Man With the Gun (1955) [VHS]

Man With the Gun (1955) [VHS]
by Richard Wilson

Man With the Gun (1955) [VHS]

List Price: ~~$9.94~~
Our Price: $9.65
You Save: $0.29 (3%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.47 (click here)
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases

Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada

Product details

Actor: Emile Meyer, Henry Hull, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe, Robert Mitchum
Director: Richard Wilson
Cinematographer: Lee Garmes
Writer: Richard Wilson
Editor: Gene Milford
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Writer: N.B. Stone Jr.
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 83 minutes
Release Date: 1998-09-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

VHS Movie Reviews of Man With the Gun (1955) [VHS]

Movie Review: Not One Of Mitchum's Best
Summary: 2 Stars

MAN WITH A GUN(1955)---Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe, Henry Hull, Emile Meyer, John Lupton, Barbara Lawrence, Leo Gordon
A "so-so" western with Mitchum playing a man who rides into town looking for Jan Sterling, with whom he had a daughter(it's never made clear whether they we married or not)---Sterling left Mitchum because she didn't like the way he made his living. Mitchum wants info on the daughter and learns that she took ill and died at around age 4 or 5. Sterling is the "Mother Goose" to a bevy of dance-hall girls who work the local "hot spot". Mitchum's "occupation" is, "town-tamer", meaning that he hires out to rid towns of the "bad guys" when the local law can't do the job(echoes of WARLOCK, although that's a far better movie than this one). Mitchum soon discovers that he has ridden into such a town. He is hired to "do his thing" and sets about doing so with ruthless efficiency. His proficiency at his job necessitates an ultimate showdown with the guy causing all the lawlessness. Of course, Mitchum triumphs, he and Sterling reconcile, Mitchum renounces "town-taming", and the sun shines brightly. As I said, this is a "so-so" film---not terribly good---but not all that bad either. It's best when Mitchum is "on the job" and showing the hooligans the "error of their ways". It bogs down in the scenes between Mitchum and Sterling. Henry Hull is good as the local sheriff who just isn't up to taking on the "baddies" alone, but is happy to help Mitchum deal with them. Leo Gordon is, as always, good as one of the miscreants who eventually pays the price for crossing Mitchum. The movie also has Angie Dickinson and Claude Akins in unbilled, bit-parts---Dickinson plays one of the dance-hall gals and, of course, Akins plays one of the bad guys. If you like westerns, you could do worse than watching this one.

Movie Review: Excellent Western Classic
Summary: 5 Stars

Excellent western classic. Robert Mitchum was a great actor; and sadly actors like him are no longer around to make the classic movies that are much better than what is being produced today.

Movie Review: Town Tamer
Summary: 4 Stars

Man With the Gun is pretty much forgotten now, but caused a minor storm of media interest back in 1955 when Robert Mitchum turned down both Jett Rink in Giant (which had actually been written for him and which was subsequently substantially reworked) and Charles Laughton's intended version of The Naked and the Dead to make it instead.

Despite some obvious production problems and some harsh lighting that occasionally renders both Mitch and Jan Sterling in unflattering tones, it's a terrific dark western that more than stands comparison with his earlier Blood on the Moon as his `town tamer' sets to work on a town that never had the chance to grow up before getting run down by the local badmen before turning out to - possibly - be almost as bad as the men he despatches. Certainly his way of dealing with news of a death in the family - burning a saloon to the ground and goading its manager into trying to kill him - doesn't inspire much confidence in his stability.

As well as a good script and a surprisingly good supporting turn from the usually irritating but here well cast Henry Hull, it also boasts a strikingly good early Alex North score, which even includes an early workout for one of his tormented emotional cues that would later turn up in Spartacus.

Movie Review: Stars Mitchum and Sterling NOT Adler and Ames
Summary: 5 Stars

As of December 24, 2008 Amazon lists the "stars" of this movie as Jay Adler and Florence Ames, which might cause people to overlook this great Robert Mitchum and Jan Sterling flick. I tried to use Amazon's "catalog update" form to correct this error, but got email saying they could not verify my suggestion, even though I sent them a link to the IMDB page which listed Robert Mitchum and Jan Sterling as the top credited actors.

Amazon is showing Adler and Ames are shown as the stars of the movie, even though they have only minor parts, because ALPHABETICALLY they are the first two actors. Mitchum and Sterling don't even make it on Amazon's list of actors because their names appear so late in the alphabet.

I'm hoping someone else can come up with a way to get Amazon to fix their catalog: I'd hate to think Amazon's error will cause people to miss seeing this fine film.

Movie Review: "Robert Mitchum Series ... The Man with the Gun (1955) ... Allied Artists"
Summary: 5 Stars

Allied Artists. presents "THE MAN WITH THE GUN" (5 November 1955) (84 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) -- Our story line and plot, Our hero Clint Tollinger (Robert Mitchum) comes to town looking for his estranged wife Nelly Bain (Jan Sterling) --- He finds her running the local girls, one of them Angie Dickinson --- He also finds a town and Marshal Lee Sims (Henry Hull) afraid of their own shadow, scared of a landowner they never see who rules through his rowdy sidekicks --- The stranger is a town tamer by trade, and he accepts a $500 commission to sort things out --- Mitchum is brilliant, idiosyncratic, usually undervalued Westerns import his film noir persona to etch some compellingly dark character sketches --- Mitchum takes to his character well and always seemed to enjoy the darker more complex characters that some of his westerns would serve him up with --- Mitchum's regression from soft-spoken stranger to deranged murderer, with a host of dark emotions in between, is a marvel of expressive, physical acting at it's best --- This film keeps a very fast and exciting pace, it really keeps you on the edge --- Good supporting cast by Jan Sterling as Mitchum's saloon-gal wife, Henry Hull as an ageing marshal, John Lupton as an honest young farmer, and Emile Meyer as the town's leading citizen --- This oater is a Classic Western from the '50s not to be missed.

