Too Good with a Gun (24 Mar. 1957)
"General Electric Theater" Too Good with a Gun (original title)

An ex-gunfighter goes against his boss and teaches the son how to shoot. He also falls in love with the boss's daughter. But when he gets involved in a gunfight in town, his boss sends him passing and turns his two children against him.

Director:

Herschel Daugherty

Writers:

John Dunkel (teleplay), Lewis B. Patten (story)

Stars:

Robert Cummings, Rachel Ames, Michael Landon

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Robert Cummings	...	Russ Baker
Rachel Ames	...	Edie Duncan (as Judith Ames)
Michael Landon	...	Claude Duncan
Frank Ferguson	...	Mack Duncan
Dayton Lummis	...	Arnold Hoffman
Edith Evanson	...	Ma Duncan
Jack Lambert	...	Slick Everett
Ed Hinton	...	Big Nick
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself - Host

Storyline

An ex-gunfighter goes against his boss and teaches the son how to shoot. He also falls in love with the boss's daughter. But when he gets involved in a gunfight in town, his boss sends him passing and turns his two children against him.

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Plot Keywords:

street shootout | western episode | cowboy

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1957 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios - 4024 Radford Avenue, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revue Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Like cramming an entire movie into 26 minutes!

This episode of "GE True Theater" promotes one on the myths of the old west--the gunfighter. Now don't get me wrong--it's a very well made show, it's just that its vision of the west is more that of dime novels and B-movies and such men were very, very rare--if they even existed at all.

The show begins with a likable but cocky young man (Michael Landon) working on his skills with a handgun. A more experienced man, an ex-gunfighter (Bob Cummings) who works for Landon's father, is showing him how to use the gun but also pointing out that there is nothing fun or glamorous about shooting someone. It seems that Cummings just wants to leave that life behind him. However, when he takes Landon and his sister to town, his old life comes back to haunt him, and he feels the need to kill a nasty guy who has come to town looking for trouble. Now the father of Landon and the girl wants Cummings to leave their farm as he envisions seeing his son also becoming a no-good gunfighter.

Overall, this is like watching a full-length film crammed down into 26 minutes. Fortunately, because of a good script and acting, it does work and is well worth your time. To see this one, download the show from archive.org--a site often linked to IMDb.