk, and with some good action - like stagecoach robbery at the finale. The historically named characters weren't really needed, as it could've stood in his own legs with fresh characters, but the trend back then was to use historical characters. Guess it makes it fun.