User Reviews

Blaine Madden (Rory Calhoun) was somewhat an ambiguous character in this early Sixties Western. Certainly, the town of Sanctuary considered 'El Gavilan' a hero, but his killing of the Surly Brothers (Lane Bradford, Glenn Stensel) on the outskirts of Baxter clearly placed his actions outside the law. Once regarded as a potential deputy by Sheriff Ben Corey (Rod Cameron), Madden's independent streak had him leave for parts unknown three years earlier, earning a reputation as a rugged gunfighter. On his return to Baxter, Madden found himself immediately drawn into a saloon brawl involving young tough Reb Roan (Rod Lauren), a self-admitted card cheat who quickly took a shine to Blaine's stepping in to help him out. Roan returned the favor when Corey attempted to arrest Madden; right after the sheriff shot Madden in the arm with his back turned, Reb knocked him out and pursued Madden to remove the bullet from his arm and accompany him to Sanctuary.

It's after the pair arrive in the Mexican village of Sanctuary that you have to take things with a certain grain of salt. At times barely able to lift his right arm due to the bullet wound, Madden has no trouble mixing it up with hotshot gunslinger Johnny Flanders (Robert J. Wilke), running him out of town after a blistering dust up in the town saloon. Eventually however, his arm becomes seriously infected, and even with the loving care provided by Madden's admirer Marleen (Ruta Lee), he comes to the realization that he may be dying. With Roan's help, Madden prepares for a final showdown, but it's not with the sheriff and his overzealous deputy (Morgan Woodward). With the words "We're gonna set each other free", Blaine squares off against Reb, who's only alternative is to defend himself against Madden's draw.

The psychological angle at play for the conclusion of this story was unique, but it's not the first time I've encountered it. In my favorite episode of the Western TV series 'Lawman' titled 'Yawkey', gunslinger Ray Danton, tired and worn out by the constant challenge of young gunslingers trying to prove themselves, calls out John Russell's Marshal Troop for a gunfight in the middle of town. During the inevitable showdown Yawkey draws first, but Marshal Troop's slower draw finds its mark. Later, the marshal learns his opponent's gun was empty, and finds himself respecting the way the infamous gunslinger planned his own death.

"The Gun Hawk" provided star Rory Calhoun an opportunity to display his acting talents as the anti-hero gunfighter Blaine Madden.

Passing through town Madden gets involved in a fight between "Reb" Roan (Rod Lauren) and the Sully brothers (Lane Bradford, Glenn Stensel) over a poker game. Roan begins a hero worship of Madden much to the dismay of hard nosed sheriff Ben Corey (Rod Cameron). Corey and Madden it seems once had a father-son relationship but Corey was unable to prevent Madden from leaving town and becoming a well known gunfighter.

While having a drink in the saloon, a drunk (a barely recognizable John Litel) wanders in bagging for a drink. Turns out the old man is Madden's father. The Sullys learn of this and use the old timer to draw Madden out into the open. During the ensuing scuffle, the old man sacrifices himself to save his son.

Madden then pursues the Scullys and kills them. Corey follows him and attempts to arrest him, however Madden escapes and is wounded by the sheriff.

Madden flees to a hole in the wall town named Sanctuary followed by the young Roan. They in turn are followed by the the sheriff and his vengeful deputy Mitch Mitchell (Morgan Woodward). It turns out that Madden is the leader of the town known as the Gun Hawk who provides sanctuary for fleeing outlaws. One such outlaw is the killer Johnny Flanders (Robert J. Wilke) who Madden drives out of town after a saloon battle.

Corey attempts to arrest Madden in the town but is driven away by the townspeople. But then in spite of the tender loving care provided by his girl Marleen (Ruta Lee), Madden's wound becomes infected forcing him to.............................................................

The film is marred by it's low budget. There are many "soundstage" exterior scenes particularly at the camp sites of the lawmen and the Sully brothers. The overhead shot of the town of Sanctuary is an obvious matte painting as well.

Rory Calhoun does an excellent job in the lead role. His makeup for the climatic scenes is quite realistic and convincing. Rod Lauren was a singer of the day who had a brief acting career. Rod Cameron on the down side of his career was shortly to embark on making spaghetti western in Europe.

In spite of it's shortcomings, "The Gun Hawk" provides an entertaining hour and a half.

Director Edward Ludwig helmed over a hundred films and television shoes during his 25 year career in Hollywood. He directed three John Wayne films: "The Fighting Seabees," "Wake of the Red Witch," and "Big Jim McClain," but he never made a western with Wayne. He drifted into westerns late in his career. He made 50 episodes of John Payne'a western series "The Restless Gun." When he called the shots on the standard issue Rory Calhoun oater "The Gun Hawk," he was no stranger to the actor, having directed him in 15 episodes. Actually, "The Gun Hawk" was the only western that Ludwig directed. This predictable Allied Artists release covers familiar ground that John Wayne's final western "The Shootist" handled with far greater spontaneity and creativity. All the themes that you'd find in a 1950s western are recycled in "Play Misty for Me" scenarist Jo Heims' screenplay based on a story by Richard Bernstein and Max Steeber. Some of the dialogue isn't bad.

