James Arness Takes Starring Part in Gun The Man Down (1956)
John Wayne's Batjac company produced several
westerns written by Burt Kennedy (Seven Men From Now most notable), and I can't
help thinking Wayne would have been better served starring in at least one of
them rather than going abroad for Legend Of The Lost and The Barbarian and The
Geisha. A Gun The Man Down was modest, yes, little better than a TV program at
feature-length to Wayne's
mind, and maybe that's why he used Jim Arness, a vid-hit in Gunsmoke, to lead. Arness
had to be borrowed from the series by former employer Wayne, with Gun The Man Down
listed in trades as independent effort of producer Robert Morrison (Wayne's
brother) and Andrew McLaglen, this the latter's first feature credit as
director. It's a spare western, mostly town-set for economy's sake, with good
dialogue by Kennedy taking up slack for lack of action. Arness is an
"outlaw" by definition, his skirts kept clean (other gang members do
the killing) so as to survive a Code-sanctioned finish. The Morrison-McLaglen
team guided Seven Men From Now (its director Budd Boetticher) and Man In The
Vault in a same year, though John Wayne confided in a letter to John Ford that
maybe he'd brought them along too fast. Based on good result got with Gun The
Man Down, JW may have been unduly critical.
Joe McGrenra describes a years-long search to see "Gun The Man Down":
John,
I am really glad to see you post an article on Gun The Man Down. I literally waited for years to see this movie. I was/am a big James Arness fan and remember finding this tile in Leonard Maltin’s guide back in the 1970’s. Despite review the television listings for years, I had no luck until it was released on DVD a few years back. I have always thought Arness to be underrated. He was content to remain with Gunsmoke for 20 years creating an impressive body of work. Some actors are just showing up and walking through their lines after a few years, but Jim Arness never took the easy way out and was still giving 110.00%, when Gunsmoke was cancelled.
When I finally caught up with Gun The Man Down, I was impressed- a small but well- made western. I thought it was a shame that Arness never followed up with any other features, although he would made several excellent television movies .
1 Comments:
Joe McGrenra describes a years-long search to see "Gun The Man Down":
John,
I am really glad to see you post an article on Gun The Man Down. I literally
waited for years to see this movie. I was/am a big James Arness fan and remember
finding this tile in Leonard Maltin’s guide back in the 1970’s. Despite review
the television listings for years, I had no luck until it was released on DVD a
few years back. I have always thought Arness to be underrated. He was content to
remain with Gunsmoke for 20 years creating an impressive body of work. Some
actors are just showing up and walking through their lines after a few years,
but Jim Arness never took the easy way out and was still giving 110.00%, when
Gunsmoke was cancelled.
When I finally caught up with Gun The Man Down, I was impressed- a small but
well- made western. I thought it was a shame that Arness never followed up with
any other features, although he would made several excellent television movies .
Joe McGrenra
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