Gun Fury *** (1953, Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Phil Carey, Roberta Haynes, Leo Gordon, Lee Marvin, Neville Brand) – Classic Movie Review 6688

‘A WOMAN WRONGED…A MAN TO AVENGE HER!… and he rode south to do it!’ Director Raoul Walsh’s 1953 Western stars Rock Hudson as just married Ben Warren, who brings his new bride Jennifer Ballard (Donna Reed) out to the wild West, where she is snatched off the coach in a holdup by crazy gunman Frank Slayton (Phil [Philip] Carey) and his band of outlaws.

Warren is left for dead and so, when he recovers, the avenging has to ride south and give chase with a couple of Slayton’s other enemies.

Gun Fury’s routine story that is told for considerably more than it is worth by major director Walsh, who surprisingly seems to have slipped to very mundane directing assignments by this time.

Gun Fury is helped by a bunch of good actors, and especially Lee Marvin as Blinky, Neville Brand as Brazos, and Carey, who seems to be enjoying himself hugely in an ideal role for him as the ruthless villain.

It is shot in 3D and Technicolor by Lester H White, and written by Irving Wallace and Roy Huggins, based on the novel Ten Against Caesar by Kathleen B George and Robert A Granger. It runs 83 minutes, is a Columbia release, produced by Lewis J Rachmil, scored by Mischa Bakaleinikoff, George Duning, Paul Sawtell, Marlin Skiles and Irving Gertz, and designed by Ross Bellah.

Also in the cast are Roberta Haynes, Leo Gordon, Ray Thomas, Bob Herron, Phil Rawlins, John L Cason, Forrest Lewis, Don Carlos, Pat Hogan, Mel Welles, Post Park, Charlita, John Dierkes, Carl Harbaugh and Maudie Prickett.

Hudson might look heroic on screen but in real life he was suffering from appendicitis at the end of the shoot.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6688

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