Pretty Good

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

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

"Jason Clay" (Lance Fuller) and "Tobias Taylor" (Chill Wills) are two people who have decided to join a wagon train headed to California where they can sell a new rifle they call the "Kentucky Rifle". To get to California they have to venture into Comanche territory which is made even more dangerous due to the fact that the Comanche know about these new rifles and want them very badly. Also in this wagon train is a pretty blonde by the name of "Amy Connors" (Cathy Downs) who is engaged to a man named "Daniel Foster" (Jess Barker) but becomes somewhat enamored of Jason along the way. This proceeds to create almost as many problems as the Comanche. Now, as far as the merits of this movie are concerned, I would just say that whenever the lead actor is somebody like Chill Wills or Lance Fuller then it pretty much goes without saying that this film doesn't exactly feature an all-star cast. And that could partially explain why this movie lacked excitement. In any case, those who enjoy western movies from this particular period might like this one. But quite frankly I thought it was marginal at best and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

This awful movie was really painful to watch. A small group from a wagon train linger behind to repair a broken down wagon in hostile Indian territory. They spend most of their time arguing and filibustering and take forever and a day to repair the wagon and attempt to catch up with the wagon train - I felt like I was watching Gilligan's Island. Any excuse to stay behind and mingle with the Indians was used to prolong the situation, (*spoiler*) including a slender pregnant woman who wasn't due anytime soon going into labor 3 days later (*spoiler* - NOT!...if you couldn't see this lame plot device coming, you must be living in a cave). The agony of this movie was painfully protracted. Of course, they have 4 cases of 25 Kentucky Rifles each (100 rifles) that must get through...or must they? Hmmm, why don't we show these rifles to the Indians and see if they want them? For that matter, why don't we see if the Iranians would like a few nuclear weapons? Yes, there is a lot of moralizing here, and if you don't know by now that giving your best weapons to your worst enemies because you are afraid of them is not an intelligent thing to do, then this movie will hammer that obvious point home and do it with a psychopathic vengeance that is firmly rooted in the belief that every dead horse requires a really good beating! But, then again, with the size of the wagon train and the firm belief that these rifles are excellent protection against hostile Indians, it would have made much more sense to distribute 4 or 6 rifles to each wagon for protection than to leave these vitally necessary items behind packed in crates on a broken down wagon. It would serve these dolts right if their entire wagon train was slaughtered by Indians. But then we wouldn't have a movie, would we? That would have been a blessing.

Out of the several hundred Westerns in my DVD collection, this one has to be the very worst. Totally incompetent. Hittleman must have been a better salesman than a movie maker to have even managed to raise what little money would have been needed to make this awful mess. It's devoid of even the campy charm that Ed Wood might have put into it. Wills, Downs, Holloway, & Cagney must have been hurting for money to have agreed to appear in something this bad. Released in 1956, the same year as George Stevens' Giant, Chill Wills must have been been rather amazed to find himself in two such different movie productions in the same year. I only wish that I could get back the time I wasted watching this trash.

Kentucky Rifle is one of those movies that is immediately recognizable as having been made in the 1950's. The "western" accent used in the movies and television matches nothing I have ever heard anywhere else. The gritty version of the west was just starting to emerge at the time this movie came out, but it wasn't completely there yet. Not completely void of a story, Kentucky Rifle gives us a simple plot that literally and figuratively goes nowhere. A wagon with a broken axle is left behind a wagon train that must keep its schedule. The wagon contains crated Kentucky Rifles that are of financial interest and a matter of personal honor to Jason Clay (Lance Fuller). Comanche Indians also have an interest in obtaining the rifles. From the start of the movie until the end we only see the characters arguing and reasoning for and against trading the rifles to the Comanches for safe passage once the wagon is repaired. Thankfully the philosophical dialogue is kept brief, and the action is given more weight in this production. Both Jason Clay and Tobias Taylor (Chill Wills) encounter the Comanches and work to keep the group of travelers together and alive for most of the movie. The wagon stays put the entire time. The most important attribute of the story is the will and leadership of Clay and Tobias, and the decisions they are forced to make.Kentucky Rifle is not a total disaster, but it is hardly worth seeking. Enjoy it in a DVD collection like I did. I rated it with a generous 5, but I have a positive bias when it comes to westerns.