The Quick Gun

The Quick Gun is a 1964 American Techniscope Western film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Audie Murphy.[2] It was the second of four films produced by Grant Whytock and Edward Small's [3] Admiral Pictures in the 1960s.[4]

The Quick Gun
Spanish release poster
Directed bySidney Salkow
Screenplay byRobert E. Kent
Based onThe Fastest Gun
short story
by Steve Fisher
Produced byGrant Whytock
StarringAudie Murphy
CinematographyLester Shorr
Edited byGrant Whytock
Music byRichard LaSalle
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Admiral Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • April 1964 (1964-04)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000[1]

The film's screenplay was based on Steve Fisher's short story The Fastest Gun that had previously provided the story for two other westerns Top Gun (1955) starring Sterling Hayden and Noose for a Gunman (1960) starring Jim Davis and Ted de Corsia as the villain; both for United Artists. Fisher at this time was also providing the screenplay's for a series of A.C. Lyles second feature Techniscope Westerns for Paramount Pictures.

Plot

Gunfighter Clint Cooper (Audie Murphy) returns to his hometown of Shelby, Montana after two years. He left Shelby in disgrace after killing the town's two hot-tempered but inexperienced young men in self-defense. The father of the young men, Tom Morrison (Walter Sande) feels that Cooper murdered them. Cooper plans to settle down in Shelby to claim his recently deceased father's ranch and marry his old girlfriend, Helen (Merry Anders), the town's schoolteacher.

On the way to Shelby he runs into his old gang, led by Spangler (Ted de Corsia), who plan on not only robbing the town but burning it to the ground and having their way with its womenfolk. Spangler believes his former friend Clint is himself intending to rob Shelby's bank full of money from large cattle sales. Spangler seeks Clint to join his band of 15 men with the motivation of revenging himself on the town that exiled him or else he won't leave alive. Clint breaks free, killing two of his pursuers.

Clint arrives in Shelby to find all of the town's young men have left on a cattle drive. He tries to warn the town of the impending robbery, but everyone except the sheriff, an old friend of his called Scotty (James Best), and old coot Dan Evans (Frank Ferguson) still hates Clint and wants him to leave. Despite this welcome, Clint eventually agrees to help Scotty defend the town against the gang, though Clint discovers that Helen will marry Scotty in a week's time. Meanwhile, Tom and his nephew Rick (Rex Holman) scheme to kill Clint by making it look like self-defense.

Cast

Production

Murphy was paid $37,500 for his performance.[1]

Quotes

Your guns have gotten too fast and too sudden. And from what I hear about your reputation, they have gotten a lot faster and suddener in the last two years. - Sheriff Scotty Grant

See also

References
  1. Don Graham, No Name on the Bullet: The Biography of Audie Murphy, Penguin, 1989 p 296
  2. The Quick Gun at Audie Murphy Memorial Site
  3. p. 192 Larkins, Bob & Magers, Boyd The Films of Audie Murphy McFarland, 1 May 2016
  4. Frank Miller, 'The Quick Gun', Turner Classic Movies accessed 4 June 2012
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