Thunder Over Arizona (1956)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Kristine Miller stars as a tough woman fighting to save her family's mine from a corrupt mayor {George Macready} and his hired thugs. Enter Skip Homeier who is mistaken for bad guy Shotgun Kelly and sets about trying to save the day.Bad, bad and bad oater showcasing the bad side of Republic Pictures. The story is a solid one and the cast manfully try to make it work. But the action is unadventurous and there's a distinct lack of conviction in the delivery of the tedious script. Filmed in something called Naturama, which was Republic's unique widescreen process, and shot in Trucolor, it's a shame that the cinematography from Bud Thackery fails to bring to life the Iverson Ranch locale. Tho in fairness, the print of the film these days is as awful as the film itself is. The score from R. Dale Butts is devoid of rhythm for the action, while director Joe Kane, a more than competent director on his day, is unable to turn this pigs ear into a silk purse.Not recommended to anyone other than Western/Republic/Homeier completists like me. 2/10 for George Macready's gusto and Kristine Miller's smile.

As this film opens it is quickly established that the town of Tombstone is a fairly lawless place; we see the sheriff gun down an old man who beat him at poker and he in turn is shot by the man's son who flees chased by a group of deputies. Wounded he gets back to his family mine. The deputies are unwilling to follow him in as his brothers are well armed and good shots. It turns out the mayor and those who run the town are keen to force the miners to abandon their claim through whatever means necessary. One means they seek to employ is hiring renowned gunman Harvard 'Shotgun' Kelly. On his way to Tombstone Kelly attempts to kill cowboy Tim Mallory but is killed himself; when Mallory arrives in Tombstone carrying Kelly's shotgun everybody assumes he is Kelly and he is hired to force the miners of their claim. Mallory just has to hope nobody learns that he isn't the real Kelly or he could be in danger.The plot is fairly routine and no big names in the cast it is hardly surprising that this isn't a well known western; the actors are okay and there are no stand out performances amongst the good guys, George Macready does a better job as the corrupt mayor though. There is a good amount of action although I couldn't help feeling much of it could have been handled better; especially the jail break scene; the earlier stagecoach 'hold-up' was much better even if the back projection was fairly obvious. It will come as no surprise to regular western viewers to learn that this was filmed in California rather than Arizona; the scenery is so familiar from so many other westerns of the period. At only seventy minutes it isn't too long at least and passes the time well enough if you are a western fan; just don't expect anything special.

Ervin Plummer-played by the estimable George Macready ,who like his good friend Vincent Price was a man of culture and erudition who specialised in bad guy roles-is a grasping avaricious businessman with a hunger for gold .He evokes an archaic and little used law ,the Apex Rule ,which says that if a mineral vein runs through his land the landowner is entitled to claim all the rights to ownership of the mineral from the owner of the land containing the head of the vein .The Right has rarely been exercised and might well fail in court but to ensure a better chance of success Plummer arranges the death of Warren ,his major target ,and for his family to be served with a crippling tax bill.To make absolutely sure he engages the services of the ruthless killer Shotgun Kelly ( George Keymas) to remove any residual opposition .Kelly ,a bad loser at dice , tries to ambush and Tim Mallory (Skip Homeir) who had defeated him in a fair game but is himself killed .Mallory is mistaken for Kelly by Plummer and his gang ,and having fallen in love with the enticing Fay Warren (Kristin Miller)sets out to thwart Plummer's plans .The movie has some good performances ,notably from Macready ,and Jack Elam as his henchman Slats while Wallace Ford as a scheming lawyer also make an impression .Homeir ,an under-rated actor is good as the hero .The pace is brisk and the action efficiently handled .The only major drawback is the cheap looking colour process which makes the picture look faded and dull .An okay time filler if you like the genre

This is one of my favorite westerns. Critics have rated it awful and I understand their reasons why. For me however I have it on a Beta tape which lets you know how long ago that I saw it and it has not been shown since the early 1980's and is not on any VHS or DVD reproduction. The story was lifted from an old Tim Holt film in the early forties before he went in the service. Skip Homeier always played a young headstrong .often weak character. He was always a bad guy regardless of the setting or the picture. This is the only film I have seen that Homeier is the HERO and kind of cool at that. All of the Republic stock company seems to fill out the rest of the cast. Kristine Miller appears to have gained a few pounds which fills out her look as a frontier woman quite well.the plot goes like this. The Warrens, a family consisting of 3 brothers one sister and a father own a gold mine that the unscrupulous mayor George Macready devises plans to obtain. The mayor sends for Shotgun Kelly a hired gun to affect his machinations. Mallory, played by Skip, having killed Shotgun in a fair fight comes into town, is mistaken for Kelly and obtains the confidence of the mayor. Mallory rides out to warn the Warren family but is captured by the Warren boys 'the best rifle shots in the county'. Mallory plays along with the mayor and his gang foiling several traps set for him. The good guys outsmart the bad guys and Mallory who wasn't a lawman just a nice guy looking to prospect makes his strike with the Warren girl and the gold.Now I loved the music soundtrack, the dialog- Mayor Plummer "whatever happens in life good or bad. Use it" and just the fact that it was an ordinary old time horse opera that had a very low budget and modern feel to it just appealed to me. I scour the internet and all movie sites looking for someone that has the title available but so far no luck.I am sure that all of the Republic movie series like the Estilita Rodriguiez series,the Red Ryder westerns and serials are in public domain so maybe the film will be available some day. FEBRUARY 9 2013 Epilog: My movie is now on AMAZON video library. I have just watched it for free and i hoe to transfer it to a disc. Talk about happy endings.