Too much of everything

Thanks for the memories!

Such a frustrating disappointment

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

G. Waggner made a good action movie, authentically exciting and zestful; Grapewin is the courageous oldster who at a certain moment cooks gingerbread, Dorothy Hart is embarrassing.The action scenes are very good: the chase, Brazos' fight with the wicked deputy, Brazos questioning the deputy, the shootouts.Scott himself has a silly expression in the few flirt scenes.Scott, Tucker, Kemper were a team that H. J. Brown used for westerns. Scott has often been upstaged by his coworkers.Grapewin and Withers are dependable; Cabot, the bard, looks unnervingly effective.Dorothy Hart is awful, worse than J. Miles. The other sister is only banal.G. Waggner was certainly craftier than G. Douglas. This regular western is better made than 'The Nevadan', with which it has some things in common: the team (Scott, Tucker who is better here than in the later movie, Kemper), the rebelling daughter, a similar plot about despotism; the rustling also defines an entire sub-genre. Tucker was better in this earlier outing, because his role is much simpler, a stock character, where the look was enough. (But the later movie has Dorothy Malone, and a quirkier role for Kemper. Yet again, while the henchmen from 'The Nevadan' have been remarked, and their roles are better written, here the foreman and the corrupt deputy give dependable performances; 'Gunfighters' is less ambitious, but better in its class.)I should mention also the risqué dialog of the odd scene when the gunfighter, wishing to take back the bullet, mistakes the mean sister for the good one, and a zany dialog begins, about gift, keeping it, etc., in fact the whole story isn't very moralistic, with the gunfighter flirting with both sisters (the evening at the old convent), being at ease with both of them; anyway, this playful scene is one of the best humorous moments of this genre, the unpretentious westerns as reshaped after the war and at the zenith of colors. The double _entendre of the talk, with the gunman asking about the hidden bullet, etc., makes a funny scene, with a piquant and entirely adult undertone and very unlike the rest of the movie; so, this one scene of adult fun, straight from the archetype (mistaken identity, licentious double _entendre). This kind of comedy, if deepened, would of allowed for a wholly different script.

For a fairly standard Forties Western, this one had a few interesting elements beginning with the opening showdown between Brazos Kane (Randolph Scott) and an unknown assailant who calls him out. We learn immediately after that it was Kane's best friend who wanted to see how fast he really was with a gun. I'm not certain that would be the best way to test one's quick draw reflexes, a guy could get seriously hurt that way.And then there was that scene in Bannertown when Bard Macky (Bruce Cabot) ran his horse into Kane's, and actually knocked Kane's horse down! I had to wonder if that was scripted or just happened and the crew just kept on filming. The rest of the scene played out curiously as well, with Kane dodging Macky's horse as he tried to bring his opponent to ground level.But you know, as I sit here and think about the story, it seems to make less and less sense. Kane's attempt to investigate his friend's murder eventually leads him to Banner henchman Macky and daughter Bess (Barbara Britton), who's boot-print turns up at the murder scene. So in the tradition of all your cowboy hero good guys, you'd expect Kane to bring both of them to justice by the end of the picture. Especially since Banner himself (Griff Barnett) ordered the murder of Bob Tyrell.So with the picture setting us up for a Kane romance with Bess's sister Jane (Dorothy Hart), was it Bess who got to ride off into the sunset with Kane? The sisters did look an awful lot alike. Actually, I do know which one hooked up with Brzaos at Monument Rock; the tease here is just to see if you were paying attention.

Saying that a Randolph Scott film is ordinary is NOT a bad thing at all, as this ordinary was still amazingly good. While I like a good western, I always look forward to one of Scott's, as his films were consistently fine--and set a high standard for the industry. So, when I say that "Gunfighters" is about average for him, this is still more than enough reason to find this movie.The film begins with a friend of Brazos Kane (Scott) challenging him to the draw. Without thinking, he turns and shoots the friend--nearly killing him. That's when Kane realizes he has got to hang up his guns, as practically all the punks are itching to duel it out with his legendary gunfighter. So, he leaves town and heads to the ranch belonging to an old friend--only to find the guy dead--a victim of a murder. Still swearing to avoid a life of violence, he swears to find out who did it and bring them to justice. However, naturally, there are some baddies (two of the baddest in these films, Bruce Cabot and Forrest Tucker) aren't about to give up and decide to shoot Kane--whether he is willing to pick up a gun or not. Along the way, Kane becomes involved with two sisters who look very much alike (oddly, they actually are played by two different actresses--not the same lady--but they do look like sisters!). Can he manage to maintain his vow never to shoot again and still get justice? The best thing about the film is Scott's easygoing acting style. It manages to make all his films (even the poor ones) well worth seeing. The wonderful California and Arizona locations shot in vivid color didn't hurt, either! I also appreciate the ending, though it will no doubt disappoint many. It does NOT have the predictable and nice Hollywood ending--and this might be something you dislike, but I thought it added some nice tension to the film. Keeping things unresolved didn't bother me. The only thing that ever bothers me is because I am a history teacher I realize that this film represents a highly idealized version of the west--not what really was. In reality, shootouts were rare and most of the time it really consisted of some jerk shooting some poor slob in the back--not the clichéd shootout on main street at high noon! Still, entertaining and well made.FYI--The film is currently available for legal free viewing and download at archive-org--a site frequently linked to IMDb listings.

Unexceptional Randolph Scott vehicle has our hero deciding to stop fighting and subsequently accused of murdering his friend (standard Scott film plots). He's aided in finding the real murderer by a set of twins (Britton and Hart, who actually do look remarkably similar). When the old man he's lodging with (Grapewin) is killed in his place, he straps on the man's guns and heads out for the inevitable confrontations. Dull direction, some good photography in the early chase scene.