SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
whitec-3
Solid acting (Noah Beery Jr, John Anderson, Glenn Ford, Barbara Hershey, and David Carradine) is compromised by formulaic direction and a script that zig-zags, forgets, remembers, and improvises, but the action occasionally rises, and the preacher-gunman conflict keeps things on track just enough to keep one watching till the end.From the distance of 2010, 60s cultural interest is raised by the film's brief, gratuitous, and confusing nudity, as well as Barbara Hershey's hippie depiction of a half-Hopi girl, but the biggest surprise may be that this otherwise predictable western was produced as late as 1969. Except for those 60s flashes, I could imagine my parents and their siblings enjoying something similar in 1955, while I would have wished for a hero less earnest and boring than Ford.Among the film's skewed lines, the oddest may be that the sheep-herder side of the range war is first identified with American Indians but is then shifted to a polygamous Mormon. I'd like to go back to 1969 and be 18 again, but no wonder I felt confused.
calvinnme
... I thought as I waited for 6AM to come so I could record a documentary on Bette Davis that is not on DVD yet. Having a bad habit of falling asleep in the middle of a movie in the wee hours, I dared not change the channel at 4AM lest I fall asleep and wind up recording "Fox and Friends" instead of the documentary for which I had set my DVR timer.Thus began the 100 minute or so ordeal of watching this film. It would almost be worth buying the DVD - if it existed with commentary - to see how a film with such excellent actors and acting could so misfire in the plot department. You get down to the seventh bill before you even get to Noah Beery Jr. with the players in the upper bills including the excellent Glenn Ford, David Carradine, Carolyn Jones, and John Anderson, all turning in solid performances while spouting gibberish - endless gibberish - with literally no action. Meanwhile Barbara Hershey seems to be doing a screen test for a bit part in "Billy Jack" and somehow wandered on to the wrong set. It is supposed to be the time-honored western tale of cattlemen versus sheepherders, but everyone just stands around, talking. The hippie spirit of "Easy Rider" got injected into this one, but "Born to be Wild" just sounds silly on horseback.
Bob-45
After a solid first hour, "Heaven With a Gun" thins out and becomes slightly more than routine. The movie could have used less sadism and sensationalism; while a topless Angelique Pettijohn is appreciated, gratuitous nudity tends to put off the very audience attracted to this kind of western. Carolyn Jones is nearly wasted, and I really wanted to know more about her prior relationship with Ford. Barbara Hershey does a fine job as the half-breed Hopi whom Ford protects. Ford and Hershey's relationship could have also used a little more sexual tension; and Hershey, to her credit, seemed ready to provide it.Production values are good, if not spectacular, and director Lee Katzin, while no Sergio Leone, keeps things moving nicely."Heaven With a Gun" is a cut above most of Glenn Ford's later western. Too bad MGM didn't put a little more into the story and running time.I give "Heaven With a Gun" a weak "7".
razorbak-4
Glenn Ford turns in a fine performance, contrary to what some have said. Who better to portray a reluctant hero, a reformed gunfighter/preacher? Clint Eastwood--John Wayne? Don't be ridiculous. Ford is perfect for the part, just as Clint was perfect for the Man with No Name and Dirty Harry, and the Duke was perfect for the lead role in The Cowboys and True Grit. If you don't like Glenn Ford, fine. But don't belittle his acting. I'm a fan of Eastwood and Wayne, but Ford is a better actor than either. David Carradine turns in a top notch acting job also as a villain/foil to Ford as hero. True Western fans will appreciate this film.
