The Gun Runners (1958)

Remake of "To Have and Have Not" based on Hemingway short story. Plot reset to early days of Cuban revolution. A charter boat skipper gets entangled in gunrunning scheme to get money to pay... See full summary »

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Ernest Hemingway (novel), Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay),

Stars:

Audie Murphy, Eddie Albert, Patricia Owens

Cast

Cast overview:
Audie Murphy	...	Sam Martin
Eddie Albert	...	Hanagan
Patricia Owens	...	Lucy Martin
Everett Sloane	...	Harvey
Richard Jaeckel	...	Blond Henchman on Boat [Script name: Buzurki]
Paul Birch	...	Sy Phillips
Jack Elam	...	Arnold
John Qualen	...	Pop
Edward Colmans	...	Unidentified Role [Script Name: Juan] (unconfirmed)
Stephen Peck	...	Pepito (as Steven Peck)
Carlos Romero	...	Carlos Contreras (as Carl Rogers)
Gita Hall	...	Eva

Storyline

Remake of "To Have and Have Not" based on Hemingway short story. Plot reset to early days of Cuban revolution. A charter boat skipper gets entangled in gunrunning scheme to get money to pay off debts. Sort of a sea-going film noir with bad girl, smarmy villain, and the "innocent" drawn into wrong side of law by circumstances.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gunrunners

Filming Locations:

Balboa, Newport Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Harvey: A man can't turn bad if it ain't in him to be bad. And it ain't in you, Sam.

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Connections

Version of The Breaking Point (1950)

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Soundtracks

"Havana Holiday"
Words and Music by Joe Lubin, and Curly Howard (as Jerome Howard)

User Reviews

Third time still lucky!

It puzzles me why producer Clarence Greene and Seven Arts thought the public would go for yet another re-telling of Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not" when both the Bogart-Bacall and Garfield-Neal versions are so widely regarded as definitive. But here it is, and I must admit that Mainwaring and Monash have added a few more suspenseful wrinkles to the screenplay and that Audie Murphy does surprisingly well by the Bogart-Garfield role. The other players are equally adept, particularly Eddie Albert as the chillingly convincing heavy and the lovely Gita Hall (in the first of only two movies, alas). And it's always good to see players like Richard Jaeckel, Herb Vigran and Jack Elam in roles that allow them to display their talents.

Beautifully photographed by Hal Mohr on actual Key West locations, the movie also gives director Don Siegel some splendid action opportunities which he handles in his usual dramatic style, although the climax itself seems somewhat truncated by comparison with the preceding versions.