Calhoun plays a weary gray-haired gunslinger who runs afoul Rod Cameron, a lawman who is an old friend. Sheriff Ben Corey (Rod Cameron) and Deputy 'Mitch' Mitchell (Morgan Woodward of "Cool Hand Luke") are after troublemaker Blaine Madden (Rory Calhoun of "Apache Uprising") because he gunned down Joe Sully (Lane Bradford) and his friend. Sully and his pal killed Blaine's drunken father (John Litel of "The Sons of Katie Elder") during a crossfire in a back alley. Corey warned Blaine not to take the law into his own hands, but Blaine went ahead and did it anyway. Meantime, Blaine has picked up a protégé, 'Reb' Roan (hard-luck actor Rod Lauren of "Law of the Lawless"), and Reb comes in handy. Earlier, Sully and his pal tried to beat Reb up for cheating at cards and Blaine intervened.

After Blaine shot and killed Sully and his pal, Corey winged the aged gunslinger in the right arm as he rode away. Reb managed to remove Corey's bullet, but he didn't do a good job, and the wound comes back to haunt our hero. Blaine returns to the town of Sanctuary, an outlaw haven hidden in the mountains, and you can only enter the town by riding through a tunnel in the rocks. The town has a credo that the leading lady summarizes later on after a duel. "A man comes here because he has no place else to go and when you kill here, you kill any chance of safety anywhere." She goes on after a moment to say, "So you must be very careful never to leave this place again because its doors will always be closed to you."

The first thing that Blaine does when he returns to Sanctuary is oust a murderous outlaw, Johnny Flanders (Robert J. Wilke of "The Magnificent Seven"), from town after they slug it out in a knock-down, drag-out fist fight. Flanders violated the rule of Sanctuary when he shot his own partner in a dispute in the bar. Blaine resumes a relationship with Marleen (Ruta Lee of "Bullet for a Badman") after Corey abandons his efforts to leave Sanctuary with Blaine at gun-point. Corey had ridden into the outlaw haven to arrest the gunslinger, but the townspeople refuses to let him take Blaine back to stand trial. Eventually, Blaine decides to climb out of his death bed burning up with fever, and Reb helps him dress. The sour grapes finale pits Blaine against Reb in Sanctuary with Reb having an edge of the aged gunfighter, while Corey languishes just beyond the town proper. Corey sums up the irony about gun-toting Blaine. He never heard a shot fired in Sanctuary and he attributed that peacefulness to the ability of a lawman like Blaine to maintain that kind of tranquility.

Rory Calhoun fans and western aficionados will savor this sagebrusher more than anybody just searching for a good movie. Mind you, "The Gun Hawk" ranks as an average oater bolstered by a strong cast, believable settings, and sturdy production values. This was Ludwig's last film and the action is sluggish throughout its 92 minute running time.

Some great actors were hired, the story line was good, but a terrible director in the end ruined the final product. These experienced actors like Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Morgan Woodward and Ruta Lee were more than capable of making this into an entertaining movie, but something happened with the director not using their talents. Too bad, I still like it.

As I write this, The Gun Hawk enjoys a meager 5.8 IMDb rating. As you can see from my own rating, I think this is way too low.

Sure, the movie has faults. It begins badly, with a cheesy title song, clumsy expositional dialogue in a sheriff's office, and a comedy-relief fight scene that's not funny. By that point I was thinking maybe I should turn it off. But soon after, it improved.

One thing that helps is the background score. Though others found it monotonous, I felt the slow, steady beat of low tones was extremely effective. It works especially well in a scene where Rory Calhoun comes upon the two men he's hunting and picks them off from the shadows.

Calhoun may not have been the greatest actor, but he knew how to deliver the goods as a jaded gunfighter. What makes the role unusually interesting is that after a certain point, Calhoun knows he's going to die. In fact, he knows it before we do, and once we figure it out, his actions - such as his seemingly unfeeling treatment of a longtime girlfriend - make sense.

There's also something fresh about the town of Sanctuary, where outlaws on the lam are safe from pursuit, as long as they keep their guns holstered. I'm not saying it's never been done before, but I've seen a lot of films in this genre, and the idea seemed new to me.

The movie's low budget undermines it in some respects. There are a couple of embarrassingly bad matte paintings, and some "outdoor" locations are obviously set on a soundstage. But as The Gun Hawk grinds remorselessly to its Greek-tragedy finale, it develops a surprising gravitas for such a small picture. And I think it'll stay with me after I've forgotten other, more expensive westerns with bigger stars.