BY LEE PFEIFFER
"Gun the Man Down" is yet another Poverty Row low-budget Western shot
during an era in which seemingly every other feature film released was a
horse opera. Supposedly shot in nine days, the film is primarily
notable for being the big screen directing debut of Andrew V. McLaglen,
who would go on to be a very respected director who specialized in
Westerns and action films. The movie also marked the final feature film
for James Arness before he took on the role of Marshall Matt Dillon in
TV's long-running and iconic "Gunsmoke" series. After failing to achieve
stardom on the big screen, Arness found fame and fortune in "Gunsmoke"
when John Wayne recommended him for the part. Wayne had been championing
Arness for years and provided him with roles in some of his films.
Following "Gunsmoke"'s phenomenal run, Arness seemed content to stay
with TV and had another successful series, "How the West Was Won". John
Wayne was one of the first actors to successfully launch his own
production company, Batjac, which produced this film and Wayne's
influence is felt in the project. Andrew V. McLaglen was the son of
Wayne's good friend and occasional co-star Victor McLaglen. The
screenplay was written by Burt Kennedy, who Wayne would later hire to
direct several of his own films. The movie provided young Angie
Dickinson with her first role of substance and she would reunite with
Wayne years later on Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo". Speaking of which,
another Wayne favorite, character actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez appears
in both films. Also in the cast is Harry Carey Jr. , son of Wayne's idol
and and personal friend, Harry Carey. The cinematography is by William
Clothier, who would lens many of Wayne's later movies and the film was
produced by Duke's brother, Robert Morrison. "Gun the Man Down" is very
much a Wayne family affair.
The film opens with three fleeing bank robbers: Rem Anderson (James
Arness), Matt Rankin (Robert J. Wilke) and Ralph Farley (Don MeGowan),
who arrive at their hide-a-way cabin with the law in hot pursuit. Rem
has been seriously wounded and Rankin makes the decision to leave him
behind. Rem's girl, Jan (Angie Dickinson), objects at first but Rankin
convinces her to go with them in part because they have $40,000 in loot
from the local bank. The law arrives at the cabin and arrests Rem. He is
nursed back to health and is offered a deal for a light sentence if he
helps track down his confederates. Rem refuses and does his time in
prison. Upon release, he begins his mission vengeance and tracks Rankin,
Ralph and Jan to a one-horse town where Rankin has used his ill-gotten
gains to open a profitable saloon. Upon discovering Rem is in town,
Rankin hires a notorious gunslinger, Billy Deal (Michael Emmet), to
assassinate him. Jan has a tense reunion with Rem and seeks his
forgiveness but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Rem emerges victorious over
Billy Deal and Rankin, Ralph and Jan flee town with Rem in pursuit.
Their final confrontation takes place in a remote canyon with tragic
consequences.
Given the film's meager production budget, "Gun the Man Down" is a
surprisingly mature and engrossing Western with intelligent dialogue and
interesting characters. (In addition to those mentioned, there is a
fine performance by Emile Meyer as the town sheriff). Arness projects
the kind of macho star power that Wayne had and Dickinson acquits
herself very well as the stereotypical saloon girl with a heart of gold.
The film, ably directed by McLaglen, runs a scant 76 minutes and was
obviously designed for a quick playoff and fast profit. It has largely
been lost to time but the film is currently streaming on Screenpix, which is available through Amazon Prime, Roku, Apple TV and Fire TV for an additional monthly fee of $2.99 The movie is also available on Blu-ray through Olive Films.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON