The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967)

The South is losing the Civil War and the coffers are nearly empty. A group of Confederate spies steals a shipment of gold in San Francisco and attempts to deliver it to a Confederate ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael D. Moore

Writer:

Robert E. Kent

Stars:

Roy Orbison, Sammy Jackson, Maggie Pierce

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Orbison	...	Johnny
Sammy Jackson	...	Steve
Maggie Pierce	...	Flo Chesnut
Joan Freeman	...	Sue Chesnut
Lyle Bettger	...	Charlie
John Doucette	...	Max
Patricia Donahue	...	Stella
Ben Cooper	...	Rink
Ben Lessy	...	Indian Chief
Douglas Kennedy	...	Joe
Len Hendry	...	Deputy
Iron Eyes Cody	...	1st Indian
Domingo Samudio	...	1st Expressman (as Sam the Sham)
Wilda Taylor	...	Emily
Victoria Carroll	...	Margie

Storyline

The South is losing the Civil War and the coffers are nearly empty. A group of Confederate spies steals a shipment of gold in San Francisco and attempts to deliver it to a Confederate general in El Paso. Others know about the gold and seek to steal it from them, but the spies have a secret weapon: a guitar that shoots bullets....

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Plot Keywords:

civil war | duplicity | medicine wagon | singing | dancing | 

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Taglines:

America's hottest singing star on the screen at last! (original print ads)

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Violão Heróico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Four-Leaf Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Douglas Kennedy.

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Connections

Referenced in The Best of Bandstand: The Superstars (1987)

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Soundtracks

"The Fastest Guitar Alive"
Composed by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees
Performed by Roy Orbison (uncredited)

User Reviews

The plot went thataway, Roy

Hi, Everyone, Roy Orbison appears to be a nice guy in this movie. So does Sammy Jackson. The script is there, but it is not great. There is a nice plot line that could have been developed in a serious way. Political correctness got in the way and Roy and Sammy seem to be too worried about seeing to it the money in question here gets to almost anyone but themselves.

Sammy started his career as a model during the heydey of the Athletic Model Guild and then became an actor in the TV series, No Time For Sargeants. He was also in Night of the Grizzly which is a pretty bad movie.

Roy might have done a good job if they had the right script for him. His songs are OK and well arranged. Iron Eyes Cody gets a few laughs along with Ben Lessy. Ben Cooper was a big star in the mid 1950s and here he does an excellent job being a bad guy.

Watch for Sam The Sham. He had the big hit in 1965 of "Wooly Bully." I would like to recommend something similar in case you like this. I cannot think of anything similar. A funnier Western would be Blazing Saddles.

Tom Willett