Audie Murphy

Joan Staley

Warren Stevens

Edgar Buchanan

Denver Pyle

David Macklin

Nick Dennis

Royal Dano

Kelly Thordsen

Morgan Woodward

William Bramley

Robert Pine

John Hoyt

Ford Rainey

Mike Ragan

Roy Barcroft

Gordon Armitage

Jimmie Booth

Forrest Burns

Jeff Burton

Dee Cooper

Buck Harrington

William Henry

George Holmes

Adair Jameson

Hans Moebus

William H. O'Brien

Joe Phillips

Waclaw Rekwart

Bernard Sell

Casey Tibbs

Max Wagner

Joseph Gershenson

Henry Bumstead

Oliver Emert

Alexander Golitzen

John McCartney

Larry Germain

Bud Westmore

Frank Baur

William Margulies

Russell F. Schoengarth

Earl Bellamy

Phil Bowles

Lyle Cain

Waldon O. Watson

Hans J. Salter

Gordon Kay

Mary Willingham

Willard W. Willingham

Western

Gunpoint

Universal Pictures

United States of America

It never pays to even the odds!

Gunpoint is directed by Earl Bellamy and written by Mary and Willard Willingham. It stars Audie Murphy, Joan Staley, Warren Stevens, Edgar Buchanan, Denver Pyle, David Macklin, Nick Dennis and Royal Dano. Music is by Hans J. Salter and Technicolor cinematography by William Margulies.

It's early 1880s Colorado and lawlessness is rife, mostly perpetrated by The Drago Gang who were able to enact their crimes and escape afterwards to the sanctuary of their New Mexico sanctuary. One man, however, is not going to go down without a fight, the sheriff of Lodgepole, Chad Lucas (Murphy).

There's a school of thought that Audie Murphy's 1960s Westerns are far weaker than his 1950s ones? Which with one or two exceptions is rightly the case. The decade brought a wind of change in the Western genre, for soon Spaghetti would offer something new on the menu and revisionism was not far away either. With most of Audie's 60s output hindered by budget restrictions and a battle against the changing tide, one has to just hope there's enough on offer to not waste your time.

Gunpoint is a right mixed bag that shows the best and worst of Audie's genre output of the decade. Murphy is just fine in is characterisation, his fans suitably catered for, while around him is a stoic and reliable group of Western performers. There's some nifty stunt work on show, plenty of action (property destruction, horse pursuits, shoot-outs etc), and the location photography out of Utah (St. George/Snow Canyon State Park) is gorgeous. While there's also a splendid old fashioned locomotive to enjoy as well.

Narratively it's not high end, though a turn of events suggesting our hero to shockingly be a bully of sorts - which gives him emotional conflict - is a smart addition. Unfortunately the good in the production is off set by poor rear protection and polystyrene props etc, which while still carrying nostalgic value, comes with a hint of sadness of where these productions had landed at. Still, this is far from a waste of time, it holds all the requisite genre tropes for fans of Audie and the "B" Westerns we loved so much in the 50s. 6.5/10

It never pays to even the odds!

Gunpoint is directed by Earl Bellamy and written by Mary and Willard Willingham. It stars Audie Murphy, Joan Staley, Warren Stevens, Edgar Buchanan, Denver Pyle, David Macklin, Nick Dennis and Royal Dano. Music is by Hans J. Salter and Technicolor cinematography by William Margulies.

It's early 1880s Colorado and lawlessness is rife, mostly perpetrated by The Drago Gang who were able to enact their crimes and escape afterwards to the sanctuary of their New Mexico stronghold. One man, however, is not going to go down without a fight, the sheriff of Lodgepole, Chad Lucas (Murphy).

There's a school of thought that Audie Murphy's 1960s Westerns are far weaker than his 1950s ones? Which with one or two exceptions is rightly the case. The decade brought a wind of change in the Western genre, for soon Spaghetti would offer something new on the menu and revisionism was not far away either. With most of Audie's 60s output hindered by budget restrictions and a battle against the changing tide, one has to just hope there's enough on offer to not waste your time.

Gunpoint is a right mixed bag that shows the best and worst of Audie's genre output of the decade. Murphy is just fine in is characterisation, his fans suitably catered for, while around him is a stoic and reliable group of Western performers. There's some nifty stunt work on show, plenty of action (property destruction, horse pursuits, shoot-outs etc), and the location photography out of Utah (St. George/Snow Canyon State Park) is gorgeous. While there's also a splendid old fashioned locomotive to enjoy as well.

Narratively it's not high end, though a turn of events suggesting our hero to shockingly be a bully of sorts - which gives him emotional conflict - is a smart addition. Unfortunately the good in the production is off set by poor rear protection and polystyrene props etc, which while still carrying nostalgic value, comes with a hint of sadness of where these productions had landed at. Still, this is far from a waste of time, it holds all the requisite genre tropes for fans of Audie and the "B" Westerns we loved so much in the 50s. 6.5/10

English