A certain exhaustion had set by the mid-fifties
re westerns. Exhibs complained of surfeit in cavalry v. redskin themes, knowing
television fed steady diet of same, and for free, so what was lure of these in
theatres except color and a wider screen? Still, there was profit potential, if
slim, in event ones could be made cheap enough, to which enter Sam Katzman and
his Clover Productions, eternal sweeper behind parades to a boxoffice. Gun was
assembled rather than produced, being recycle sitefor stock footage Katzman
bought from majors who'd staged Indian action years before, and on larger
budgets. A lot of stuff here was recognizable from 20th's Buffalo Bill, and
better eyes than mine will spot borrowed highlights from elsewhere. William
Castle directs, though honestly, shouldn't Buffalo Bill's William Wellman and
his second unit be credited? The story is something of a lift as well,
from superiors Winchester
'73 and Springfield Rifle of a few seasons back. All were focused on firearms
that changed tactic, and to Katzman and Castle's credit, they do at least
demonstrate how breach loaders enabled quicker shots. A willing cast
cross-references Clovers previous and to come, as well as sci-fi gone before.Richard Denning was just ahead of coping withAtom Brainsand Black Scorpions,
while Paula Raymond had lately finished a round with The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Lead man Dennis Morgan was fresh out of Warner pact; this must have
been startling gulp of catchpenny reality for him. TCM has run The Gun That
Won The West in gratifying 1.85, such good presentation always a help to modest
pics like this.
Actually, Lionel B., Castle directed quite a few westerns for Katzman. Count me among those who think William Castle was certainly several notches above average as a director of catchpenny B product... at the START of his career. His WHISTLER and CRIME DOCTOR entries are, by far, the best episodes in those respective series, and those two series are, in turn, among the most interesting B things going in the mid forties. And don't forget WHEN STRANGERS MARRY, one of the top B noirs of the era. But almost as soon as he started cranking out Katzman quickies, his focus seems to have shifted to just getting the damn things done, not so much making them good. By time he made the horror films we all remember, the guy seemed totally wrapped up in finding the next crazy-ass premise and the even crazier-ass way to promote it. The function of actually directing the films looks to have bored him; even by the very lenient standards of the genre, this stuff is always lazily, even poorly directed. Still, he usually imbued even his crappiest thrillers with a kind of gleeful-teenagers-ineptly-telling-a-ghost-story fun.
I'm another guy with a bit of a soft spot for William Castle as director. I think "The Whistler", "The Voice of the Whistler" and "Mysterious Intruder' are all exceptional.For some reason, though, I've never cared for "When Strangers Marry". Maybe it's because,knowing its cult reputation before I saw it, I probably expected something as good as "Detour" or "The Devil Thumbs a Ride". But I also liked a lot of Castle's 50's output. "It's a Small World" is an intriguing curio, blunt-edged but poignant. And I'm a sucker for the vest pocket Technicolor epics he turned out during that decade. "Serpent of the Nile" 's probably my favorite with a black-tressed Rhonda Fleming ensnaring William Lundigan and Raymond Burr on smartly re-purposed sets from Rita Hayworth's "Salome". I also like "The Saracen Blade" with crusader Ricardo Montalban and a cunning Carolyn Jones. In "Slaves of Babylon", Castle got stuff out of Linda Christian no other director ever did. She siezes the screen every time she's on it. Reminds me of how Michael Curtiz managed the same kind of thing with Bella Darvi in "The Egyptian". "The Battle of Rogue River" with George Montgomery and Richard Denning is a way above average western. And then, of course, there's "The Tingler" whose loopy charms include taps running red and a superb turn from an actress called Patricia Cutts, whom I only ever saw once after that, years later on "Coronation Street". I must admit most of Castle's 60's output failed to grab me - except for maybe "Strait-Jacket", but most of that was down to Joan Crawford's willingness to go for broke no matter how threadbare the circumstances. Still, I can't help thinking Castle probably did a good job cheering her on.
5 Comments:
Watched this some time back. Dull, really dully. Even Paula Raymond couldn't save it for me.
William Castle, directing? That should be a warning sign right then and there. Most likely, he was out of his element doing a Western.
I dunno, Castle directed four of the "Whistler" movies at Columbia, which isn't to be sniffed at.
Actually, Lionel B., Castle directed quite a few westerns for Katzman. Count me among those who think William Castle was certainly several notches above average as a director of catchpenny B product... at the START of his career. His WHISTLER and CRIME DOCTOR entries are, by far, the best episodes in those respective series, and those two series are, in turn, among the most interesting B things going in the mid forties. And don't forget WHEN STRANGERS MARRY, one of the top B noirs of the era. But almost as soon as he started cranking out Katzman quickies, his focus seems to have shifted to just getting the damn things done, not so much making them good. By time he made the horror films we all remember, the guy seemed totally wrapped up in finding the next crazy-ass premise and the even crazier-ass way to promote it. The function of actually directing the films looks to have bored him; even by the very lenient standards of the genre, this stuff is always lazily, even poorly directed. Still, he usually imbued even his crappiest thrillers with a kind of gleeful-teenagers-ineptly-telling-a-ghost-story fun.
I'm another guy with a bit of a soft spot for William Castle as director. I think "The Whistler", "The Voice of the Whistler" and "Mysterious Intruder' are all exceptional.For some reason, though, I've never cared for "When Strangers Marry". Maybe it's because,knowing its cult reputation before I saw it, I probably expected something as good as "Detour" or "The Devil Thumbs a Ride". But I also liked a lot of Castle's 50's output. "It's a Small World" is an intriguing curio, blunt-edged but poignant. And I'm a sucker for the vest pocket Technicolor epics he turned out during that decade. "Serpent of the Nile" 's probably my favorite with a black-tressed Rhonda Fleming ensnaring William Lundigan and Raymond Burr on smartly re-purposed sets from Rita Hayworth's "Salome". I also like "The Saracen Blade" with crusader Ricardo Montalban and a cunning Carolyn Jones. In "Slaves of Babylon", Castle got stuff out of Linda Christian no other director ever did. She siezes the screen every time she's on it. Reminds me of how Michael Curtiz managed the same kind of thing with Bella Darvi in "The Egyptian". "The Battle of Rogue River" with George Montgomery and Richard Denning is a way above average western. And then, of course, there's "The Tingler" whose loopy charms include taps running red and a superb turn from an actress called Patricia Cutts, whom I only ever saw once after that, years later on "Coronation Street". I must admit most of Castle's 60's output failed to grab me - except for maybe "Strait-Jacket", but most of that was down to Joan Crawford's willingness to go for broke no matter how threadbare the circumstances. Still, I can't help thinking Castle probably did a good job cheering her on.
Post a Comment
<< Home