Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

James Hitchcock This is yet another film based upon one of the classic Western plots, the one about the fearless lawman or gunman who helps the inhabitants of a town or a group of homesteaders stand up against a gang of lawless desperadoes, often in the pay of a corrupt local rancher or other powerful business interests. I have come to think of this as the "Dodge City" plot, after one of the earliest well-known films to feature it, but there are many other examples, including "My Darling Clementine", "Gunfight at the OK Corral" and the various other retellings of the Wyatt Earp story, "Destry Rides Again", "Shane", "High Noon", Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" (and its remakes) and several Clint Eastwood films such as "High Plains Drifter" and "Pale Rider". This film was originally released in the United Kingdom as "The Trouble Shooter", although when it turns up on British television these days it is generally referred to by its American title "Man with the Gun". (I understand that it is also sometimes known as "Deadly Peacemaker", making it a rare example of a film with three official titles). It is set in a nameless Western town which is being terrorised by a gang of gunmen hired by Dade Holman, a wealthy and powerful cattleman who hopes to force the local people out so he can acquire their property cheaply, and opens with a striking image of one of the bad guys shooting a little boy's dog in front of the child. The townspeople decide that enough is enough, and call in Clint Tollinger, a gun for hire with a reputation as a "town tamer". The film then narrates how Tollinger goes about his task. A complication is that Tollinger is the former lover (or possibly the former husband) of Nelly Bain, the manageress of the local "dance hall". This, in fact, appears to be a euphemism for the local brothel, but this is never spelt out clearly. Prostitution may have been a fact of life in the Old West, but in the fifties there were some facts of life which the censors insisted remain hidden from public view. Robert Mitchum made a number of Westerns throughout his career, although they were not always among his best films; he tended to be at his best in film noir, playing characters who were, if not outright villains like his Max Cady in "Cape Fear", at least morally ambiguous. He brings something of this quality to Tollinger, who is referred to as "the man in grey", the implication being that if he is not quite as black as the villains he is not as white as the driven snow either. Although he has been deputised by the town marshal, this is one film where the dividing line between an officially appointed lawman and a hired gun is a thin one. Tollinger has about him something of the ruthlessness which characterises his opponents, and his methods, such as setting fire to the town saloon, are not always ones which the law would sanction. The film does not, however, seriously call into question the "shoot first, ask questions later" philosophy of law enforcement in the way in which Michael Winner was later to do in his revisionist Western "Lawman". Tollinger may sometimes go over the top, but he is nevertheless the hero and his opponents are the bad guys. The film ends with the town well and truly tamed and the audience are left to conclude that peace and justice do indeed grow out of the barrel of a gun. In the fifties such a moral was not thought to be in any way exceptionable; indeed, it is a common philosophy in the cinema, and one not confined to the fifties or, for that matter, to Westerns. It is a philosophy which underlies just about every "tough cop" movie from "Dirty Harry" onwards, and most war films except those with an explicitly anti-war message. The trouble with "Man with a Gun", at least when seen from a modern perspective, is that it is likely to leave the viewer with a sense of déjà vu. In 1955 the "strong man with a gun" theme might have seemed slightly fresher than it does nowadays, but even then this film might have struck many people as an inferior imitation of "High Noon". Mitchum plays his part well, but none of the other acting contributions are particularly memorable, and this film is far from being the best on its particular theme; I would rate all those listed in my opening paragraph considerably higher. The basic plot became so well-known (and, indeed, such a cliché) that Mel Brooks chose it as the one to send up in his satirical spoof Western "Blazing Saddles". Richard Wilson's film strikes me as being the sort of thing that Brooks was aiming at. 6/10

huwdj This is an OK film. Yes, each cliché arrives on schedule, each caricature is present and correct, mostly with the recognisable face of a character actor you cannot quite name. Never mind, this is a western. Generally speaking most westerns conform to a formula that pretty much approximates a morality play. Whatever the ingredients good, in the form of a rugged individual, will overcome bad. The women may be innocent and young, world weary and embittered or careworn and wise (or desperate) but most, will love with the hero and one will ride off with him. Robert Mitchum, 'The Town Tamer', is as effective as always. Jan Sterling with the severely styled makeup and hairdo, over sized eyes and turned down mouth is oddly beautiful. Angie Dickinson is strikingly pretty in a small part. The fat baddie appears in child size buggy and duly meets his fate along with and his evil henchman. There are no surprises but it's a satisfying film for a lazy afternoon.

