After reviewing two Audie Murphy westerns these last couple of days, I was looking forward to this third western that aired as part of Turner Classic Movie's Audie Murphy night. I enjoyed both Drums Across the River and The Guns of Fort Petticoat, but 'Quick' never rises to that level. By the 1960s, Murphy's star had started to fade some which is reflected in his movie roles. The 60s were marked by low budget B-westerns that never rose above their smallish budgets. IMDB ratings aren't a hard and fast rule because voters can strategically increase or decrease a ratings, but of Murphy's 40 roles, The Quick Gun is his lowest rated movie, and that says something. It just isn't very good.
Two years after he was provoked into a gunfight where he killed the two sons of a local rancher (Walter Sande), gunfighter Clint Cooper (Murphy) returns home to the town he grew up in. He's not sure what reaction he will get from the townspeople who were happy to see him go, but his return is halted on the road into town. He meets Jud Spangler (Ted de Corsia), the leader of a gang Clint briefly rode with in the past. Spangler offers for Clint to ride with them as they rob the bank in town, but he refuses and manages to escape, riding into town. No one is happy to see him other than his old friend turned sheriff, Scotty Wade (James Best). The rancher is still looking for revenge, and suspicions abound when Clint informs the town of the news of Spangler's impending robbery. They believe Clint's working as an inside man so can he convince them otherwise in time?
You would think with a movie that doesn't even break the 90-minute barrier, a story would not have trouble moving things along. That's not the case here with director Sidney Salkow's western which struggles with a pacing problem throughout. I can deal with familiar stories and cliched characters, but something has to actually happen for a movie to be even a little enjoyable. Murphy's Clint rides into town, gets stared at a lot, he helps prepare a defense and he ends up in jail when he's forced to kill in self defense. By the time Spangler's gang actually shows up I was bored to tears. These townspeople don't deserve the help he's offering. More than any lack of excitement -- of which there's little to none -- is that there is no energy to the movie at all. No one seems that worried about the coming robbery.
In those previous Murphy western reviews, I mentioned the actor's somewhat limited range that usually worked well within westerns. The idea of the Clint Cooper character is a good one, a take on the prodigal son as this infamous gunfighter wants to return home after years away. His intentions are pure, just wanting to get a second chance, and he gets it when he stumbles into the news of the coming robbery. But like the rest of the movie, Murphy looks to be sleepwalking through the part. Some of that can be attributed to his character, a beaten down gunfighter sick of what he's done in the past. There's no real sense of urgency for this character who actually ends up spending about 30 minutes of the 87-minute movie in a jail cell. Now that just ain't right.
A bright spot from the slow-moving story is James Best as Sheriff Scotty Wade. Too often Best is remembered for his part in the 1980s TV show The Dukes of Hazard as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane, but he made a name for himself in the 1950s and 1960s, usually in supporting parts in westerns and war movies. It's great to see him in a leading role, keeping up with Murphy and eventually making more of a positive impression. Wade is now engaged to Helen (Merry Anders), the town schoolteacher who used to go with Clint, and he quickly sees the writing on the wall. Calling him a tragic character in this B-western is a little much, but the character is certainly on that path. It's clear it will not work out for him as he's torn between his duty to the town and the people, to his fiance Helen, and to his old friend who he genuinely believes is telling the truth. In an otherwise pedestrian western, Best's performance stands out from the rest.
The rest of the story and cast is more hit or miss. Anders as Helen is pretty awful, somewhat redeeming herself in the end when all seems lost. Ted de Corsia gets to ham it up as Spangler, the not quite maniacal bad guy who looks to be enjoying himself in the spotlight. Sande and Rex Holman are the secondary villains, the Morrisons, the ranchers looking for revenge, but they're not around enough to leave an impression. Frank Ferguson is solid as Dan Evans, the hotel owner who used to be close friends with Clint, while Mort Mills and Gregg Palmer play two of Spangler's gunmen.
Cynical watcher of westerns that I am, I was hoping for the darkest of endings here, especially about midway through the movie when I was losing interest. The most appropriate ending (in my head) has Murphy getting gunned down as he ultimately saves the town with Best's Wade ending up with the girl. That of course is not the ending we get, but I can wish. The shootout in the main street at the end has a chance to be good because it is far from a happy ending, but right before going into really dark territory, The Quick Gun takes its foot off the pedal and slams on the brakes. Too bad, a different ending could have saved it a little.
The Quick Gun <---TCM clips (1964): **/****
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