The Fastest Gun Alive

Broderick Crawford is great as the criminal leader with a psychopathic ego who must continually show that he is the fastest gun around and Glenn Ford is super as the introverted shy storekeeper with a lightning fast draw. Supporting cast adds good depth and character. The blind man near the start of the movie who states that "no matter how fast you are there's always somebody faster" foretells the moral of the story. Highly recommend that this movie be seen by all fans of westerns.

Feels like Saturday morning at the movies. We want a hero; and Glenn Ford will do just fine. George Temple (Ford) is a former gunslinger, who is more than ready to put those days in his past. His reputation is discovered and he and his faithful wife, Dora (Jeanne Crain), seek another small town to call home. Temple becomes a shopkeeper, but when he gets drunk and shows off his skill with a gun, a tough guy (Broderick Crawford) would like to take him on. A good B&W western from MGM; gun smoke and trail dust in the air. No doubt about mild mannered Ford being the star. The cast also features: Russ Tamblyn, Leif Erickson, Noah Berry Jr., Allyn Joslyn, Virginia Gregg and John Doucette.

To his friends and neighbors George Temple (Glenn Ford) is a mild-mannered store keeper. But, unknown to all but his wife, George is obsessed with guns because in his youth he lacked the courage to go up against his lawman father's killer. Through years of secret practice George has become the fastest draw in the west, but he is still afraid of drawing against a man. When a ruthless gunman (Broderick Crawford) comes to town and threatens to burn it down Temple is forced to overcome his fears and try to stop him. This finely-crafted western deserves more recognition than it has received. If you like westerns, try to catch this one.

Enjoyed this film mainly because I like Broderick Crawford, (Vinnie Harold) who was too old and too fat to be the fastest gun in this film and a great young star Glenn Ford, (George Temple) who had dark deep secrets to hid in the small town of Cross Creek. George Temple was married to Dora Temple, (Jeanne Crain) who had to suffer with her husband's past and they finally decided to locate in a new town to live in and they were store owners. However, George had a real bad habit of loving guns and also being an expert sharp shooter. Vinnie Harold went from town to town looking for the fastest gun and killed everyone that he came across who thought he could out draw him in a good old Western duel in the street of some town. Jeanne Crain gave a great supporting role and looked very young and pretty along with a very handsome looking Glenn Ford. This is a good classic 1956 black and white film, but is very entertaining.

I am not a fan of Westerns in general. Many have the old predictable clichéd plots and are amazingly dull to me. That's why when I find a really unusual and well-made Western, I try to mention it on IMDb. Although this is not my favorite one (that would go to The Big Country), it is one of the better ones I've seen. So, what makes it so watchable? First, this is no macho shoot 'em up picture--there are lots of quiet moments as well. Secondly, the movie isn't easy to predict and the ending is AMAZING. Third, you can tell that the writers really tried hard to do something DIFFERENT. By the way, if you like this movie about a fast gunslinger, I also highly recommend The Gunfighter (with Gregory Peck). They have a lot of similarities but are different enough that I recommend you see both.