Gunfight in Abilene

Although this is routine faire, it is interesting to watch Darin and Neilson in a western with an early performance by Michael Sarrazin. The title song "Amy" is nifty, worked into the background music nicely and doesn't wear out it's welcome, as in the case of so many other westerns. The plot is routine, but the action moves the story along to it's predictable conclusion nicely, giving us a good watch.

This is a good western film from the mid- 60's with Bobby Darin playing a Civil War soldier who returns home, only to find that things have changed in his occupation status, and love life. Darin gives a good performance, and Leslie Nielson is good as the villain.*** stars

The film is set post civil war (181-1865) in Abilene (a biblical name meaning city of the plains ) , the pattern of the other celebrated cow towns of the Old west . Batting in the Civil War a soldier called Cal Wayne (Bobby Darin) accidently murders his friend. Going back Abilene after the American Civil war he finds his previous girlfriend about to marry the brother (Leslie Nielsen) of the man he murdered . To pay his debt he not only refuses to win her back but takes the job of Marshall , a job he doesn't wishes , when the brother asks him . Later on , Darin becomes the brave sheriff of Abilene and along with his deputy are fighting to stifle the conflicts between homesteaders , cattlemen and a wealthy owner who hire gunfighters . Along the way he develops a loving triangle between two beautiful girls : Amy Martin ( Emily Banks) and Leann (Barbara Werle). The time: Noon! The odds: Desperate ! The result: Memorable !

The picture gets Western action , shootouts , go riding , a love story , and results to be quite entertaining . It's a medium budget film with acceptable actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . Although it has some stock footage , such as the prison scene near the riverboat and the battle scene in the beginning of the movie , being taken from the 1965 film , Shenandoah directed by Andrew MacLagen with James Stewart . The flick is totally set in Abilene (Kansas) which was the first of the major railhead cattle towns , and including ordinary problems between the ranchers and the farmers . From 1867 to 1872 it was a booming depot , shipping some one million Texas Longhorns by railroad to Kansas City and Chicago and meat markets in the East . The place was selected as a terminus for Texas cattle drives in 1867 . Then the long drives began from Texas over the Chisholm trail . At trail's end in Abilene the rowdy,free-spending cowboys attracted saloon keepers, gamblers , brothels and all types of frontier riff-raff , the town became notorious for its lawlessness . Gunmen were hired for a time to keep the peace in Abilene . With the numerous presence of homesteaders the town prospered , stabilized and grew , its lawabiding citizens decided to discourage the troublesome cattle trade with his transient cowboys and early requested the Texas cattlemen to drive their herds elsewhere , which they soon did and Abilene's role as a wild cow town came to an abrupt ending.

Bobby Darin gives a decent acting as a good guy haunted by a killing refusing to carry a gun , but , subsequently , he straps on a pistol and heads after the cutthroats . Darin was a successful singer and song composer . His music career started out with writing songs and taking demos around to different music producers . His next goal was to make a movie, and that opportunity came in 1960 with the film Come September (1961), for which he also wrote the title song. The movie was filmed in Rome and that's where he met Sandra Dee. She was 16 years old and at the top of her career. They were engaged two months after they met and their son, Dodd Darin, was born a year later. Bobby continued to perform in night clubs and make movies. In 1964 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Captain Newman (1963). Despite very good reviews, he lost the Oscar to Melvyn Douglas. He went in for heart surgery in 1971 and from that point on he had bouts of ill health. After his recovery he continued to do nightclub acts and the next years singing , until his early death at 37 . He did a popular summer variety show called The Bobby Darin Show (1973) and played other films such as : Run stranger run , The happy end , Cop-out , Hell is for heroes , Pressure point and State Fair . Co-stars the great Leslie Nielsen . His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment. Leslie starred in over fifty films and many more television films . Oustanding in comedy genre in which he delivered sophomoric punchlines with a deadpan expression, being nicknamed "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs" . He played all kinds of genres as Sci-Fi , Western , and drama , such as Harlow , Forbidden planet , The reluctant astronaut , Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler , Four rode out , The Amsterdam kill , Project kill , Creepshow , Prom night ; but he performed comedy especially , such as : Camouflage , 2001 a space travesty , Wrongfully accused , Mr. Magoo , Dracula : dead and loving , Repossessed , Naked gun : From the files of police squad , Naked gun : The smell of fear , Naked gun : final insult . Support cast is pretty good , including various familar faces , such as : Donnelly Rhodes , Don Galloway , Frank McGrath ,Don Dubbins , Ross Hagen ,Bryan O'Byrne and Michael Sarrazin's film debut .

