You have to admit: not much promise here. A Universal Studios cheapo production with a cartoon title -- "Gun For A Coward" -- that sounds like a prêt à cuire Audie Murphy number. John Larch, always a likable actor, as a bearded nasty. Directed by Abner Biberman, probably best known for his role as a slimy Wog in "Gunga Din." Wait. Can I take that back? I don't mean "Wog", of course; I mean Oriental gentleman.
The whole line up suggests a crude moral tale in which a brave man, highly skilled with a six shooter, tries to hang up his guns and pretend to be a preacher or a farmer but must finally prove to the townspeople that he's a REAL MAN by killing someone. And nobody has any trouble telling who's good and who's bad because the good guys are all sympathetic and clean, while the bad guys wear black and are impolite.
Fortunately, it's a bit better than that. There is one fist fight that reduces the saloon to shambles but little in the way of gunplay. Instead, the script focuses on the disparate temperaments of three brothers who run the Keogh Ranch -- perfectionist Fred MacMurray, peace-loving Jeffrey Hunter, and temerarious Dean Stockwell -- plus a rivalry between MacMurray and Hunter over Janice Rule. There's a good bit of tension and some grown-up dialog in the script. Also, a couple of clunkers in the romantic scenes. As director, Biberman does a professional job, only occasionally lapsing into absurd clichés: when two men are about to draw on each other, they spread their arms like penguins in ecstatic display.
I'd like to be able to say the same for the performances but none really stands out. MacMurray hits his spots, says his lines, and projects his emotions like a bird dog on point. Hunter is handsome, brown as a Brazil nut, and adequate. Janice Rule, whom I've always considered one of the most beautiful actresses, and sexy too, of her period fails to rise above medium-rare. Dean Stockwell, as the willful youngster, is another performer I've always rather liked, though he's not at his best here. He was my supporting player in the superb "Blue Velvet", when he was a little nervous at taking the role of the surreal, gaudy, homosexual sadist, but I helped the kid over the rough spots. "Just relax!", I shouted at him, "Be yourself," and managed to duck the swing he took at me.
Overall, not a bad flick. Or, at any rate, an improvement over what you might expect from the title.
The whole line up suggests a crude moral tale in which a brave man, highly skilled with a six shooter, tries to hang up his guns and pretend to be a preacher or a farmer but must finally prove to the townspeople that he's a REAL MAN by killing someone. And nobody has any trouble telling who's good and who's bad because the good guys are all sympathetic and clean, while the bad guys wear black and are impolite.
Fortunately, it's a bit better than that. There is one fist fight that reduces the saloon to shambles but little in the way of gunplay. Instead, the script focuses on the disparate temperaments of three brothers who run the Keogh Ranch -- perfectionist Fred MacMurray, peace-loving Jeffrey Hunter, and temerarious Dean Stockwell -- plus a rivalry between MacMurray and Hunter over Janice Rule. There's a good bit of tension and some grown-up dialog in the script. Also, a couple of clunkers in the romantic scenes. As director, Biberman does a professional job, only occasionally lapsing into absurd clichés: when two men are about to draw on each other, they spread their arms like penguins in ecstatic display.
I'd like to be able to say the same for the performances but none really stands out. MacMurray hits his spots, says his lines, and projects his emotions like a bird dog on point. Hunter is handsome, brown as a Brazil nut, and adequate. Janice Rule, whom I've always considered one of the most beautiful actresses, and sexy too, of her period fails to rise above medium-rare. Dean Stockwell, as the willful youngster, is another performer I've always rather liked, though he's not at his best here. He was my supporting player in the superb "Blue Velvet", when he was a little nervous at taking the role of the surreal, gaudy, homosexual sadist, but I helped the kid over the rough spots. "Just relax!", I shouted at him, "Be yourself," and managed to duck the swing he took at me.
Overall, not a bad flick. Or, at any rate, an improvement over what you might expect from the title.