rap-39 This movie should be a mandatory viewing for all students in the various theatrical curriculum in Universities. The directing is very, very poor (to say the least) having Murphy, Anders, and others perform in a stilted, confined manner. The "tough guy", Ted de Corsia, constantly overacts to the point of being obnoxious at times. Most of the extras look like they were recruited from the home for the aged just prior to filming, with some seemingly enjoying their first time as an actor/actress. What I find amazing is that at nights the entire "town" has more lighting then in any normal sunny day. The clothes everyone is wearing appears to have been cleaned and pressed just prior to that scenes filming. Perspiration drenched clothes are dry and well pressed in what is supposed to be the next scene a few minutes later. The close up camera work is OK, but there are far too many wide shots that don't fit the action of the time. Merry Anders is a beautiful person; but the outstanding hairdo could not possibly have been accomplished during the time frame the movie represents. And on and on and on… Unbelievable!!! I like both Audie Murphy and Merry Anders very much as performers. They certainly didn't deserve to be displayed in this shoddy film. The movie could have been excellent, but it was just the opposite, I'm very sorry to comment.

Spikeopath The Quick Gun is directed by Sidney Salkow and written by Robert E. Kent. It stars Audie Murphy, Merry Anders, James Best, Ted de Corsia, Walter Sande and Rex Holman. A Techniscope/Technicolor production with cinematography by Lester Shorr and music by Richard La Shelle.1964 saw three Audie Murphy Westerns released, Bullet for a Badman was rather good, Apache Rifles was just above average and The Quick Gun was quite frankly poor. Which is a shame since the premise and double pronged dose of villainy showed good promise on the page. Plot essentially sees Murphy as Clint Cooper, a gunman returning to the town of Shelby two years after he had left because of killing two men. Although he was forced into the fight, many of the town denizens consider him an evil force, a problem since he is trying to get the whole town to understand that a gang of outlaws are on their way to pillage all and sundry. With the father of the two men killed by Cooper after his blood, the gang on their way and very much having Cooper in their sights since they know him well, Cooper has got it all to do to win the heart of the gal he loves and settle down in peace on his deceased father's ranch. Of course it's a narrative tailor made for a Murphy character, defend the town against all hostilities whilst proving himself as a just man. But it never amounts to much more than a few half hearted up-tempo scenes. There are a number of villains for Cooper to deal with, but they are weakly performed by the actors, marking them out as unconvincing, with Walter Sande as Tom Morrison laughable as we are expected to believe his old and bulky frame can give a lithe Murphy a good fist fight. This is one of the many false things that dominate the picture, the fights are ultra slow, the stunt doubles all too obvious and the town of Shelby itself is one of the most unconvincing I have seen in a B Western. The interiors are all pristine and pretty, often looking like how someone would decorate a Wild West themed restaurant, badly artificial.There's a decent sequence involving flames and as ever, Murphy is watchable and likable even in the most tawdry of Oaters, but this really smacks of unprofessionalism by those around him. Making it hard to recommend to anyone but the staunchest of Audie's fans. 5/10

Robert J. Maxwell I'd just finished watching this without paying much attention to the title and figured I'd have no trouble finding it on IMDb.com. What a mistake. Hollywood had been grinding out cheap Westerns forever but by this time, the mid 60s, the rivalry with television must have gotten frenzied. Few actors of consequence bothered any longer with these inexpensive effort. The 50s had produced some superb example of what were called "adult Westerns," meaning the target audience was older than ten, but by 1964 the genre was moribund. Nope. "The Quick Gun" did not stand out from the list of desperately blank titles.Murphy is returning to his home town of Shelby to warn the residents of an impending raid by the notorious Ted DeCorsia's gang. But they don't want him around. Before he left, he became a fast draw, always in trouble, and now no one trusts him. Not even his old friend who is now the sheriff and who has been a-courting that blond gal who always had a kinda crush on Murphy. The sheriff dies bravely, although die he must because he has to be gotten out of the way so that Murphy can wind up with that there blond gal with the 1964 brassiere. The plot isn't worth going into any farther.In some ways the most interesting feature of the movie is the musical score by Richard LaSalle. It's extraordinarily dull. Except for a few suspenseful periods when it lapses into a barely recognizable "Carlotta's Theme" by Bernard Hermann from "Vertigo." I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe it, but if you listen closely you'll see just what I mean.Murphy performs as Audie Murphy. He was always Audie Murphy, just as Ted DeCorsia was always Ted DeCorsia. In the course of his career, Murphy gave one triumphant performance -- in John Huston's "The Red Badge of Courage." He still was playing Audie Murphy but that was precisely what the template called for.

mge-6 This is basically the same story as the 1960 film, Noose for a Gunman. Same writers, Steve Fisher & Robert E. Kent. Same production co., Robert E. Kent Productions. Ted de Corsia even plays the leader of the gang of 'bad guys' in both films. I prefer Noose for a Gunman over The Quick Gun, it seems to play out better. Along with that, Noose for a Gunman has quite a few of the best character actors: Jim Davis, Barton MacLane, Leo Gordon, Harry Carey Jr.,Lane Chandler, John Hart & Kermit Maynard. Lyn Thomas plays the female interest in 'Noose'. Noose for a Gunman is filmed in beautiful black & white, while The Quick Gun was in color. There is only four years between the two films, which seems like a short period of time for a remake/re-telling of the same story. This is not a bad film, but you should see them both to get the 'Big Picture'.