"Gun Fury" has a fine cast and a good possibility for a plot. The story is a familiar one, a man or men pursue a criminal who killed or kidnapped his wife or family. It's a Western directed by Raoul Walsh. But some aspects of this tale are quite far-fetched. And a drawn-out screenplay and just so-so acting relegate it to no more than fair.
The most obvious unlikely stretch is when Rock Hudson's Ben Warren agrees to meet with Philip Carey's Frank Slayton to make a deal. He's already seen Slayton's gang rob the stagecoach, kill three people and having left him for dead. Then he rescued Leo Gordon's Jess Burgess, whom Slayton had tied up to die in the heat. Finally, he saw the fate of Bob Herron's Curly Jordan, whom Slayton had staked to the ground and then trampled to death when the gang rode their horses over his body. So, Warren was going to trust him?
And then, Jess Burgess himself was going to go along with the swapping - him for Ben's fiancé? And this is after Slayton had left him for dead, and he had already noted how much Slayton had changed since the war, becoming a more hardened criminal. Oh, sure, Burgess said he had a 50 percent chance and he would take it - for all the gold that he could have.
Well, John Wayne never would have made such bonehead decisions. He would have gone in and rescued his girl and brought the bad guy to justice. That's the best way to size up the far-fetched conclusion of this movie. That, and that it lacks energy.
Donna Reed plays Jennifer Ballard, Ben's fiancé. It's not much of a role after her Oscar performance the year before in "From Here to Eternity." She spends most of her time trying to escape the clutches of Slayton. Sad to say, that's just about the most action in this sometimes dull and slow Western.
For the considerable cast, with Neville Brand and Lee Marvin joining the four leads, this just wasn't that good a film. Almost to a person, the leads seemed wooden and hesitant at times - as though they were trying to remember lines. Except for Carey who seemed overboard carefree and almost flippant. There are many good Westerns out there to watch. Only die-hard Rock Hudson and Donna Reed fans are likely to think much of this film - and then, maybe not too many of them.
My five stars are mostly for a script that has some occasional pearls of wit, wisdom or other juicy dialog. Here are some favorites.
Jess Burgess, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Hampton (Frank Slayton, going by a false name), I'll eat with you." Frank Slayton as Hampton, "If I'd of known that, Mr. Burgess, I wouldn't have asked the lady."
Frank Slayton, as Hampton, "She's quite a woman, isn't she?" Jess Burgess, "As far as I'm concerned, all women are alike. They just have different faces so you can tell 'em apart."
Slayton, "To a man without taste, I suppose all things are alike. She's as different form other women as cognac is from corn liquor." Jess Burgess, "You get the same kind of headache from either one."
Jennifer Ballard, "When are you gonna let me go?" Slayton, "When we're out of Arizona." Jennifer, "When will that be?" Slayton, "Arizonans are like Texans. They say they're never out of Arizona."
The most obvious unlikely stretch is when Rock Hudson's Ben Warren agrees to meet with Philip Carey's Frank Slayton to make a deal. He's already seen Slayton's gang rob the stagecoach, kill three people and having left him for dead. Then he rescued Leo Gordon's Jess Burgess, whom Slayton had tied up to die in the heat. Finally, he saw the fate of Bob Herron's Curly Jordan, whom Slayton had staked to the ground and then trampled to death when the gang rode their horses over his body. So, Warren was going to trust him?
And then, Jess Burgess himself was going to go along with the swapping - him for Ben's fiancé? And this is after Slayton had left him for dead, and he had already noted how much Slayton had changed since the war, becoming a more hardened criminal. Oh, sure, Burgess said he had a 50 percent chance and he would take it - for all the gold that he could have.
Well, John Wayne never would have made such bonehead decisions. He would have gone in and rescued his girl and brought the bad guy to justice. That's the best way to size up the far-fetched conclusion of this movie. That, and that it lacks energy.
Donna Reed plays Jennifer Ballard, Ben's fiancé. It's not much of a role after her Oscar performance the year before in "From Here to Eternity." She spends most of her time trying to escape the clutches of Slayton. Sad to say, that's just about the most action in this sometimes dull and slow Western.
For the considerable cast, with Neville Brand and Lee Marvin joining the four leads, this just wasn't that good a film. Almost to a person, the leads seemed wooden and hesitant at times - as though they were trying to remember lines. Except for Carey who seemed overboard carefree and almost flippant. There are many good Westerns out there to watch. Only die-hard Rock Hudson and Donna Reed fans are likely to think much of this film - and then, maybe not too many of them.
My five stars are mostly for a script that has some occasional pearls of wit, wisdom or other juicy dialog. Here are some favorites.
Jess Burgess, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Hampton (Frank Slayton, going by a false name), I'll eat with you." Frank Slayton as Hampton, "If I'd of known that, Mr. Burgess, I wouldn't have asked the lady."
Frank Slayton, as Hampton, "She's quite a woman, isn't she?" Jess Burgess, "As far as I'm concerned, all women are alike. They just have different faces so you can tell 'em apart."
Slayton, "To a man without taste, I suppose all things are alike. She's as different form other women as cognac is from corn liquor." Jess Burgess, "You get the same kind of headache from either one."
Jennifer Ballard, "When are you gonna let me go?" Slayton, "When we're out of Arizona." Jennifer, "When will that be?" Slayton, "Arizonans are like Texans. They say they're never out of Arizona."