Man with the Gun

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Man with the Gun

(IMO) - Robert Mitchum was the sort of actor who could not only convincingly play a "film noir" tough guy - But, I found that he was also very believable as a rugged, no-nonsense cowboy dude, as well. And, here in 1955's "Man With The Gun" - Mitchum plays the sharp-shooting "town-tamer", Clint Tollinger who casually arrives in the lawless town of Sheridan one day only to find out that he's confronted with more trouble than he had initially bargained for. So - If you are someone who enjoys watching vintage Westerns, then, I'm sure you'll find "Man With The Gun" to be a fairly satisfying view (for the most part).

A gunman (Robert Mitchum) strolls into town in the Old West and is hired as a town-tamer. Henry Hull plays the aged and cautious marshal while John Lupton and Emile Meyer appear as citizens. Leo Gordon and Claude Akins are on hand as heavies. "Man with the Gun" (1955) is a quality town-bound Western with Robert Mitchum towering as a laconic righteous gunfighter. The stock plot is standard, but the cast, the writing, the performances and the convincing town set make it compelling. Another highlight is the stellar cast of women, including Jan Sterling (Nelly), Barbara Lawrence (Ann), Karen Sharpe (Stella) and Angie Dickinson (Kitty), all stunning. The only issue is the lack of color unless you don't mind B&W. I had no problem acclimating. The film runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, and was shot at Samuel Goldwyn Studios in West Hollywood, California. GRADE: B+

Mitchum is perfectly matched for this role as a lone "town tamer". A very focused story, set in a dusty, run down and dusty town. I love western movies, but many suffer from poor acting and or rehashed scripts. This one kept me on the edge of my seat, a compelling story and great acting - naturally by Mitchum but also by the rest of the cast.

This is an OK film. Yes, each cliché arrives on schedule, each caricature is present and correct, mostly with the recognisable face of a character actor you cannot quite name. Never mind, this is a western. Generally speaking most westerns conform to a formula that pretty much approximates a morality play. Whatever the ingredients good, in the form of a rugged individual, will overcome bad. The women may be innocent and young, world weary and embittered or careworn and wise (or desperate) but most, will fall in love with the hero and one will ride off with him. Robert Mitchum, 'The Town Tamer', is as effective as always. Jan Sterling with the severely styled makeup and hairdo, over sized eyes and turned down mouth is oddly beautiful. Angie Dickinson is strikingly pretty in a small part. The fat baddie appears in child size buggy and duly meets his fate along with and his evil henchman. There are no surprises but it's a satisfying film for a lazy afternoon.

It's the town of Sheridan City. The movie opens with bad cowboy Ed Pinchot shooting a boy's dog for no good reason. Clint Tollinger (Robert Mitchum) rides into town looking for his estranged wife Nelly Bain. She runs her saloon girls and refuses to see him. He keeps asking about Beth. The town is under threat from powerful rancher Dade Holman. The sheriff is weak. The town's men hire Tollinger who is a notorious town-tamer. It's interesting to see a hero turn into the murky middle. Mitchum has played all sides. The movie does miss a good foil for him. This is a mano-a-mano story. Dade Holman is not on-screen enough to be the foil. Pinchot is too small as a character. It needs a bigger opponent for this to achieve real greatness.

A western that makes many contemporary film directors blush with envy: perfect setting, intelligent dialogues, socio-psychological soundness in the script, good acting, camera direction and music without errors. A semi-unknown jewel that delights the intelligent viewer.

there should be a sub-genre in the Western called 'the Robert Mitchum Western'. Mitchum's brilliant, idiosyncratic, usually undervalued Westerns import his film noir persona to etch some compellingly dark character sketches, and bring an elegiac world-weariness more familiar from the films of Sam Peckinpah. 'Man with the gun' is one of his best. Directed by Orson Welles protege Richard Wilson, it is a stark, monochrome beauty, full of chilling silhouettes and terrifying outbursts of savage violence, as Mitchum comes to tame a town terrorised by a monopolist with a private army. Mitchum's regression from soft-spoken stranger to deranged murderer, with a host of dark emotions in between, is a marvel of expressive, physical acting.