The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)

Whenever it becomes known how good he is with guns, ex-gunman George and his wife Dora have to flee the town, in fear of all the gunmen who might want to challenge him. Unfortunately he ... See full summary »

Director:

Russell Rouse

Writers:

Frank D. Gilroy (screenplay), Russell Rouse (screenplay),

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain, Broderick Crawford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Ford	...	George Temple / George Kelby, Jr.
Jeanne Crain	...	Dora Temple
Broderick Crawford	...	Vinnie Harold
Russ Tamblyn	...	Eric Doolittle
Allyn Joslyn	...	Harvey Maxwell
Leif Erickson	...	Lou Glover
John Dehner	...	Taylor Swope
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Dink Wells (as Noah Beery)
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Kevin McGovern
Rhys Williams	...	Brian Tibbs
Virginia Gregg	...	Rose Tibbs
Chubby Johnson	...	Frank Stringer
John Doucette	...	Ben Buddy
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Lars Toomey
Christopher Olsen	...	Bobby Tibbs (as Chris Olsen)

Storyline

Whenever it becomes known how good he is with guns, ex-gunman George and his wife Dora have to flee the town, in fear of all the gunmen who might want to challenge him. Unfortunately he again spills his secret when he's drunk. All citizens swear to keep his secret and support him to give up his guns forever -- but a boy tells the story to a gang of wanted criminals. Their leader threatens to burn down the whole town, if he doesn't duel him.

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Plot Keywords:

gun | bank robbery | cowboy and outlaw | murder | shootout | 

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Taglines:

WHAT HAPPENS in the next few minutes makes one of the most dramatic climaxes of any story you've ever seen!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die erste Kugel trifft

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

George Temple explains to the men in the bar how a real gunslinger wears his gun low so his hand rests on the butt. Then when he goes and gets his own gun and straps it on, it's riding high enough on his waist so that his fingertips can almost touch the bottom tip of the holster and his hand is below the butt of the gun.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vinnie Harold: I'm lookin' for Fallon.

User Reviews

Smarter than one would expect from its title

Unjustly neglected by most critics, this is definitely the best Glenn Ford Western and one of the top ten Westerns in film history. The unpredictable plot twist and surprising finale make it surpass Glenn's other great Western, 3:10 TO YUMA.

Glenn Ford, as a store keeper in a small town, claims to the townspeople that he is the fastest gun alive, yet he "never draws his gun against anybody," as he later says so in the church. It seems that he has an ego problem of wanting to be someone important and dislike to be look down by others.

This flawed character is much more flesh and blood than any Western hero I can recall, including that self-righteous marshal (Gary Cooper) in HIGH NOON and wooden Alan Ladd in SHANE.

Broderick Crawford's villain character is not so satisfying, as he remains ruthless and easy to lose his temper throughout the film. There are other ways to show how tough and vicious he is instead of shouting at people all the time. I like John Dehner's performance better by comparison. Although a minor villain, he plays it with more depth.

Jeanne Crain's wife role isn't very rich, she has barely another facial expression except miserable. Russ Tamblyn's solo dance number in the farm party shows the other side of town life, but the writer could give him more important jobs in the story. Anyway, the direction is tight and Glenn Ford is simply remarkable!