The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Kenneth Gamet (screenplay) and
John W. Cunningham (story)

Release Date:

23 April 1954 (West Germany)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A former spy moves to Arizona to join a gold robbery, but when he gets there decides that its not for him and tries to change his life.

Plot Keywords:

3 Dimensional

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Jeff Travis
Claire Trevor	...	Josie Sullivan
Joan Weldon	...	Shelby Conroy
George Macready	...	Jules Mourret
Alfonso Bedoya	...	Degas
Lee Marvin	...	Dan Kurth
Ernest Borgnine	...	Bull Slager
Pierre Watkin	...	Jason Conroy
Joseph Vitale	...	Shorty
Clem Bevans	...	Jim Martin

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:(Banned) (1954) | Finland:S (1954) | Sweden:(Banned) (1954) | USA:Approved (certificate #16539)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Originally photographed in 3-D but only issued in flat prints.

Quotes:

Shelby Conroy: This town is a disgrace to everyone in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fifties" (1997)

Sit and Sift

I have a feeling that a lot of The Stranger Wore a Gun was left on the cutting room floor and if someone's ever interested in a director's cut it might explain some of the holes in this story.

The film opens in the middle of raid on Lawrence, Kansas by William Quantrill. Disgusted by all the killing, Randolph Scott quits the outfit, but can't outrun his reputation. Going further and further west Scott gets himself involved with another ex-Quantrill man, George MacReady who's looking to set himself up in Arizona as another version of Quantrill.

This is the last of four films Scott made with George MacReady, not counting their joint appearance in Follow the Boys. The first one they did together, Coroner Creek, is a classic among westerns. Sad to say the quality diminished as the two worked together until this one.

I couldn't follow the story nor could see what Scott's motivations were for doing what he did. It might be a case of bad editing or maybe it wasn't that good to begin with. I think it's one of the weaker Randolph Scott westerns.

Claire Trevor is yet again a saloon girl with a heart of gold and a yen for Randolph Scott and her rival is Joan Weldon, stage line owner. Doing almost a dress rehearsal for the parts they did in Bad Day at Black Rock are future Oscar winners Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin as a pair of MacReady gang members.

I will say if you can sit and sift through the plot you will not be disappointed in the shootout between Scott and MacReady inside a burning saloon. Would that the rest of the film was as good.