Tonight's Movie: The Lone Gun (1954)

A few days ago I watched the first half of my third George Montgomery Western of the week, THE LONE GUN (1954), but I wasn't able to finish the DVD before our trip to Flagstaff.

It was thus a nice surprise to discover the film was available for streaming on Netflix, so I was able to finish the movie on my Kindle Fire at our hotel last night! Sometimes modern technology still amazes me a little.

THE LONE GUN is a nicely made Western which I enjoyed quite well. George Montgomery plays Cruze, who becomes sheriff in a town overrun by the nasty Moran brothers.

Douglas Kennedy, one of the bad guys in Montgomery's GUN BELT (1953), turns up as one of the Morans in this film. His brothers are played by Neville Brand and Robert J. Wilke, making quite a notable trio of baddies. In the very well-done final shootout, they're ultimately even willing to turn on each other, which was a bit startling.

I continue to find Montgomery an appealing Western hero, and the movie is distinguished by a fine performance by Frank Faylen as Fairweather, a gambler who might be called Cruze's friendly enemy. Cruze doesn't trust Fairweather, but the gambler comes through when it counts. It's the kind of part Dan Duryea would have excelled at, but Faylen makes the role his own and helps elevate the film from a run-of-the-mill Western to something quite a bit better.

Dorothy Malone does a good job in a limited role, although one wishes the director had told her to rein in her odd head-tossing a little. Malone plays a rancher whose brother (Skip Homeier) is in debt to the bad guys. A romance with Cruze is lightly touched on; they never so much as kiss, but it's clear the pair are headed for a happy ending at the fadeout of this 76-minute film.

The movie was directed by Ray Nazarro and filmed in color by Lester White. The supporting cast includes Douglas Fowley, Fay Roope, Wheaton Chambers, Chuck Roberson, Jerado Decordovier, and Joe Dominguez.

THE LONE GUN is one of the movies in a four-film DVD set which also includes another Montgomery Western seen this week, the previously mentioned GUN BELT (1953).

The other Montgomery Western I watched this past week was ROBBERS' ROOST (1955). I've found all three films to be solid Western entertainment.