Gun Brothers (1956) User Reviews

Buster in Buckskins!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 22 December 2013]

"Gun Brothers" is a low budget black and white western that turns out to be an rather enjoyable 79 minutes. It's one of those good brother/bad brother stories starring Buster Crabbe as Chad Santee and Neville Brand as his brother Jubal.

Chad Santee has just mustered out of the cavalry and is on his way to meet his brother Jubal who has promised him a partnership in his cattle ranch. Along the way he meets saloon girl Rose Fargo (Ann Robinson) and is immediately smitten in spite of two bit gambler Blackjack Silk (James Seay) who also has designs on her.

Later Chad goes to meet Jubal but finds that he is an outlaw leading a murderous gang known as the Nighthawks. Chad tries to convince Jubal to mend his ways but is unsuccessful. Jubal's sinister Indian cook Meeteetse (Lita Milan) implicates Chad in a recent Stage hold-up and he and Rose are forced to flee both from the law and Jubal and his gang that includes the villainous "Shawnee" (Michael Ansara). They go to the camp of Chad's friend Yellowstone Kelly (Walter Sande) where Chad enters into a fur-trading partnership with him.

Jubal meanwhile, thinks that Chad has double crossed him and sets out with Shawnee to exact his revenge.

Buster Crabbe never missed an opportunity to take off his shirt and show off his build. This film is no exception. He always kept himself in good shape having been an Olympic athlete in the 1932 games. The scene in the saloon when he tries to impress Rose is hilarious. Crabbe is smacking his lips while drooling over her like a lecherous dirty old man. And there's that buckskin shirt. He looks ridiculous in that costume and thank heavens he leaves it behind when he and Rose run for their lives.

There's quite a list of recognizable "B" western stalwarts in the cast. Roy Barcroft, a perennial bad guy gets to play the sheriff in this one, former sidekick Slim Pickens plays Moose McLain a trapper, Lane Bradford and Harry Lauter deputies and William Fawcett and Ric Vallin in brief bits. 6"2" Dorothy Ford is along as Picken's wife and Dan White is Jonathon Logan, a preacher.

Remade scene for scene with the same characters in 1961 with James Brown and Gregg Palmer as the brothers.

Santee Family Values

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 28 August 2017]

Buster Crabbe and Neville Brand play a pair of brothers named Santee in Gun Brothers. Crabbe has served in the cavalry while Brand says he now has a ranch in the Wyoming territory. But Brand is really an outlaw and cattle rustling is only one of his gang's enterprises. Crabbe who hoped to partner with his brother figures that out quickly, but won't rat him out to law enforcement.

Which puts him in a highly vulnerable position with only saloon singer Ann Robinson as a real ally. It all works out in the end, but not after a lot of blood is spilled in this independent B western from United Artists.

Crabbe was a much better actor than a lot give him credit for and this is a film he shows it. He and Neville Brand play beautifully off each other as the good and bad brother Santee.

Some familiar faces are in this one. Michael Ansara as a mixed race outlaw and Brand's right hand is a villain without any redeemable qualities. One of the best to come along of that breed until Lee Marvin played the title role in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Roy Barcroft who was in about a gazillion westerns for Republic for once is on the side of the law as a sheriff. Slim Pickens has a small role as a fur trapper and Lita Milan who had one tempestuous marriage to Rory Calhoun plays an Indian maid who also falls for Crabbe while she's Ansara's property and I do mean property.

Lots of gun play and violence to satisfy any B western fan and a bit of stargazing as well.

A fun and delightful little picture

[marcusgreenwood · 7/10 · 21 June 2023]

Was surprised when I viewed this picture. Thoroughly entertaining, good plot and moved at a swift pace. The character development was what you'd expect from a western movie of this caliber, but good performances from Buster and Neville. I've only seen this picture one time, but would view it again as the story has the kind of pace I enjoy with a standard western theme.

I rated it 7 stars because many movies in this same era didn't always have a believable plot. Gun Brothers has some really good scenes and is well filmed. If you are looking for a decent western to fill some time, you'll enjoy this show.

It'll do.

[horn-5 · 25 November 2005]

Chad Santee (Buster Crabbe) heads west to join his brother, Jubal (Neville Brand)who supposedly has a large cattle ranch. On the way he meets Rose Fargo (Ann Robinson)and rescues her from the unwanted advances of a gambler, "Blackjack" (James Seay as Jimmy Seay.) When Chad and Rose arrive they find that Jubal and his partner, Shawnee (Michael Ansara), are really rustlers and outlaws. Jubal tries to get Chad to join them but he refuses, and leaves to set up his own homestead with Rose at his side.

Later, the repentant Jubal comes to join him. Shawnee, angry at what he considers a double-cross, attacks the brothers with his gang.

In the fight that follows, the outlaws are all killed and so is Jubal, who is happy to have died fighting at his brother's side. When a daughter is born to Chad and Rose, they name her Jubilee after her dead uncle.

A pretty decent B western

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 5 June 2017]

Buster Crabbe returns home after a six year stint in the army to join his brother Neville Brand in running a cattle ranch. Upon arriving home, he discovers Brand is no rancher ... he's the leader of a notorious outlaw gang. Crabbe wants to leave and take saloon singer Ann Robinson with him, but Brand's lieutenant Michael Ansara has different plans for both of them. A B-grade western that gains a lot of entertainment value from Brand and Ansara. Crabbe is fine, but his character is the kind of upright, stodgy 50's hero that ends up seeming a little too naive and occasionally outright dumb to really identify with. Though it's only about an hour and twenty minutes long, it still could stand to be about 15 minutes shorter.

A Surprise!

[bux · 9/10 · 22 January 2008]

I wasn't going to watch this one when I read the brief synopsis on the TV menu, however it was a cold day, so I thought-"What the heck." I was truly surprised. I wasn't expecting much from a low B flick featuring a beyond-the-prime Buster Crabbe. However, there was a lot to be said for this little effort. First of all the cast is simply great...Neville Brand, Michael Ansara, the sexy Lita Milan, the young and gorgeous Ann Richardson, even a young Slim Pickens! The plot is an old one, the older brother returns from the wars to discover that younger brother is in league with the baddies. But the acting and limited production values maintain interest throughout.

A pleasant surprise on a cold afternoon.

More Complexity than Usual for a B-Western of the 1950's

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 5 September 2016]

The Gone Bad and Always Good Brothers are the Cliché that Propels this B-Western featuring an Aging, but Still in Shape, Buster Crabbe and the always Slimy Neville Brand who made a Career of Playing Really Bad Guys and Psychopaths.

In this one Brand is Up for the Challenging Role with more than One Dimension. His Scenes with Crabbe as Duling Opposites are Profound and Captivating. Michael Sansara as one of the Gang Members is the Really Bad Guy in this Above Average Low-Budget Western that also Includes a Couple of Strong Female Characters.

Ann Robinson as a Saloon Singer and Lita Milan as a Squaw used by the Outlaws as a Bartered for Flesh Slave add a Complexity not usually associated with these Throwaway Second Features . There are some Gun-Battles for the Action Oriented that are Well Staged and Soul Redeeming in Outcome.

Overall, more Goes On here than in the Standard Type for the Genre in the 50's. It's an Oft Told Tale Told with Heart and Bravado. It's Wrap Up is Wrapped Around that Baby Boomer Mantra so Prevalent for its Time, but has the Extra Ingredient of a Man who had Lost His Way but finds the Way Back to His Sibling, who was always "His Brothers Keeper", in Mind and Spirit.