Gun Belt

Why Director Ray Nazarro and his sidekicks decided to give the title of GUN BELT to this film beats me. Perhaps it had to do with Billy (Montgomery) ordering some nasties to drop their gun belts. Whatever the reason, it did not matter very much coz former outlaw Billy has gone straight, manages to get the dough to pay his ranch's debts to the bank... and that is when his brother Matt (Dehner) - inveterate bank robber with creepy sidewinders - rocks up in town, deceives everybody and forces poor Billy to resume his criminal career.

Why? Coz Matt's son is a good lad who has been helping uncle Billy at the ranch, and the latter decides that is the only way to keep his nephew out of crime. It helps that the famous Wyatt Earp is in town, but lots of complications emerge and logic is clearly not the script writer's uppermost concern, so some suspension of disbelief comes in handy to carry on watching.

OK cinematography. 6/10.

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.

Clintons? Hmmm. Ike Clinton. Wyatt Earp. Well they got that name right. Several Ringo brothers! Well it was supposed to be fiction. I suppose it was par for the course for the early 1950s. Aimed mainly at Saturday afternoon kids movies. So .... who cares about accuracy. I recommend a viewing of Tombstone or Wyatt Earp for a reasonable coverage of the Earp, Clanton, Ringo and Curly Bill etc events in Tombstone, AZ. OR the old 1950s TV series The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp. Not all of it historically accurate, but exponentially better. 🙂

Those of us who love B westerns constantly come up with undiscovered gems from the 1950s. This isn't one of them. Gun Belt may be the least impressive of any Wyatt Earp western ever made, though in fact he's seen only in a supporting role, with a bit of historicity in that he's portrayed as deputy to his brother Virgil, which was actually the case. Nothing else about the film 'gets it right,' though - George Montgomery plays Billy (not John or Jim) Ringo, with Tab Hunter as his younger brother, "Kid Ringo." For reasons I can't imagine, they changed the name of Ike Clanton to Ike Clinton! If there's one interesting thing here, it's that some oft overlooked characters - Turkey Creek Jack Johnson,Curly Bill Brocious, and Texas Jack Vermillion - are on hand, the terrific TOMBSTONE the only other film to give them decent screen time. You may recognize the female lead, Helen Westcott, from the similarly titled Ringo movie GUNFIGHTER - though that was one of the greatest of all westerns. This one has corny dialogue, unbelievable plotting, and weak acting, particularly by Hunter, who couldn't deliver a line competently if the survival of the world depended on it. Even the vistas don't look so bright. Here's one that even die-hard western buffs can skip.

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.