In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

"Gun the Man Down" is a rarely seen little 76 minute western starring James Arness, in his only starring theatrical western role. Produced by John Wayne's Batjac company and directed by Andrew V. McLaglan (his first), the film is a low budget black and white oater with good production values and a strong supporting cast.Three bank robbers Rem Anderson (Arness), Matt Rankin (Robert J. Wilke) and Farley (Don Megowin) return from a bank robbery where a teller was shot by Rankin and Rem wounded. With a posse in hot pursuit, Rankin and Farley decide to leave the wounded Anderson behind and flee taking with them Anderson's girl Janice (Angie Dickenson in her first film).Anderson is arrested and sent to prison. Fast forward one year and Anderson vows to track his former partners and girl down. He finds them in a dusty little one horse town where Rankin is running a saloon and has also taken up with Janice. He is met by town sheriff Morton (Emile Meyer) and his deputy Lee (Harry Carey Jr.).Anderson confronts Farley on the street and the two have knock down drag out fight. Morton meanwhile, becomes concerned and sends for gunfighter Billy Deal (Michael Emmet). Janice goes to Rem to try to explain but to no avail. Rem takes care of Deal. Morton and Farley decide to run for it and Janice reluctantly joins them. Rem sees them leave and..................................James Arness had been groomed by John Wayne having appeared in several of his films. When the opportunity came up for a TV series called "Gunsmoke", it was first offered to Wayne who recommended Arness for the role. Wayne even introduced Arness is the first episode and the rest as they say is history.Angie Dickenson shines in her first film as the good/bad saloon girl. This role is not unlike the one she played opposite Wayne in "Rio Bravo" (1959). Emile Meyer, always a dependable character actor, is probably best remembered for his role as "Ryker" the chief baddie in "Shane" (1953). Harry Carey Jr. appeared in several Wayne westerns and was the son of Harry Carey on whom I believe the role of sheriff Morton was based.Now was there ever a meaner looking bad guy than Bob Wilke. He appeared in dozens of westerns but is best remembered for the knife throwing scene in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) with James Coburn.For big Jim, it was on to twenty years of the Long Branch Saloon and Miss Kitty.

In 1885, Rem Anderson (James Arness) teams up with the outlaws Matt Rankin (Robert J. Wilke) and Ralph Farley (Don Megowan) expecting to heist the Palace City bank and buy a ranch to live with his girlfriend Janice "Jan" (Angie Dickinson). However Rem is wounded and left behind by his comrades and girlfriend. He is arrested by a posse but he does not rat them. One year later, Rem is released from prison and seeks out his former partners. He meets the gunslinger Billy Deal (Michael Emmet) that gives the name of the town where Farley and Rankin are. On the arrival, Rem meets Sheriff Morton (Emile Meyer) and Deputy Lee (Harry Carey Jr.); then he finds his horse that had been stolen by Farley. What will Rem do with Farley, Rankin and Jan?"Gun the Man Down" is a flawed but entertaining unknown western and practically the debut of Angie Dickinson in the cinema. Emile Meyer steals the show in the role of a tranquil sheriff. The conclusion is flawed since Rem hunts down Rankin, Farley and Jan; he vanquishes Tankin, finds Jan near death; but he never finds Farley that was murdered by Rankin. Anyway, it is worthwhile watching this film. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Atire em Todos" ("Shoot Everybody")

John Wayne's Batjac Productions produced this tight B western starring James Arness as a young outlaw seeking revenge on his running buddies who left him to die. I'm betting this was probably filmed before Arness started Gunsmoke in 1955. He was certainly riding the same horse in this film as he did as Marshal Matt Dillon.Worse than just leaving Arness to die with a bullet in him as the posse was on his trail, Robert Wilke and Don Megowan also took Arness's woman Angie Dickinson with them. The posse gets to Arness and he's patched up, but he won't rat out his friends. He has his own plans for them even if he has to serve a year for the robbery to do it.Arness cuts a fine figure as a young outlaw who won't stand for a double cross. Wilke and Megowan are both western veterans and Wilke is a long time favorite villain in westerns. Angie Dickinson was 'introduced' in Gun The Man Down as a girl who'd like to be good, but has long forgotten how.Emile Meyer has a nice role here as a sheriff with Harry Carey,Jr. as his somewhat inpatient deputy. Meyer is a firm believer in what Noel Coward said about only mad dogs and Englishmen going out in the noon day sun. He's also a believer in letting the bad guys shoot it out so he has that many less to deal with. His philosophy seems to work.Gun The Man Down is a no frills western which is good on plot and characters. Andrew McLaglen made his directorial debut here and this is a harbinger of more good work by him on the big and small screen.

This little B-Western with James Arness in one of his last non-Gunsmoke starring roles seems to have been heretofore almost forgotten, judging by the lack of ratings and reviews here. I recently happened upon it on Netflix and decided to give it a try. While perhaps not deserving of a spot among the great westerns, it surprised me because it was truly quite good and deserves more attention than it's received.The plot, in short, involves Arness as one of three men who decide to hold up a bank. Arness is injured in the robbery, and subsequently left behind by his compatriots and, reluctantly, by his girl as well (Angie Dickinson, looking radiant in her first billable role). After being caught, convicted, and serving time for his part in the hold-up, he goes seeking his "friends" and his girl, bent on revenge.The biggest thing that struck me about this little "BATJAC" western was the steady, deliberate pacing of the story and the focus on characters more so than on shoot-em-up, chase-em-down action. There's more tension than action (in fact, one could legitimately call it a suspense film), and I appreciated the refreshing change of pace from most B westerns (or westerns in general, for that matter). Besides, at a slim 74 minutes, it simply can't drag on forever.This is a very thoughtful western in many respects. Characters are given much more life than you might expect. In particular, we see some interesting interaction between Sheriff Morton (Emile Meyer) and his deputy (Harry Carey, Jr.). The sheriff, who obviously is well past his gunslinging years, handles violence in his town sagely, keeping a close watch on events, while not putting himself in a position where his age would certainly compromise his life or his ability to do his job.Again, it's not a perfect movie, but I was quite pleasantly surprised, and it's probably one of the best b-westerns I've seen. I recommend it.