The Lone Gun (1954)

Cruze Missile and the Three of Spades.

The Lone Gun is directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Don Martin, Richard Schayer and L. L. Freeman. It stars George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, Neville Brand, Frank Faylen, Skip Homeier, Robert Wilke, Douglas Kennedy and Fay Roope. Music is by Irving Getz and cinematography by Lester White (color by Color Corporation of America).

"The history of any frontier region . . . such as the great expanses of the new State of Texas . . . offered many examples of the strange way in which a few men of great evil could dominate whole communities of well meaning, but passive citizens...

...And examples, too, of men who rode out alone for law and order, with badges on their vests and handcuffs in their pockets . . . playing a lone gun against great odds"

It is pretty much as one would expect for a 50s "B" Western, there's nothing remotely new here, it's a good old honest Oater where a good man takes up a law badge in a town that doesn't deserve him, he takes on the bad guys and there's a pretty lady on his mind. Cue fisticuffs and shootings (including a particularly cold blooded murder), some nifty ambush sequences, a tension packed poker game and some neat dialogue - "one yell and you'll be waking up in a devil's cookhouse".

Cast are fine, with Montgomery doing his usual reliable and likable guy act, Brand doing another in his line of scumbags - backed by Kennedy and Wilke, and even though she's saddled with the token lady role that's sparsely written, Malone leaves a nice impression regardless. Bonus is Faylen, who as card conman Fairweather, shines in a cheeky chappie role, with quips and a glint in his eye even when he's in danger, Faylen enjoys himself in creating this fun character. Some good stunt work rounds it out as a safe and enjoyable Oater for fans of such. 6.5/10

Tidbib: Bizarrely the end credits have Wilke and Kennedy listed as playing each others roles?!

This is one of those entirely unremarkable westerns that screams out for a second-stringer to bring it to life. As it is, it tells the tale of “Cruze” (George Montgomery) who arrives in a town being terrorised by the three “Moran” brothers. He quickly regrets his involvement after he agrees to be their marshal only to discover that the place is full of spineless wonders, and even when he manages to assemble proof against one of the menacing (well no, not really) siblings they refuse to back him with a posse. Anyway, undeterred and aided only by his new friend and fellow traveller "Fairweather” (Frank Faylen) he sets off in hot pursuit of “Tray” (Neville Brand) and his brothers. It’s all join-the-dot stuff this, with a shockingly wooden effort from an out-of-sorts Dorothy Malone and a bit of accidental humour thrown in too as the fight choreography taxes both the editor and the choreographer well beyond the limits of their skills or interest. There just aren’t any characters here - for us to love or loathe, and even the cliff-edge denouement is largely devoid of much jeopardy. It kills seventy-five minutes easily enough, but I doubt you’ll ever remember watching it.