Gun for a Coward

This extremely good albeit short western is only marred by the casting of Fred Macmurray as one of the brothers. Macmurray looked about 50, and he was clearly too close in age to the actress playing his mother. A younger actor like Richard Egan should have been cast. Dean Stockwell is fine in a James Dean-like performance as the youngest brother, and Chill Wills is excellent.

The "western" movies are usually about solitary cowboys trying to find (or sometimes loose?) themselves. Brave, fearless men of little words who shed their failure to adjust and an ethics of their own on the screen. In two words, solitary heroes. But this film is maybe, just maybe, about a little more than that. It's about many things, possibly. About the beginning of one of those heroes (the older brother's destiny, at the end?) and about another kind of failure to adjust, the middle brother's one. And it gives us a hint of how everything starts: inside the family. Good acting, not so brilliant direction (but who needs one, when the contents and the dialogs are superb?). A final word to compliment the work of the actors in the 3 main roles (Will, Bless and Aud). And hey, how can John Ford's The Searchers be any better than this movie? Not in a million years.

Fred macmurray never was even a fair western actor mainly because he wasn't tough enough nor was he smart enough ... to wit, he neither recognized that his girl wasn't his girl ... he drove a large herd of cattle to market and didn't take contingency provisions ... then he left the herd in charge of his brothers while he went off to make his wedding plans ... its not logical ... you can't run a ranch with your brothers like they were my three sons

This very enjoyable and rather surprising Universal western form 1957 has 5 terrific actors and a very good script. Even Fred MacMurray was good, but Chill Wills as the 'greek chorus' to Jeffrey Hunter's ethical dilemmas is an entertaining standout. However it is Jeffrey Hunter and Dean Stockwell's movie. Stockwell, just 20 and Hunter just 30 are magnetic in their conflicted brotherly dramas. A bit of pre-Psycho mother smothering sets the tone for some emotional blackmail by Mama who gratefully drops dead by reel 2. Then we get on with the girlfriend dilemma and the worry between two of brothers. It is all beautifully realized by Janice Rule, gorgeous and well cast as Audrey, the love interest that fractures brotherly love after the cattle stampede. I loved the music score and appreciated the production values. It is a good western, unusual and edited to just the right length.

Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, and Dean Stockwell (in his first adult role) are three brothers, working their own ranch. While MacMurray is stoic and competent, and Stockwell anxious to be grown up, Hunter is different. He's gentler, and is quickly branded a coward. It's an interesting and well told story, but there are some problems. First is the casting of MacMurray, he's considerably older than the other two. In fact, he's only four years younger than Jisephine Hutchinson, who plays their mother. The other is the way that Hunter is photographed. Half the time, his eyes look like he's blinded by cataracts, and it sometimes seemed he moved as though he could not see. Still and all, it's a nicely written and (largely) shot Universal western 'Shaky A' production, a good paycheck movie for its actors, who include the always welcome Chill Wills, Janice Rule, and in a small role, Bob Steele.

I read most of the reviews here, but saw the movie anyway because I like Westerns and Janice Rule, and I especially enjoyed two other Fred MacMurray Westerns, "Good Day For a Hanging" and "Face of a Fugitive." The latter is a classic in my opinion. Most of the movie was worthy -- the stars, production values, general story outline, dialog. It held my attention. But, I have to agree with most of the reviews here: there were long, boring, repetitious stretches. There were too many indoor talky scenes. The cattle drive scenes seemed small, cramped and cheap. There were hardly any scenes involving action, excitement or suspense. My biggest complaint is that the movie consisted mainly of repeated boring scenes where Jeffrey Hunter's character declined to fight (with fists or guns) his adversaries. Some branded him a coward for this, but the way the scenes were structured, it seemed to me like a smart move to avoid meaningless, risky fights.