Gunslinger *** (1956, John Ireland, Beverly Garland, Allison Hayes) – Classic Movie Review 7721

Director Roger Corman’s 1956 very quick, very low cost Western stars John Ireland, Beverly Garland and Allison Hayes, with Corman regulars Dick Miller, William Schallert, Bruno VeSota and Jonathan Haze in support.

With the screenplay by writers Charles B Griffith and Mark Hanna, Corman comes up with a new angle on the Western yarn, which has heroine Rose Hood (Beverly Garland) turn into temporary Texas small town marshal after her husband is ambushed and gunned down. Then she is the target for quick-draw hired gunfighter killer Cane Miro (John Ireland), hired by gorgeous but nasty saloon owner Erica Page (Alison Hayes).

Gunslinger is very cheap and often preposterous, and the plot is every which way, with loose ends, but still the movie is odd, energetic and surprising enough to hold the interest throughout, though it is no masterpiece either.

Also in the cast are Martin Kingsley, Jonathan Haze, Margaret Campbell, Bruno VeSota, Chris Alcaide, Dick Miller, George Offerman Jr, William Schallert, Paul McGuire and Aaron Saxon.

Gunslinger is directed by Roger Corman, runs 71 minutes, is made by Roger Corman Productions, is distributed by American Releasing, is written by Charles B Griffith and Mark Hanna, is shot in Pathécolor by Fred West, is produced by Roger Corman and is scored by Ronald Stein.

Gunslinger was filmed in seven days, one day over schedule, shooting at the Iverson Ranch and Jack Ingram Ranch in Los Angeles. It is the third of Corman’s four Fifties Westerns, following Five Guns West (1955) and Apache Woman (1955) and preceding The Oklahoma Woman (1956).

Hayes broke her arm when she fell off a horse during the filming. Garland claimed it was not an accident and that she intentionally slid from her horse to get out of the film. Corman also shot a couple of close-ups of Hayes while they were waiting for her ambulance.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7721

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