This
is one of those cheaply made, poorly acted B-movie entries that
somehow, in spite of its shortcomings, has enough quirky, interesting
touches to still make it rather appealing. And then, if/when you
check into its back story (as I, being something of a film buff, tend
to do) you find a number of additionally interesting facts that also
add to it.
The
story premise is pretty simple, if somewhat unbelievable. It takes
place late in the Civil War. Five captured Union soldiers, scoundrels
and murderers all, are pardoned in agreement to take on a mission
for the Confederacy: Ride through Indian country to intercept a
secret enemy gold shipment and the traitor who is allegedly diverting
it into Union hands. The five agree to take on the job and are
promptly sent to a remote stagecoach swing station where the gold
shipment is expected to be passing through. Inasmuch as no
Confederate soldiers can be spared to accompany them, they are
(illogically) expected to honor their deal and return with both the
gold and the traitor. Almost before they're out of sight, of course,
they begin making plans on how they'll split the gold and ride off on
their own pursuits.
The
five men are: Govern Sturges (played by John Lund, a leading man of
some renown from the 1940s [opposite the likes of stars such as
Marlene Dietrich, Jean Arthur, Grace Kelly] but here looking sort of
old and weary); Hale Clinton (played by Mike Conners of Mannix
fame, billed here early in his career as “Touch” Conners); J.C.
Haggard (played by popular character actor Paul Birch); and the Candy
brothers, Billy and John (played, respectively, by Jonathan Haze and
R. Wright Campbell [more on him a bit later]).
The
men quickly begin squabbling amongst themselves as they ride through
rugged country. But the threat of Indians keeps them dependent on
each other. Haggard has some familiarity with the land and also with
Indians. So does Sturges, who gradually comes to the fore as
unofficial leader of the group. Clinton is an oily deal-maker, seeking
to make a secret alliance with one of the others so that, when the
time comes, he can wangle out a bigger share of the gold. The Candy
brothers are an odd fit to everything, with Billy showing signs of
being deranged and dangerous and his older brother John barely able
to contain him.
After
some Indian skirmishes, they reach the swing station where they take
captive the two people who run it—a pretty young woman, Shalee
Jethro (Dorothy Malone) and her drunken Uncle Mike (James Stone).
While they're waiting for the stage to show up, the men quickly
begin angling for a chance at Shalee. She does a pretty good job of
fending them off on her own, but Sturges also steps forward as her
protector. Romantic feelings develop between them and its revealed
that Sturges is really a Confederate officer working undercover to
make the five-man mission a success.
When
the stagecoach arrives, the small contingent of Union soldiers
guarding it are ambushed and killed and the traitor from inside the
coach is captured. When no gold is found, however, he is forced to
admit that it is on its way to California and was never on the
stagecoach.
Everything
breaks down at that point and a shootout erupts with the “five
guns” taking sides against one another. Sturges takes refuge inside
the house with Shalee and her uncle and also the captive traitor and,
one by one, he prevails over the others. At the conclusion, the
bodies are buried and Sturges rides off with his prisoner to rejoin
the war effort, but promises Shalee he will be returning to her.
Throughout
this film there are some interesting dialogue exchanges, terse and
almost noirish at times. The psychotic side of Billy Candy is always
simmering just below the surface and adds a tense undercurrent to any
scene he is in. And Lund, whom (as stated earlier) I found rather
dull and tired-looking at first, actually builds to display a low
key, steadfast strength that ends up carrying much of the movie's
credibility. Malone—sandwiching this between a meaty role in the
highly popular BATTLE CRY only a year earlier and then an Academy
Award-winning performance (best supporting actress) a year later for
WRITTEN ON THE WIND, brings a solid, feisty touch to her role, but is
given only a limited amount to do.
This
was Roger Corman's directorial debut and was an early release for
American Releasing Corporation which would soon turn into
American-International and for whom Corman would go on to direct and
produce many, many films, mostly low budget entries in
horror/thriller/exploitation genres. Much has been written about
Corman's schlock output over the years, and a certain amount of it is
deserved. Nevertheless the man was responsible for a ton of output
and a good share of it was fairly decent entertainment. Moreover, he
was responsible for recognizing and launching the careers of many
people in various capacities (acting, writing, directing,
cinematography) who would go on to huge, award-winning success.
The
cinematographer on FIVE GUNS WEST, for example, was Floyd Crosby, who
Corman used often, and also did Award-winning work in such films as
TABU, HIGH NOON, and THE WONDERFUL COUNTRY.
The
screenplay for FIVE GUNS was by R. Wright Campbell (who also starred
as John Candy). Campbell would go on to write for numerous television
shows and would receive an Academy Award nomination for the James
Cagney film MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES. He would eventually give up
acting and writing for the screen and turn to novels. As Robert
Campbell he wrote the La-La Land mystery series featuring PI
Whistler and the Jake Hatch railroad detective books. For The
Junkyard Dog he won an Edgar and an Anthony award.
Back
stories and so forth aside, FIVE GUNS WEST is a reasonably
entertaining way to spend 78 minutes. Nothing extraordinary or
ground-breaking. Just a simple little Western tale with some quirky,
interesting touches ... Sometimes that's all you can ask for.
