Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Grant Williams surprised me completely: He is simply magnificent as a Western bad guy. Even beyond his skill as a Western performer is his skill as a performer. In the one close-up scene with star Rory Calhoun, he steals it totally -- and Calhoun gives one of his own best performances.Dean Jagger is the consummate professional, and proves that as a sheriff. Maybe he's never given a bad performance. Certainly I've never seen one. But he too surprised me.James Millican is one of my favorites. Every time I see him, I get surprised anew at how perfect he seems in his role, whatever role it is.Martha Hyer, though, is no surprise -- except to realize again just how perfectly beautiful she is, and how perfectly she fits her role, again, whatever role it is.Veteran Trevor Bardette gives another of his classic performances, and we see the iconic John Doucette in a bit, but standing out, as always.Equally iconic Leo Gordon has another small role, and just owns the screen whenever he is on it.Robert Middleton is another surprise. He, too, is always perfect in whatever role, but as a Western bad guy? Yes! As I said, surprise. And he even has a fight scene! Extremely well done.Even the music rates a 10, with the title song beautifully written and beautifully sung by Terry Gilkyson, of whom I had not heard, but obviously I should have: He has a long list of credits. The rest of the score is by the under-appreciated Hans J. Salter.Directing and cinematography and editing are all top-notch, and the story, from a novel by the master, Lewis Patten, is therefore very well presented.There is a good print at YouTube, unfortunately interrupted several times by commercials, something I ordinarily hate, but I guess it's the price to pay to see such a good movie.I highly recommend "Red Sundown."

Perhaps my review title would have been a more appropriate title for this western, which features the well worn plot involving a range war between a cattle baron and neighboring small ranchers over the lands claimed by the small ranchers, which often are held by deeds of questionable or worthless validity. Roy Calhoun, who starred in this one, also starred in at least one other film("Utah Blaine") about such a range war. Here, it's chunky Rufus Henshaw(Robert Middleton)who is terrorizing the small ranchers, threatening to fence them out of their traditional grazing land, which Henshaw now claims for himself. To help him convince the small ranchers and sheriff to see things his way, he hires notorious gunslinger Chet Swann(Grant Williams). Calhoun(as Alec) is reckoned to be the only local who might outdraw Swann. Calhoun has recently been hired as the Deputy Sheriff of the local community. Henshaw offers him better pay to work for him, but Calhoun refuses. Swann and Calhoun have several tense meetings before their final showdown, running around town buildings. Guess who ultimately prevails, but only with the vocal help of the sheriff's striking-looking single daughter, Caroline(Martha Hyer). As according to standard formula, at first they don't see eye-to-eye, but eventually, the implication is that Calhoun will return to her after he attends to some business elsewhere. Calhoun also runs into the equally striking-looking old Latino girlfriend, Maria(Lita Baron). She appears to be Henshaw's mistress. Seems she would rather be Calhoun's girlfriend again, but that's not in the cards.There's a bizarre episode where Calhoun's buddy, Purvis, convinces him to dig a trench in the floor of the cabin where they are hiding, in which he places himself, then Purvis places a thin layer of soil over him, providing him with a stove pipe to breathe through! Then, the baddies who have them surrounded, set fire to the cabin, and when all is ashes, they are mystified where Calhoun vanished to. After they leave(how does he know?), he supposedly pushes the soil away and emerges from his 'grave'. For me, the best part of the film was seeing the 2 beautiful women...There's a theme song "Red Sundown" with lyrics relating to Calhoun and Caroline, sung during the opening and closing credits....I swear, I can't tell the difference between the speech of Calhoun and Audy Murphy. One grew up in CA, while the other grew up in Texas..... Available in color at You Tube and on DVD.

Red Sundown is directed by Jack Arnold and written by Martin Berkeley. It stars Rory Calhoun, Martha Hyer, Dean Jagger, Robert Middleton, James Millican, Lita Baron and Grant Williams. Music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by William Snyder. Gunslinger Alec Longmire (Calhoun) decides to honour a promise and change his ways. Arriving in Durango he quickly gets the opportunity to put his skills to good use when he becomes deputy to Sheriff Jade Murphy (Jagger), the latter of which is struggling to control the despotic behaviour of cattle baron Rufus Henshaw (Middleton). A promise made. A new life… From the higher end of 1950s Western programmers, Red Sundown couples the action and character staples with smart writing. From the off the pic signals its intentions by pushing some machismo front and centre, only to then add some sombre tones and rueful dialogue smarts. The whole story has something worthwhile to say, some keen observations. Not all gunslingers are the same, some enjoy the killing, some do it by necessity, but the message is clear, don't tar all with the same brush. Another thread deals with impressionable youngsters, where again some smart dialogue is afforded the principal player. There's a code issue that I hadn't heard of before as regards the weapon of choice in a stand-off, and there's some nasty bite that comes by way of how Henshaw treats his mistress, Maria (Baron). If a man wants to get away from guns then he should get away from them. As the shoot-outs and stand-offs come and go, as Martha Hyer arrives in a bullet brassiere, story settles into the common good versus bad theme, with a little romance on the side. It's despot and his hired thug, Chet Swann (Williams), against the honest sheriff and his reformed deputy. Arnold keeps things fizzing along nicely and he's well served by his lead cast members, with Calhoun, Middleton and Jagger particularly impressing. Hyer does well with what is a thankless female role, while Williams, who would become The Incredible Shrinking Man a year later, is only just on the right side of lunatic caricature. Bonus here, though with much sadness, is Millican, who puts in a heart aching performance as a gunman whose time is ebbing away. Millican was dying of cancer at the time and wouldn't see the film released. Poignancy added to what is a film; that while it's far from flawless, earns the right to be better known. 7.5/10

After hooking up with old time gunfighter James Millican, younger gunfighter Rory Calhoun decides he'd better look for a different line of work himself. Especially after Millican dies holding off a pair of brothers out to get them. But it's not so easy when the only trade you know is a fast draw.And in Red Sundown that's just what old time sheriff Dean Jagger needs to stop a range war between the local Ponderosa owner Robert Middleton and a bunch of smaller ranchers and farmers. Land titles aren't clear and Middleton's grabbing all he can.Also keeping Calhoun in town is Jagger's daughter Martha Hyer, but there's a complication there with the presence of Middleton's mistress Lita Baron who has a history with Calhoun. Her function in the film and her relationship with Middleton make Red Sundown quite the adult western for its time.In only an 81 running minute time Red Sundown packs quite a bit in what is an above average B western. I do love the way that kid actors David Kasday and Scotty Morrow function as a kind of Greek chorus commenting on the comings and goings in the town and showing the voice of public opinion in prevailing mores. Grant Williams the future incredible shrinking man makes his screen debut here playing a vicious punk gunfighter that Calhoun has to deal with.Red Sundown is one of the best of Rory Calhoun's B westerns and definitely an above average film for the limited production values it got because of its low priority.