Gunman's Walk

Gunman's Walk

Not your average Western

One topic dealt with too rarely in Westerns is the phenomenon whereby early settlers to the Old West, before the law came, too often flouted the law, even after it did come. Fans of the HBO series "Deadwood" are very familiar with this in the form of Timothy Olyphant's character, the saloon keeper Al Swearengen.

But decades before "Deadwood" would revive the theme, a brilliant little film called Gunman's Walk perfected it. In it, Van Heflin plays no-nonsense horse rancher Lee Hackett who has his hands full with two sons, Ed Hackett (Tab Hunter), and Davy Hackett (James Darren). But when Lee tries to use his influence to protect Ed from a murder charge things spiral out of control for all involved.

The film deals not only with the sense of entitlement of the white settlers as expressed through this conflict, but also deals head-on with the rampant anti-Native racism is inescapably intertwined with the setting.

The Good: 

• powerful performances by Van Heflin and Tab Hunter
• propulsive pacing

The Bad:

• the usual Native Americans portrayed by Anglos in redface

Stuff to watch for:

• horses galore

Pairing: Chili and hardtack

The Verdict:
**** out of *****