Forty Guns (1957)

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller (written by)

Release Date:

September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

An authoritarian rancher, Barbara Stanwyck, who rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns...

Plot Keywords:

Arizona | Rancher | Gunfight | Murder | Funeral

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Jessica Drummond
Barry Sullivan	...	Griff Bonnell
Dean Jagger	...	Sheriff Ned Logan
John Ericson	...	Brockie Drummond
Gene Barry	...	Wes Bonnell
Robert Dix	...	Chico Bonnell
Jidge Carroll	...	Barney Cashman
Paul Dubov	...	Judge Macy
Gerald Milton	...	Shotgun Spanger
Ziva Rodann	...	Rio
Hank Worden	...	Marshal John Chisum
Neyle Morrow	...	Wiley
Chuck Roberson	...	Howard Swain
Chuck Hayward	...	Charlie Savage
Sandra Wirth	...	Chico's Girlfriend

Also Known As:

Samuel Fuller's Forty Guns (Australia)
Woman with a Whip (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Germany:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #18646) | Australia:PG | France:U (2002 re-release)

Company:

Globe Enterprises

Trivia:

Condemned in the US because of its brutal handling of the narrative, but praised in Europe for its stylistic vigor.

Quotes:

Jessica Drummond: I'm not interested in *you*, Mr. Bonnell. It's your trademark.
[gestures at his gun, purring]
Jessica Drummond: May I feel it?
Griff Bonnell: Uh-uh.
Jessica Drummond: Just curious.
Griff Bonnell: It might go off in your face.
Jessica Drummond: I'll take a chance.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

Soundtrack:

High Ridin' Woman

FORTY GUNS (Samuel Fuller, 1957) ***

This is the only one I've watched from a handful of Westerns Fuller made - and it's just as individualistic as any of his War films! Despite the presence of an A-list star in Barbara Stanwyck (past her prime but still extraordinary), at a mere 80 minutes, the film was pretty much considered a second-feature - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since this very compactness allows it greater focus on the themes inherent in Fuller's script (which are pretty much treated like high melodrama in the rampant style of Anthony Mann's THE FURIES [1950], also with Stanwyck, and Nicholas Ray's JOHNNY GUITAR [1954])!

Still, the rest of cast is equally impressive - especially Barry Sullivan (though never quite achieving stardom, he's suitably imposing here as the ageing but steadfast hero and matches Stanwyck every step of the way), Dean Jagger (in a role vaguely similar to the one he played in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK [1955], but with even fewer redeeming qualities) and John Ericson (also from BLACK ROCK, but in a completely different role as Stanwyck's hot-headed younger brother). There's also crooner Jidge Carroll on hand (in his one-and-only film) who, apart from performing two tolerable ballads, acts as a sort of Chorus to the proceedings!

Besides, the film features a number of effective scenes (an ambush, a hurricane, a matter-of-factly-presented suicide and a remarkable final shoot-out) - which are made even more memorable by Joseph Biroc's superlative 'Scope photography.