Guns of Diablo (1964)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

From my favorite movies..

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The actor that plays rance maclin, jan merlin plays that same role in every western he's been in .... arrogant, onery, hateful and will kill anything in his way ... that a very limited range for a character actor ... but this film was about linc and maria ... you can't go wrong with charles bronson and susan oliver

Guns of Diablo was originally a two part episode from the short lived series The Travels of Jamie McPheeters in which Charles Bronson was a regular.The series was a juvenile that served to introduce audiences to young Kurt Russell who got his first real notice in the show though it only lasted a season. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel from where the series was adapted concerned a journey west on a wagon train seen through the eyes of young Jamie. Bronson was the wagon-master for the train.Bronson and Russell goes into town for supplies and meets a part of his past he'd like to both remember and forget at the same time. The part to remember is a lost love in the person of Susan Oliver. The part to forget is three hard case brothers named Macklin, one of whom has lost a right arm, courtesy of Bronson and who is now married to Oliver. I have to confess I was somewhat surprised at a flashback, scene where both Oliver and Bronson are in a state of semi undress by a creek. It's rather obvious even to juvenile viewers what's been going on and I can hardly believe it was allowed in a program aimed for kids.The episodes were edited together and released as a feature film to take advantage of the growing popularity of both Russell and Bronson. Still it betrays it's television origin, although from this film you wouldn't know that Russell and not Bronson who was the star of the show.

During the Sixties MGM packaged episodes of TV series as feature movies for distribution in Europe. "Guns Of Diablo" represents two episodes of the series "The Travels Of Jamie McPheeters". Some comments note the daring love scene (for TV at the time). Actually sometimes MGM would add footage not in the original episode to make the feature more adult for European audiences. This was the case for "Guns Of Diablo".This feature has been released on both video and DVD on budget labels. The print quality is fairly good under these circumstances.When you consider its origins, "Guns" comes off as a reasonably entertaining western. It certainly showcases Bronson's talent and on screen charisma. For an example of how not to turn TV episodes into a feature check out "The Meanest Men In The West" also starring Bronson. It consists of two episodes of "The Virginian" with Bronson and Lee Marvin as brothers who do not share any scenes together but with editing appear to.

Nay-sayers there are many... but I feel this is one of Charlie Bronson's best western flicks (much better than that long, tired, over-rated "Once Upon a Time in the West"). Bronson plays a mentor to a young Kurt Russell. Taking the boy into town one day, Bronson comes face to face with a woman... and some dangerous men... from his past. Very sexy flashback sequence (how did that one ever get past the censors in 1964???)... as well as copious amounts of gunplay and fisticuffs! The final showdown scene is a classic... much more exciting than anything that hack Sergio Leone could ever come up with. This film was ripe for a sequel... because the wagon train that Bronson was a part of never did get to its final destination. I'd like to know if they ever made it!