Under the production staff of:
Richard Wilson - Director / Screenwriter / Screen Story
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. - Producer
N.B. Stone, Jr. - Screenwriter / Screen Story
Lee Garmes - Cinematographer
Emil Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision
Alex North - Composer (Music Score)
Gene Milford - Editor
Hilyard M. Brown - Art Director
Edward Boyle - Set Designer
Jerry Bos - Costume Designer
Evelyn Carruth - Costume Designer
John Keane - Sound/Sound Designer
Don L. Cash - Makeup
Sid Sidman - First Assistant Director
Anthony Carras - Sound Editor

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Robert Mitchum
Date of Birth: 6 August 1917 - Bridgeport, Connecticut
Date of Death: 1 July 1997 - Santa Barbara, California

the cast includes:
Robert Mitchum ... Clint Tollinger
Jan Sterling ... Nelly Bain
Karen Sharpe ... Stella Atkins
Henry Hull ... Marshal Lee Sims
Emile Meyer ... Saul Atkins
John Lupton ... Jeff Castle
Barbara Lawrence ... Ann Wakefield
Ted de Corsia ... 'Frenchy' Lescaux (as Ted De Corsia)
Leo Gordon ... Ed Pinchot
James Westerfield ... Mr. Zender (drummer)
Jay Adler ... Cal
Claude Akins ... Jim Reedy
Florenz Ames ... Doc Hughes
Joe Barry ... Dade Holman
Norma Calder?n ... Luz
Thom Conroy ... Bill Emory
Angie Dickinson ... Kitty
Mara McAfee ... Mable
Burt Mustin ... Hotel desk clerk
Maidie Norman ... Sarah (Nelly's maid)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of B-Westerns with high drama, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- please stand up and take a bow Western Classics --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 84 mins on DVD ~ Allied Artists ~ (5/13/2008)

Write your own review

Summary of Man With the Gun (1955) [VHS]

The same year he delivered one of the indelible performances in American movies--the cracked preacher in The Night of the Hunter--Robert Mitchum played another stranger who comes to town bringing death. In 1955's Man with the Gun, however, Mitchum's on the side of good, even if his actions are viewed through a somewhat ambiguous lens. Clint Tollinger is known throughout the West as a "town tamer," the badass you call in when outlaws get the upper hand in a place. The good citizens of Sheridan City are terrified of a local cattle baron, so Tollinger's arrival is just what they want--at first. His no-nonsense approach to wiping out the bad guys is enough to give a person pause. Meanwhile, Tollinger is reacquainting himself with an old flame, now the local bordello madam (Jan Sterling, from Ace in the Hole), who doesn't want any part of him. Mitchum, all broad-shouldered jackets and sucked-in gut, strides through this with his typically confident appeal, although it must be said he doesn't get much heat going with Sterling. (One wonders what might have happened if one of the uncredited cathouse ladies, Angie Dickinson, had played Sterling's role.) Man with the Gun was directed and co-written by a very civilized man, Richard Wilson, who had worked at Orson Welles' side back in the days of the Mercury Theater and during Welles' early years in Hollywood. He makes this film a thoughtful entry in the post-High Noon era, when Westerns were allowed to be complicated and serious. The main problem is, Man with the Gun just doesn't have a great deal of oomph, despite its good intentions and literate approach. As a Mitchum Western, though, it's solid enough. --Robert Horton

Classics Video

Video Genres

Movies most talked about in Classics Video

Across the Wide Missouri [VHS]
MGM/UA Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $50.00

Friendly Persuasion [VHS]
Warner Home Video; Release date: 1998-10-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.80
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Cat Ballou [VHS]
Sony Pictures; Release date: 1994-06-23; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers [VHS]
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1994-08-08; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.14
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

The Wind [VHS]
MGM/UA Home Video; Release date: 1999-05-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $16.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.98~~

Annie Get Your Gun (50th Anniversary Special Edition) [VHS]
Warner Home Video; Release date: 2000-11-14; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.77

Girl of the Golden West [VHS]
MGM (Warner); Release date: 1992-12-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $39.74

Rose Marie (1936) [VHS]
MGM (Warner); Release date: 1998-09-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $31.95

Calamity Jane [VHS]
Warner Home Video; Release date: 1992-04-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

Northwest Passage [VHS]
MGM (Warner); Release date: 1994-06-22; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $44.28

Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs

Cimarron
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $5.68
Price in other shops: ~~$12.97~~

The Gunfight at Dodge City
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $7.80
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Warlock
Twentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2005-05-24; DVD
Best price: $7.96
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

The Day of the Outlaw
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $6.74
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

The Last Wagon
WIDMARK,RICHARD; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Only the Valiant
PACK,GREGORY; Release date: 2008-07-01; DVD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

The Westerner
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $7.73
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Saddle the Wind
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $5.91
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

The Stalking Moon
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $5.80
Price in other shops: ~~$12.97~~

Yellow Sky
PECK,GREGORY; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $7.30
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~