Gunslinger (1956)

User Rating:

2.4/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay) and
Mark Hanna (screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Hired to kill the woman he loved!

Plot:

After her husband is gunned down, Rose Hood takes his place as sheriff of a small Western town.

Plot Keywords:

Marshal | Killer | Mayor | Murder | Texas

Cast

John Ireland	...	Cane Miro
Beverly Garland	...	Marshal Rose Hood
Allison Hayes	...	Erica Page
Martin Kingsley	...	Mayor Gideon Polk
Jonathan Haze	...	Jake Hayes
Chris Alcaide	...	Deputy Joshua Tate
Dick Miller	...	Jimmy Tonto (as Richard Miller)
Bruno VeSota	...	Zebelon Tabb (as Bruno Ve Sota)
Margaret Campbell	...	Felicity Polk
William Schallert	...	Marshal Scott Hood
Aaron Saxon	...	Nate Signo
Chris Miller	...	Tessie - a Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louanna Gardner	...	Sadie (uncredited)
Steve Mitchell	...	Gunfighter (uncredited)
Paul Rapp	...	Gunfighter (uncredited)

Directed by
Roger Corman

Writing credits
Charles B. Griffith		(screenplay) and
Mark Hanna		(screenplay)

Produced by
Roger Corman	....	producer
David Kramarsky	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ronald Stein

Cinematography by
Frederick E. West		(photography) (as Fred West)

Film Editing by
Charles Gross		(as Charles Gross Jr.)

Makeup Department
Jack Byron	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bartlett A. Carre	....	assistant director (as Bart Carre)

Stunts
Paul Rapp	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Hannawalt	....	key grip (uncredited)

Music Department
Ronald Stein	....	musical director

Other crew
Roger Corman	....	presenter
Chris Miller	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Roger Corman Productions

Distributors

• American Releasing Corporation (ARC) (II) (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Duravision (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Direct Source (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Globo Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD)

Runtime:

71 min | USA:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Roger Corman Productions

Trivia:

Allison Hayes broke her arm when she fell off a horse during the filming. Beverly Garland claimed Hayes intentionally slid from her horse in order to get out of the film. Director Roger Corman also shot a couple of close-ups of Hayes for the film as they were waiting for the ambulance.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the brothel owner is speaking with the mayor, Wormy is supposed to enter through the door in the background. He blows his cue by entering too early, realizes this, and quickly slips back behind the door.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rose Hood: Hi.
Marshal Scott Hood: Hi. Long night.
Rose Hood: A quiet one for a change.
Marshal Scott Hood: Aw, you shouldn't get up so early just to fetch my breakfast.
Rose Hood: What else is a Marshal's wife good for?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gunslinger (#6.11)" (1993)

Funslinger more likely!

Being a big fan of Corman's horror movies I expected from his western a bit more than I got. Well, I was entertained all right. I had almost as many laughs as watching Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles.

See the spectacle of mobile tire tracks on the prairie of the old west. You can kill time by counting them if there happens to be an otherwise boring scene going on. And the horses seem to have gears in them too, considered the fast-forward chases. See also the swinging bar room queens of the traditional wild west saloon doing a number that reminds of a certain fashionable dance from 1920's, here decades before the style was invented. Hope the saloon around them won't crumple.

In the middle of all this mayhem the main actors do a decent job. Ireland, Garland and Hayes are all truly fine. A special praise for them for doing the best they could with the material that seems mostly having been lifted from 'Johnny Guitar', but doesn't quite impress the same way. But there is really nothing wrong with a laughable western like this. Just like a really bad old horror movie, it might fail one way but succeeds to give joy anyway. That is one of the reasons Corman's work appeals to me and that is why I dare to recommend you to experience this movie if you get the chance.