Robert Mitchum portrays an Exterminator--in the American West. He will for a price eliminate any outlaws annoying the peace of any Western town. When his wife (Jan Sterling) in disgust leaves him he pursues her only to encounter his greatest gunfighting challenge. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 883904107224 Manufacturer No: M110722
The same year he delivered one of the indelible performances in American movies--the cracked preacher in The Night of the Hunter--Robert Mitchum played another stranger who comes to town bringing death. In 1955's Man with the Gun, however, Mitchum's on the side of good, even if his actions are viewed through a somewhat ambiguous lens. Clint Tollinger is known throughout the West as a "town tamer," the badass you call in when outlaws get the upper hand in a place. The good citizens of Sheridan City are terrified of a local cattle baron, so Tollinger's arrival is just what they want--at first. His no-nonsense approach to wiping out the bad guys is enough to give a person pause. Meanwhile, Tollinger is reacquainting himself with an old flame, now the local bordello madam (Jan Sterling, from Ace in the Hole), who doesn't want any part of him. Mitchum, all broad-shouldered jackets and sucked-in gut, strides through this with his typically confident appeal, although it must be said he doesn't get much heat going with Sterling. (One wonders what might have happened if one of the uncredited cathouse ladies, Angie Dickinson, had played Sterling's role.) Man with the Gun was directed and co-written by a very civilized man, Richard Wilson, who had worked at Orson Welles' side back in the days of the Mercury Theater and during Welles' early years in Hollywood. He makes this film a thoughtful entry in the post-High Noon era, when Westerns were allowed to be complicated and serious. The main problem is, Man with the Gun just doesn't have a great deal of oomph, despite its good intentions and literate approach. As a Mitchum Western, though, it's solid enough. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
"Robert Mitchum Series ... The Man with the Gun (1955) ... Allied Artists":
Allied Artists. presents "THE MAN WITH THE GUN" (5 November 1955) (84 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) -- Our story line and plot, Our hero Clint Tollinger (Robert Mitchum) comes to town looking for his estranged wife Nelly Bain (Jan Sterling) --- He finds her running the local girls, one of them Angie Dickinson --- He also finds a town and Marshal Lee Sims (Henry Hull) afraid of their own shadow, scared of a landowner they never see who rules through his rowdy sidekicks --- The stranger is a town... more info
Great Western:
Man With The Gun is a great western. Mitchum is the brooding professional gunfighter just passing through, who reluctantly agrees to solve the town's problem with local ruffians and then refuses to quit when his methods draw criticism. Plenty of action. Black and white photography enhances the genre. The overall plot is typical wherein a land baron seeks to gain more and more control of the territory and town and he uses the aforementioned ruffians to intimidate the townfolk. Mitchum makes the whole... more info
Beware of ramped up reviews:
I enjoy westerns, Mitchum is one of my favorite underrated actors and, when it comes to movies I don't recall seeing OR hearing about, I am usually skeptical of strong reviews without the confirmation of well known amazon reviewers. This movie has a 'Top 500' reviewer and that sold me for an inexpensive bet. DON'T BITE!!You have to REALLY like Mitchum to justify this clunker. Maybe the issuers are building big reviewers just to take advantage of this kind of browsing.
Mitchum can't save tedious, cliched B western:
Slow, cliche ridden, poorly paced excuse for a B-Western can't be saved even by Mitchum's strong presence. Overblown musical score, undeveloped secondary characters, uninspired photography. There have been many great movies made with the theme of a town tamer brought in to clean up a tough town, only to be despised for doing his job -- amongst the legion of great films along these lines I'd recommend "Warlock", with Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn. This movie is not in that class. Definitely... more info
