Gunpoint (1965)

Colorado 1880: Drago and his gang of "desperate" outlaws terrorise Colorado towns (and trains), nipping off into nearby New Mexico afterwards to escape the law. Sherif Chad Lucas (Audie Murphy) and deputy Cap ride to keep an eye on a train carrying money Lodgepole's businesses urgently need and spot the desperadoes preparing to rob it. Instructing Cap to bring help the sheriff boards the train, intending to foil the imminent robbery, but tumbles off a carriage roof after being shot by the deputy, who - we learn later - had also tipped off the gang about the train. Just couldn't get good help those days, it seems. There's a cool scene where the train bursts through a water tower blocking the tracks.

Thirsty after succesfully knocking over the train the gang repairs to Nate Harlans's - the Texas Lady Saloon - "across the line" in New Mexico, beyond the sheriff's jurisdiction. Here Nate (Warren Stevens) introduces "the eye-poppinest beauty in the West", Uvalde (I kid you not), played by the delectable Joan Staley. Meanwhile the gang has foiled a plan to import a US Marshall by destroying the telegraph office and two people who happened to be in it. This leaves Sheriff Lucas - whose head was only grazed by the deputy's bullet, leaving him with blurred vision - in a terrible snit and off he marches to the Saloon to face Drago. Turns out "Uvalde" (Bonnie Mitchell or Mitchum actually) and Chad had a thing way back. Things go awfully wrong when Drago makes off with Uvalde, and the chase is on.

In Apache country Chad and his posse come across Nate playing solitaire, having just killed four Apache. He wants to join the posse to get Uvalde back. Pretty soon the "whole Apache nation", having taken exception to Nate killing their four scouts, descend on the party. Helped by Nate the posse fights back, but is reduced in number all the same - also when several of the volunteers elect to return to Lodgepole. The single-minded sheriff, not caring that he has no real authority in New Mexico and determined to save the town by getting the money back, pushes on, ignoring the deputy's objections. Soon they spot Uvalde, whom Drago left as bait to draw off the Apache, being chased on horseback. Chad rushes to her rescue and reunites her with her fiance, who decides to stay with posse for protection from the Indians.

Chad decides on a shortcut across a mountain to make up for lost time spent on Apache and damsels in distress, and the deputy hatches a plan to get rid of his rival. However, the rock he sends down on the sheriff bringing up the rear is heroically intercepted by the Greek, Nikos, the witness to the Lodgepole killings. Chad is suspicious, but they carry on. While Drago and the others goad a handy bunch of horses into a stampede Chad and Cap scout ahead, and the deputy makes his move. He pulls a gun on the sheriff, who manages to kick it out of his hand and dive for cover from the stampeding horses. Everyone manages to evade the horses except Cap who is trampled to death.

The dwindling posse, horseless now, stumbles onto the camp of the three good-for-nothings who rounded up the horses, and find themselves accused of running them off. After Chad beats up the biggest good-for-nothing and Uvalde cooks them dinner, Nate manages to use their greed to convince them to help catch Drago in return for $21,000 of the loot. And Uvalde finally finds out what happened to Chad when he disappeared after a cattle run instead of returning to her. A bank-robbery sideline didn't work out, and after being on the run for 2 years he turned himself in. Tragically his stint in jail caused him to return home only a few days after Uvalde left town. It was that close. And now she is engaged to Nate, who seems to geniunely care for her, but is starting to get a bit worried about the rekindling of his fiancee's old relationship.

Noting how the camp could be a deadly trap should Drago attack them Chad pre-empts the desperadoes by ambushing them when they do pitch up during the night. Losing one of their number the rest of the horse-traders decide to call it a day, leaving only Chad to continue the hunt since Nate now wants to leave as well. But Chad finds out that Uvalde knows where the gang is hiding since her brother Mitch is riding with them. Since the sheriff is determined to have justice prevail, brother or no brother, Nate conks him one on the noggin with his gun, and the pair takes off to find Mitch.

The sheriff's head seems to be as hard as his heart, and he shows up at the gang's hideout in the mountains almost as soon as Nate and Uvalde reached it. Realising that the outlaw lookouts are going to spot and kill Chad, Uvalde races from Nate's side to warn him, and is shot in the arm. Nate joins them and during the following shoot-out all the remaining members of the gang are killed, including Mitch, whose answer to Chad's offer of amnesty is to shoot at him.

As Chad comes towards them with the recovered money Nate measures him with an evil eye and Uvalde realises what he is up to. She pleads with him not to do anything since he doesn't need the money. However, Nate feels that he needs "a little balm for a broken heart", since he knows now that Uvalde has made her choice and he has lucked out. Unfortunately Chad's blurred vision chooses this moment to manifest itself again, and Nate notices that he does not seem to know where his opponent is. Circling round behind the sheriff Nate throws a stone in the opposite direction and sees Chad turning blindly towards the sound. He pipes up, telling Chad that he is behind him, and the sheriff turns, drops to the ground, and shoots him in the chest. Dying, Nate notes that it "never pays to even the odds". How true. Chad and Uvalde, who's holding up very well for someone shot in the arm, walk off arm in arm. The end.

Not a bad film, with a worthy performance by Audie Murphy and a story that's interesting enough. It does trot out all the clichés - the woman who needs to be rescued (though she is more feisty than most she never does any shootin'), the evil bank- and train-robbing gang, the posse, the strong silent good guy who isn't diverted from the path of justice no matter what, the star-crossed lovers who get back together, the rich bad guy (Harlan), and so on. I actually found Nate Harlan quite a sympathetic character - in the final analysis he is never motivated by money, but by what seems like geniune fondness, if not love, for his financee. He never poses as something he is not; he is a gambler, on the wrong side of the law, and he knows full well that his establishment is frequented by bad guys. At least he doesn't collude with them. As for his attempt to off Chad and take the money, I'd be cheesed off too if the girlfriend I saved from drudgery and low-class saloons dumped me for the sheriff - especially after I imported that nice dress from all the way back East.

many thanks to the Audie Murphy Memorial Website for the picture

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