TheUnknown837-1 If I would have to describe "Man with the Gun" in a word, I would sadly have to choose 'mundane.' I say 'sadly' because not only does the movie star the great Robert Mitchum, but because it does boast a good setup, a dark tone, and some good initiative-packed promise. But the movie suffers and condescends into being the average, dissenting B-movie Western and a little shy on entertainment value.The premise is a very similar one. Robert Mitchum plays the stereotypical lone gunslinger with a troubled past, a quick draw, a sharp choice of words, and a never-say-die attitude. He is hired by fearful yet reluctant townsmen as a "town-tamer" to clean up the riffraff in their establishment. The riffraff is the hired hands of a land-grabber who does not make a physical appearance until very late in the movie (a trait of the movie that I did like), who are tormenting a homesteader. This is a setup that was done many other times, sometimes worse, sometimes better such as in Clint Eastwood's classic "High Plains Drifter." There are some really good elements to "Man with the Gun" and some really mundane and pall parts as well. The good: the performances not only by Robert Mitchum, but also by the lovely, unsung actress Karen Sharpe. The tone is dark and a little nihilistic, and I appreciated the tactic of hiding the bad guy for the majority of the picture and to avoid the typical clichés of when the Western rancher runs in with the iron-figured gunslinger. The screenwriters also did put the effort into fleshing out the protagonist, however, they only succeeded about halfway. As a gunslinger, the character works, as a human being, the light is very dim.As for the bad parts: mostly the movie just seems really mundane and terrene. There isn't any real connection between any of the characters. None of them stand out. The action scenes are only moderately well-done and they are so spaced apart in favor of droll emptiness that when they do come, they don't heighten the flow of the picture very much. And overall, the picture just follows a rather predictable formula and foundation for a B-movie Western. It's not a bad movie, but it's rather dull, and the ending does not quite work.

ma-cortes In the Old west there are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath. A famous ¨town tamer¨ named Clit Tollinger(Robert Mitchum) comes hired by the citizens to rid the gunslingers ( Leo Genn, Claude Atkins, among others), Baronland's hoodlums. There he meets the blacksmith (Emile Meyer) , his daughter (Karen Sharpe), her boyfriend(John Lupton), the marshal(Henry Hull) and the Saloon owner (Ted De Corsia). Clint as lawman is appointed deputy to bring peace and puts some cartels saying the following : ¨ Warning , wearing of guns or other weapons in town is banned. Check all hardware at the marshal's office ¨. Clint finds his ex-girlfriend, a local madame (Jan Sterling) in charge of the Saloon girls( Angie Dickinson, Barbara Lawrence, among them). But the town council afraid the raw methods carried out by Clint . At the end the kingpin landowner appears and attempts to murder Tollinger with his own hands.This is a tremendously exciting story of a sheriff-for-hire who had only one more killing to go. It begins as a slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with dark characters and solid plot. The tale is almost grim , a pacifier comes to a town just in time to make sure its citizenry but later the events get worse . The highlights are the burning at Saloon and the climatic showdown at the ending. Phenomenal and great role for Robert Mitchum as avenger angel and bitter gunfighter, he's the whole show. Vivid and lively musical score by Alex North (Spartacus, Cleopatra), Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Lee Garmes. The motion picture is stunningly realized by Richard Wilson (Al Capone , Three in Attic) who made good Western as ¨Invitation to a gunfighter and ¨Zane Grey¨ episodes. Watchable results for this offbeat Western.