Enjoyable music by Bobby Darin himself and uncredited Shorty Rogers . Colorful and shimmering cinematography by director of photography Maury Gertsman , Universal International Picture's ordinary . The motion picture was directed in sure visual eye by William Hale , though it has flaws and gaps , being a bit boring . He realized a variety films of all kind of genres , such as : One shoe makes it murder , Stalk the wild child , Journey to Shiloh , Murder in Texas , though especially made TV episodes from famous series , such as : The time tunnel , The invaders , The streets of San Francisco, Kojak , Cannon , Fugitive , Judd for the Defense , Lancer , The Virginian , FBI , Night Gallery . Rating . 5.5/10 , acceptable and passable .

Besides one other Western, ‘Journey to Shiloh' (1968) and the obscure early effort ‘Lonnie' (1963), William Hale has worked principally in TV since the start of his career. This is a shame as from the evidence of ‘Gunfight in Abeline' at least, he is able to work comfortably in a major genre with none of the small screen inhibitions which seems to affect directors who cross over.

The present film was received indifferently by critics upon its first appearance and it is hard to see why. While no masterpiece, it is a solid, engaging piece of work, offering Darin one of his finest and most dramatic roles. When one remembers the dull screen impression made by his nearest equivalent in Westerns, that of Audie Murphy (another actor who died relatively young), Darin's considerably more interesting screen persona seems to have been badly wasted. Add to his acting abilities as a vocalist and songwriter - as evidenced by the memorable ballad ‘Amy' over which the credits of this film play out – Darin's versatility is very interesting. In fact he was briefly marketed by the ever hopeful studio as the "new Sinatra".

In ‘Abeline' Darin plays Cal Wayne, a man haunted by two accidents: that of the injury of Grant Evers' arm when they where children, and of the death of Evers' brother during a skirmish during the Civil War. Evers' arm is a constant reminder of Wayne's incipient guilt, as well as suggesting the cattle magnate's unfeeling morality. But Evers is no simple black hearted villain. He has behaved with perfect honour towards his intended bride Amy and, although a ruthless businessman, initially at least strives to avoid confrontation and violence with the farming lobby. Far more reprehensible is his henchman Jack Slade, and the mutual distaste between the two is always evident. (The difference is particularly noteworthy when Slade upbraids Evers for his weakness in paying compensation to the farmers for his early trespassing and crop destruction.) Even Evers' final act of violence towards Wayne is one generated through impulsiveness, as the now-sherriff confesses how he killed his employer's brother.

‘Abeline' builds a compact and satisfying Western drama, albeit small-scale, around the Wayne-Amy-Evers-Slade relationships, and Hale's widescreen compositions, his dollying and tracking are very effective without drawing attention to themselves. Most noticeable is the final showdown. Here he employs some off-centred camera angles to frame the boastful Slade, while the montage of facial shots accompanying the ultimate draw anticipates some of the flamboyance of Leone.

This is a film which is entirely successful in its own rewarding and modest terms, and only fails being memorable by an absence of more colourful supporting actors. Neilsen too (acting straight here, long before the days of 'Airplane!')lacks a certain charisma and some of the film comes across as being slightly glum. If Hale had been able to add a Brennan or a Devine into the mix, them the results could have been marvellous. Instead we have a Western drama well worth seeking out, as a traditional, effective genre outing.

Bobby Darin looks so goofy in this movie that seeing Leslie Nielsen as a grim and malevolent land baron makes this movie even funnier.

Bobby Darin has a nice personality, but he looks 100% ethnic New Yorker, and I doubt he could ride a horse. This is not a bad movie, except that it does not make any sense. It is just the kind of movie that was put together and nobody bothered to check if the plot made any sense, or if the dialogue made any sense. Just a passable B movie.

The horrible song, Amy, makes it even worse. The movie was all about Bobby Darin and his guilt over killing Nielsen's brother. The song is about Amy, who plays second fiddle to the broken friendship between Darin and Nielsen. Just another part of the story that is awkward.