Gun Fury (1953)

 

Gun Fury, made in 1953, is a solid, entertaining Western. Expertly directed by Raoul Walsh, it tells the story of a man (Rock Hudson) pursing the outlaws who have taken his gal.

Ben Warren is taking Jennifer (Donna Reed) to his California ranch to marry her and pretty much ignore the rest of the world while he works his land. A veteran of the Civil War, he's tired of killing and just wants to be left alone with his soon-to-be wife.

But the Slayton Gang has other plans. Slayton (Philip Carey) is a very, very unreconstructed Southerner. He and his partner Jess Burgess have a sort-of Jesse and Frank James vibe going on--bitter from the war and striking back at society by becoming outlaws.

Well, this goes for Slayton. Jess (Leo Gordon) is less brutal in his outlook. When a stagecoach robbery results in Jennifer being taken hostage, Jess insists the girl not be harmed and be left behind. This results in JESS being left behind, tied to a post for the vultures to eventually feast upon.

Warren saves Jess and the two team up. Soon, they are joined by an Indian named Johash, who wants vengeance for a sister than Slayton killed. 

So a good guy, a bad guy and a vengeful Indian take up the pursuit of Slayton and his gang as the outlaws ride for the Mexican border. Eventually, they are joined by a Mexican woman whom Slayton spurned.

Raoul Walsh always makes a movie look great. Gun Fury was originally released in 3D, so there's a few camera shots you can tell were there just for the 3D effect, but its not enough to be a distraction. 

And the story is great. There's tension involving the pursuit, while some members of Slayton's gang begin to wonder why Slayton is so determined to slow them down by bringing the woman along. And we gradually realized the Slayton has taken up permanent residence in Crazy Town--convinced that he and Jennifer can use stolen gold to recreate a Antebellum South home in Mexico and live as if the South did indeed rise again. There are shootouts, hostage negotiations, betrayals and some nifty sniper work by Johash.

Slayton's gang includes characters played by Lee Marvin (not yet a star) and Neville Brand. Along with Leo Gordon, that makes this movie a haven for tough guy character actors. Another blogger I ran across while researching this film joked "Where was Jack Elam when they cast this film?" I would add Lee Van Cleef to that list. But, heck, adding Elam and Van Cleef to the movie might have lead to Tough Guy Overload. Marvin and Brand were hard-core combat vets in real life, while Gordon did time in San Quentin before  straightening out his life and turning to acting. Those three alone bring the Tough Guy Rating to about 97 out of 100. 

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