Four Fast Guns

James Craig rides into Purgatory when they're taking up a collection for a town tamer. He takes the pot, then has troubling doing the job. The problem seems to be wheelchair-bound Paul Richards, who runs one of the saloons and spends most of his time playing the piano and reading poetry. Craig can't bring himself to shoot an educated, kindly, helpless man despite the waves of lust sent off by Richards' wife, Martha Vickers. So Craig moves into the dilapidated Marshal's office with Edgar Buchanan, and begins to renovate the place while four hired guns come into town seriatim to earn Richards' money.

The comedic elements work pretty well in this film, especially when Richard Martin shows up in the movie, playing a Mexican. The serious elements..... well, I'm sure they're there, I just can't take any of it particularly seriously when we don't see any gunfights, just people knocking memorials into the ground, while the good townfolk who want Craig to shoot a cripple mock him for cowardice.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fisheying of he image whenever cinematographer John Nickolaus moves the camera. Perhaps it's all a burlesque of the psychological and symbol-laden A westerns that the 1950s threw up occasionally. That would explain why they decided to call the place Purgatory, when the two towns that actually bear the name are in New England.

OK, it's definitely not True grit, the acting is not great but the story has solid background.

It's good for a low budget movie and will be enjoyed as a Sunday afternoon Western.

Sadly, since the early 1980's the Western movie has been frowned upon and assigned to the B shelf ever since, there were some exceptions, though the investment which such movies enjoyed in the 50's, 60's and the early 1970's is now sadly a thing of the past.

For this very reason even the lesser quality B Westerns are enjoying somewhat of a come back among true Western fans.

Overall it's not a bad movie, the script is actually quite good, acting on the other hand is below average, with few exceptions. Direction and production seem to have suffered due to lack of funding.

All in all, a 6 out of 10, Not unmissable, but still worth seeing!.

What a great surprise to watch first a B western in a splendid LBX copy, with a great acting and directing for this kind of production. I hardly know the actors bt who cares? The topic is classic as thousands of other westerns, but that's the least of my problems with this movie. And it is short, sharp, very pleasing to watch. The director was a producer I guess but he did not let a major mark in Hollywood history. I really enjoyed this film and highly advise it to every western buff, and keep in mind that's a rare item, not widely known so don't miss your luck to see it. I have hundreds and hundreds of this kind of westerns in my collection, but not necessarily of this quality.

Grade C story, grade B+ direction, grade B- actors, grade C- acting, and grade B+ ending, so a grade C+ film.

I really stumbled across this "Western" film. I had clicked on a Charlie Chan film while searching through YouTube and Four Fast Guns popped up instead.

Edgar Buchanan had star billing. Yes, Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction and from over 150+ films and TV shows where he earned fame from being listed as uncredited or with characters named: Bartender Dan, Applejack, Uncle Willie, Old Willy, Dr. Samuels, Uncle Harry, and Will "Bill" Dowdy to name a few. So, when the credits began for Four Fast Guns and Buchanan was the star, I had to watch. Especially as Buchanan intoned the opening lines with "This man came along the trail one Sunday morning in '73, taking it slow and easy, keeping his eyes open and his gun hand ready. He came from nowhere, I guess. Anyhow, he never said from where and we never asked. He was going to stop off in Purgatory, to make his stand like he lived - alone. This is Number One. He called himself Sabin."

And then there was the action from the get go as Sabin is about to be gunned down by what is termed "a town tamer." After killing the man who would have murdered him, Sabin rides into the town of Purgatory where he is taken for the sent for town tamer.

The plot is typical in that there is a villain (monster) holding a town (castle) captive, and the townsfolk gather enough money to hire a fast gun (knight errant) to save them and free the villain's wife (damsel-in-distress).

For the most part it works. The director, William J. Hole Jr., makes the most of shooting in black and white, and he know how to "show" the audience by not showing them. But he doesn't know how to keep the story tight and focused. Most of the "starring" actors are recognizable-James Craig, Brett Halsey, Richard Martin, Paul Richards-but aren't names you know. Usually, they turn in a good performance, but here there is a feeling they could have all done better.

The ending is true to the film and could have been powerful and memorable but instead it comes off as mediocre. The final shot was worthy of a Clint Eastwood Western, but here it comes close to laughable.

With someone else at the helm, this might have had a chance to be a High Noon. Instead Four Fast Guns has ended up a forgotten film.

I still recommend giving this film a viewing because the majority of what's there on the screen is pretty darn good.

Four Fast Guns is directed by William J. Hole Jr. and written by James Edmiston & Dallas Gaultois. It stars James Craig, Martha Vickers, Edgar Buchanan, Brett Halsey and Paul Richards. Music is by Alec Compinsky and cinematography by John M. Nickolaus Jr.

After killing in self defence the town tamer who was on his way to clean up the town of Purgatory, gunman Tom Sabin (Craig) finds himself offered the position himself. With the financial rewards too great to turn down, Sabin agrees and finds a town being ruled and pillaged by wheelchair bound Hoag (Richards). Hoag has the financial pull to hire the best gunmen around to do his bidding, and soon enough Sabin finds he must out gun the men sent to kill him. Tricky enough as it is, more so when one of them turns out to be a familiar face.

Efficient and shot in black and white for noirish effect, Four Fast Guns kind of gets in and does its job with the minimum of fuss. The problem is is that it really offers up nothing new in the genre, with the attempt to blend an airy comedic tone with the drama never sitting comfortably together. There's a standard love triangle stitched into the quilt, which works whilst going exactly where you expect it to go, and the high points of the film come by way of the gun play show downs and Edgar Buchanan's ebullience. Acting performances are adequately of a low budget B Western standard, photography is pleasing (Darn Good Westerns DVD print is nice) and the brisk running time doesn't allow for pointless filler.

Enjoyable enough while it is on, instantly forgettable once it's over. 6/10