The Quiet Gun (1957)

Sheriff Carl Brandon must uphold the law and prevent a lynching when his best friend is accused of murder and immorality by the townsfolk.

Director:

William F. Claxton

Writers:

Lauran Paine (novel), Eric Norden (adaptation)

Stars:

Forrest Tucker, Mara Corday, Jim Davis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Forrest Tucker	...	Sheriff Carl Brandon
Mara Corday	...	Irene
Jim Davis	...	Ralph Carpenter
Kathleen Crowley	...	Teresa Carpenter
Lee Van Cleef	...	Doug Sadler
Hank Worden	...	Sampson
Tom Brown	...	John Reilly
Gerald Milton	...	Lesser
Lewis Martin	...	Steven Hardy
Vince Barnett	...	Undertaker
Edith Evanson	...	Mrs. Merrick

Storyline

Hired gun Doug Sadler rides into a small Western town and immediately provokes the local sheriff, Carl Brandon, by tormenting a simpleminded local named Sampson. Brandon is further provoked by a visit from city attorney Hardy, who announces that the town council is charging local rancher Ralph Carpenter with violations of morality for living with an Indian girl. Brandon, who is in love with Carpenter's estranged wife Teresa, realizes that there is something sinister behind both these events, but he is unsuccessful in preventing calamity from erupting. Eventually he must stand against his entire town in order to protect it and the law he represents.

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Plot Keywords:

buxom | indian | b western | low budget film | poverty row film | 

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Taglines:

THE MOST VIOLENT VENGEANCE IN THE WEST! (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fury at Rock River

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regal Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

All Business

`The Quiet Gun' is a rare sleeper in the Western genre. Though certainly not a great film, it is good enough to warrant a look. It is difficult to believe Forrest Tucker didn't have a bigger career than he did, since he shows us some pretty good work here. At the beginning he even delivers a memorable one-liner to the nonsensically aggressive Lee Van Cleef (bullying Hank Worden – named Sampson here, but playing Mose nonetheless) when Lee tells him to mind his own business. Casually revealing his badge, Tucker retorts `It is my business.' And so sets the tone for the remainder of the film.

Tucker, as Sheriff Carl Brandon, is being pressured by the local powers-that-be to `do something' about a rancher (Jim Davis as Ralph Carpenter) allegedly living with an Indian woman (Mara Corday as Irene). Personally dead set against any notion of taking any action, and advising others to mind their own business as well, Brandon must strike his own way as the story progresses. His biggest foes, it turns out, are the officials of the town – one has criminal intentions, the others invoke hatred and the public will as mandates to fan the flames of what might have been a non-event otherwise.

Director William F. Claxton certainly made his mark in subsequent years on the small screen. Most notably he directed many episodes of `Bonanza' but also had a hand in `The Rifleman', `Yancy Derringer', `Gunsmoke' and `High Chaparral'. His diversity is illustrated by having made one `Route 66' and four `Twilight Zone' episodes as well. But most definitely his horror opus `The Night of the Lepus' lives on in memory, now having not terrorized three generations of unsuspecting viewers. A nice one line review is attributed to Shane Burridge on Rotten Tomatoes (`A failure on every level').

There is an underlying grim note to the proceedings in `The Quiet Gun'. Tucker hardly ever smiles, Lee Van Cleef smiles but no one feels comforted for it and the outcomes of several situations are unpredictably harsh. But there are enough plot developments of humorless persuasion, including a courtroom scene near the end, to cast the story in somber tones. But no preaching is ever heard; Claxton prefers to tell the tale and let you make your own conclusions, which is high art in Westerns of the Fifties.

Rating: 3 Stars.