The Man with the Gun [DVD]

Amazon.com 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
ASIN: B00153ZQSW
VSKU: DBV.B00153ZQSW.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Robert Mitchum|Jan Sterling|Karen Sharpe|Henry Hull|Emile Meyer|John Lupton|Barbara Lawrence|Ted de Corsia|Leo Gordon|James Westerfield|Jay Adler|Claude Akins|Richard Wilson|N.B. Stone Jr.
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!