The Lone Gun

A good western which brings no surprise at all, routine programer with villains such as Neville Brand and Robert Wilke, and that's a good reason to justify the watch. But be sure to be a western buff first. George Montgomery is a wooden as usual, maybe a bit better than a Dale Robertson but not as much impressing or convincing as a Rory Calhoun. Two other western actors who also could easily have been OK for such a western yarn directed by the specialist of (A - B) western, besides Lesley Selander and some others: Ray Nazarro. I repeat, nothing astonishing here, just a good routine western and time waster.

Cruze--George Montgomery Moran brothers Dorothy Malone--Charlotte

"The Lone Gun" has many familiar story elements. If you've seen a bunch of westerns, you've pretty much seen what will happen here. However, although the film has a lot of familiar film clichés, it is very well done, simple and enjoyable.

George Montgomery plays Cruze--a newcomer in town. Soon after his arrival, he has a run-in with some real creeps--the three Moran brothers. After beating the snot out of all three, the Mayor is so impressed that he offers Cruze the badge. Cruze is hesitant--he's done sheriff work before and was sick of the lack of support from the 'good citizens'.

Cruze's first business if dealing with his friend, the gambler, Fairweather (Frank Faylen). It seems that Fairweather's luck is too good and he's created a lot of enemies. But the Sheriff doesn't arrest him, as they are friends of sorts. His next order of business is looking into reports of cattle rustling. Not surprisingly, the Morans are implicated. However, after the Morans try to kill the Sheriff, break jail and commit some murders, the folks in town are quick to believe the scum-bag bartender (who is in league with the Morans) and refuse to join in on a posse. So, it's up to Cruze to take on all three--and hopefully rescue their prisoner, Fairweather.

A group of bad brothers harassing a town is familiar as is a town of cowards. But Marshall is so good in the lead and the meanest Moran (Neville Brand) is excellent as well that I was able to look past the familiarity of the film.

Cowboy Cruze (George Montgomery) arrives in a small Texas town where three brothers, the Morans (Neville Brand, Douglas Kennedy, Robert J. Wilke), appear to be terrorizing the population. It is suspected that they are ruthless when it comes to cattle rustling and murder, but at the moment there is no proof; it's only conjecture. When a man is found dead, Cruze soon finds evidence that the Morans may have something to do with it, and his intention is to form a group of men to catch them. Cruze is appointed sheriff by the mayor and sets out to maintain peace and order and arrest the murderous Moran brothers. But when he asks for help from the locals, they turn away. No one dares to challenge them, so Cruze musters the courage and bravery to confront them alone, although he eventually receives help from his friend Fairweather (Frank Faylen). They threw him a badge...a belt-full of bullets...and the toughest clean-up job in the West !

A modest B-series Western directed by a specialist in the genre, Nazarro, and starring another classic cowboy movie actor, Montgomery (The Battle of Roogue River). This exciting Western packs thrills, pursuits, spectacular struggles, crossfire , and lots of gutsy action. A western from the 50s directed by Ray Nazarro starring George Montgomery and Dorothy Malone, regulars of the genre. Brawling , sprawling , almost primitive action in which our starring is forced to join a criminal band in order to clear his name being accused of robbery and murder and going on the run, teeming across the screen by means of escapes, attacks, crosses, double-crosses and ambushes. The picture contains whirlwinds of manic action , fights , sustained energy and often commendable results. The film has a slickness and crude vigour, including impressive outdoors with rocky mountains well photographed by Lester White, although a perfect remastering must be carried out . This is a distinctive Western saga with a special look at California outdoors located in Ventura County. Features impressive as well as spectacular crossfire scenes punctuated with decent action sequences. The starring is a famous actor who starred B-series called George Montgomery. This good-looking actor George Montgomery gives an acceptable acting in his usual style as a stubborn revenger who finds himself working for a gang of cattle rustlers engaged in a turf war with a rival gang of outlaws. He was born to Ukranian immigrants and was a heavyweight boxer previously becoming an actor. Besides was a magnificent craftsman and built and designed houses, plus a self-taught artist, creating bronze busts for famed actors. He starred movies around the world and various genres: adventures (Watusi,Steel claw) , Warlike (Battle of Bulge, Hell of Borneo) and specially Western (Seminola uprising, Fort Ti, Last of badmen, Great duel in Durango). In the film, the large group of familiar secondaries stands out, these include the following: Frank Faylen, Neville Brand, Skip Homeir, Douglas Kennedy, Douglas Fowley, Chuck Roberson and Robert J. Wilke.

The motion picture was professionally but regularly directed by Ray Nazzarro, and nothing special. Ray was a crftsman who made a lot of Westerns in low-budget . By 1945 he fell into directing westerns for that studio, a genre and a studio in which Nazarro would spent the vast majority of his career. He worked steadily for the next 20 years, churning out dozens and dozens of Columbia's westerns, including many in the "Durango Kid" series with Charles Starrett, and was at the helm of a slew of Columbia's musical westerns and low-budget hillbilly musicals, which featured such acts as The Hoosier Hotshots. As he made Westerns as The Range Rider , The Kid from Amarillo , Fort Savage Raiders , Al Jennings de Oklahoma , Frontier Outpost , Streets of Ghost Town, Texas Dynamo , The Tougher They Come , Outcast of Black Mesa, Trail of the Rustlers ,Renegades of the Sage , Bandits of El Dorado , South of Death Valley , Cyclone Fury , Laramie , The Blazing Trail and many others . As the era of the B western ended, Nazarro journeyed to Europe, where he turned out some "spaghetti westerns" and was one of several directors to work on a bizarre and trouble-plagued Jayne Mansfield film, Einer frisst den anderen (1964) . He also returned to directing television series , a medium in which he had occasionally worked since the early 1950s again, mostly in westerns. This Western could have been a lot worse but that's no reason to watch it . Rating : 5.5/10 , average but passable and acceptable . Only for hardcore Western fans.

In The Lone Gun, George Montgomery rides into town and immediately inherits the job as marshal after he handles the Moran brothers, the local toughs who are into a lot of the crime in the area. The Morans are played by tough guy actors Robert J. Wilke, Douglas Kennedy, and Neville Brand.

Among their criminal enterprises is cattle rustling and they've got a perfect hideout on the spread of brother and sister Dorothy Malone and Skip Homeier. Homeier is into the Morans on some gambling debts and they're holding that over his head.

The other main character in this western is tinhorn gambler Frank Faylen who has a ready wit and a fast shuffle for all occasions. He and Montgomery form a Wyatt Earp/Doc Holiday like partnership. Faylen also took the Morans for plenty so they have it in for him as well.

The Lone Gun is an entertaining western in which all the players acquit themselves well in their performances. The story moves well and the direction is taut. A good one for B western fans.

The lines which open the movie are overkill blah-blah-blah : the story which is about to be told has been treated countless times,before and afterward.

But this is an action-packed entertaining western ,very short (about 70 min) ,which makes the best of a low budget .Frank Faylen steals the show from cardboard Montgomery and reveals himself a smart gambler as well as a fine cook and eventually an efficient deputy ; the card games provide the movie with its best scenes :the poker game with Malone's naive brother and the wrong man reading the cards in his cell ; Malone (whose best parts are Sirk's "Written on the wind" -AA- and "tarnished angels" )is a nice cow-girl but her part is insignificant and conventional.

Watch it for Faylen.