The Hired Gun (1957)

Ellen Beldon is due to be hanged in Texas for the murder of her husband but Jud Farrow, ranch foreman for her uncle, breaks her out of jail and escorts her to the safety of her uncle's New ... See full summary »

Director:

Ray Nazarro

Writers:

Buckley Angell (story), Buckley Angell (screenplay),

Stars:

Rory Calhoun, Anne Francis, Vince Edwards

Cast

Cast overview:
Rory Calhoun	...	Gil McCord
Anne Francis	...	Ellen Beldon
Vince Edwards	...	Kell Beldon
John Litel	...	Mace Beldon
Chuck Connors	...	Judd Farrow
Robert Burton	...	Nathan Conroy
Salvador Baguez	...	Domingo Ortega
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Elby Kirby
Regis Parton	...	Cliff Beldon

Storyline

Ellen Beldon is due to be hanged in Texas for the murder of her husband but Jud Farrow, ranch foreman for her uncle, breaks her out of jail and escorts her to the safety of her uncle's New Mexico ranch. Mace Beldon, her father-in-law, offers professional gunman Gil McCord five-thousand dollars to bring her back to Texas so she can be hung. He is able to get her away and, during the trip back, she tells him the story of her trial. She claims her brother-in-law, Kell Beldon, shot his step-brother (her husband)so that he would be his father's sole heir, and that drunken fur-trapper Elby Kirby was the only witness. Gill decides to see Kirby and force a confession from him. Meanwhile, Kell gets Ellen back by chance and turns her over to the law. Gill gets an order from the district judge to stop the execution, and Kell, seeing his story falling apart tries to out-shoot Gill.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | texas | murder | witness | judge | 

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Taglines:

He Had To Be Fast To Stay Alive! (original poster)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flucht vor dem Galgen

Filming Locations:

Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rorvic Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

The wrong (wo)man

A very short western,clocking at hardly 70 min,but a fast moving one,well acted and with a screenplay which can appeal to ladies ,which is not obvious a far as this genre is concerned ;the background may be the wild west ,but the plot is sometimes close to detective story ,a whodunit (although you would have guessed who the culprit is in the first minutes!) ' Annee Francis portrays a young widow,falsely accused of her husband 's murder and sentenced to death (rare in westerns for a girl!);as her uncle helps her to escape (with Chuck "rifleman" Connors dressed up as a priest),the ruthless in-laws......well check the title .

Rory Calhoun is efficient as the hired gun ;he also produced this entertaining movie,which seems to suffer for its small budget :the last quarter seems botched,but the rest is pretty well done.