The Quiet Gun (1957)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is a great find, a sleeper of the B western genre where a moral judgment is passed on supposed law abiding folk who play God and pay the price for judging their fellow man. "Dallas's" Jim Davis is separated from his wife and living "in sin" with a native American woman. The horrified townsfolk take it upon themselves to turn moral judgment into legal action, and the unfortunate legal eagle who must do their dirty work is accidentally killed. It's up to local sheriff Forrest Tucker to get Davis into protective custody, but violence begats violence, leading to more brutal homicides and a trial with the town supporting the wrong-doers over the protector of justice.Quite surprised and delighted by this discovery, I compare it to other great films that warn of the dangers of gossip and sticking your nose in your neighbor's private business that harms no one. The one that comes to mind instantly is the Jane Wyman/Rock Hudson soap opera "All That Heaven Allows", and this really gives a parallel by putting the issue of judgmentalism into a violent, western setting. Lee Van Cleef is the film's main heavy, with Mara Corday the judged mistress who seems to have been n set up for other crimes as well. Thwys where the film gets a bit off track. But the conclusion provides a very important moral, with judge Everett Glass gives it good to the perpetrators of the sinister activities, condemning the non-violent to a private jail of their own karma. Now that's what I call justice.

This commentary is made in December 2006 and I see all the others so far were made in 2004. Having just watched this movie on cable's Western Channel, I guess it hasn't had much viewing since then. It is definitely a step above many Westerns of the era. We can credit not only good acting, but good writing as well. This story is from a novel by Lauran Paine who also wrote the novel used in 2003's Open Range with Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner. Norden and Lyon writes Quiet Gun (Law Man) to the screen. Since other commentaries provide the details of Quiet Gun, I'll just touch upon it lightly to say it is the story of a Sheriff (Tucker) who is friendly to a rancher (Jim Davis) whose wife (Kathleen Crowley) he has a "hankerin'for." However, the sheriff is an honorable man and tried to help Davis when he is accused of murder as he attempts to escape along with his half-breed Indian girlfriend, played by the ever lovely Mara Corday. I won't give away the rest, but it is an engaging story with all actresses and actors putting in fine performances. Both Kathleen Crowley and Mara Corday were there for more than their good looks. Hank Worden was always a favorite character actor for me since I saw him as Mose Harper in The Searchers. In fact he was in 14 movies with John Wayne. Although he often played an empty-headed part, he actually studied engineering at Stanford and Univ of Nevada before moving into entertainment. His presence added something special as he did in other films. The acting is a big part of the quality of this Western when you consider Corday, Crowley and "old Mose" Worden along with three top actors like Tucker, Davis and Lee Van Cleef. The rest of the cast filled out their parts as well. I'm not sure why this movie didn't become better known. If you like Westerns - see this one when you get the chance.

Forrest Tucker gives an interesting understated, "quiet" performance, Lee Van Cleef chews up the scenery, and the (usually unwelcome) comic relief works (surprisingly) well. Also, decent plot twists and neat little affectations - like Forrest Tucker always rolling cigarettes and his tobacco pouch hanging out of his jacket pocket. Highly recommended for lovers of: adult westerns B-Westerns 50s Westerns

Twentieth Century Fox created a subsidiary in the mid 1950s to release films it deemed not good to enough to release under its banner. Regal Pictures, like Fox, released most of its films in wide screen, using "Regalscope," which appears technically indistinguishable from Cinemascope. Ironically, most of Regal's output was as good or better than the B movies from Fox. "The Quiet Gun" is no exception, with fine performances from Forrest Tucker and Jim Davis and some surprising plot twists which lift this movie from the humdrum. Tucker plays a sheriff who must reluctantly pursue his friend (Davis), after Davis kills a busybody "district attorney" in self defense. Mara Corday and Kathleen Crowley provide the eye candy and Hand Worden plays the comic relief in a role similar to that of Walter Brennan in "Rio Bravo".ENCORE's WESTERN CHANNEL shows the movie in full screen, which is a shame. Several effective scenes are undercut by the aspect ratio conversion. Still, "The Quiet Gun" is worth watching, if only to see Lee Van Cleef with a full set of hair. I rate it a "6".