Top Gun (1955)

This film is a low-budgeted re-working of the classic film "High Noon". Instead of the hero being the sheriff, however, Rick Martin's a gunman who is thoroughly hated by his old home town and he returns to try to save them from a band of sociopaths headed their way. At first, they are very hostile towards Martin and make his stay short and nasty--and refuse his offer of help. But when the gang approaches, the town shows itself to be gutless again and again...and folks somehow think Martin is going to help them regardless of his reception.This film would have been a lot better had it not been so much like "High Noon". It's not a remake but coming just a few years after, you cannot help but make the comparison...and in every way it comes up a bit short. A decent time-passer made a bit better by Hayden's strong performance.

This movie doesn't get much respect from the other reviewers on this board, but if you watched it back to back on the Encore Western Channel following 1960's "Gun Fight" like I just did, you'd think it was a pretty good Western. What made it for me was seeing John Dehner in his role as a greasy, bearded gang leader intent on looting the town of Casper, Wyoming. Man, that was some make up job on Dehner, he looked tougher in this role than any other I've seen him in. Trouble is, he was pretty inept when you come right down to it. He lost what, about fifteen men in the raid on the town? Makes you wonder how he ever made it that far as a career outlaw. He didn't make one right call, especially after having half of his gang taken out right at the entrance of town. Oh well.For his part, Sterling Hayden's a pretty laid back gunslinger as he investigates the circumstances of his mother's death and the sale of her ranch to town big-wig Canby Judd (William Bishop). There's always some nitwit cowpoke gunning for the fastest draw in the territory, and this time it's Rod Taylor's turn to get his due from Rick Martin's (Hayden) fast gun.I had to scratch my head over that phony mortgage business though, that deal whereby Judd hoodwinked Martin's mother into selling her ranch to him. It was explained that she signed a bill of sale that was somehow covered over by a mortgage note in a latter day cut and paste job. I realize the 1880's was a simpler time, but really, how does something like that work? I guess if you're not paying close attention to the picture this would blow right by you, but as you can see, I'm still thinking about it.Well we've seen it before in picture's like "High Noon", a woman saves the day at the end of the story by getting the drop on the bad guy after coming to her senses. Martin made the right call by going after Quentin (Dehner) even with a gun pointed at his back. You just knew that somewhere off screen, Miss Mead (Karen Booth) was getting ready to break off the engagement to her slimy fiancée. Nice shooting there Laura.

I'm a big fan of Westerns but this one.... whew, what a stinker! I think what turned me off almost right off the bat was the inane dialog. I think I could have written better dialog than this when I was in eighth grade. And the poor actors! Given this terrible dialog, none of them came across looking anything but ridiculous. Really, I'm not kidding. Some of this is little better than what you'd get in an Ed Wood film. The biggest tragedy is Sterling Hayden. He was probably THE "big" star in this movie which if you called it a B-Western, you'd be lavishing praise upon it. This is what should be called a B-minus Western perhaps. Pity Sterling Hayden, who appeared at other times along with Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, and other major talents. For him to appear in a vehicle this poor must have been something he tried to downplay for the rest of his life.One annoying thing about this movie is all the men look like they haven't shaved in a week and their faces are all greasy. I know in the old West guys weren't always well groomed but to a man this is a movie that makes you want to just go 'EWWWW!' Really, this is a crummy Western. Denver Pyle also had to live this one down, especially after appearances in so many great Westerns. Bad, bad movie.

Western fans who like their stories brisk and to the point, should find enough reason to like this mildly interesting western with STERLING HAYDEN as a gunslinger who returns to his hometown after a prison stay and runs into trouble again when he finds corruption rampant and the town's citizens all have him wrongly responsible for a series of murders.KAREN BOOTH is the love interest and she gets to play a crucial role toward the climax when she saves Hayden from a gunman's bullet. WILLIAM BISHOP is a corrupt landowner who had something to do with the death of Hayden's mom and becomes his staunch adversary throughout the plot.The opening credits fail to mention ROD TAYLOR who plays a town bully interested in provoking Hayden into a gunfight. He makes a convincing braggart with hardly a trace of his Austrlian accent showing. But the real villain of the piece is JOHN DEHNER as the head of an outlaw gang that Sterling Hayden tries to warn the villagers about.It's a decent enough western with a theme similar to HIGH NOON in that the town's sheriff has trouble rounding up a posse to take care of the invading outlaws.Summing up: All of the principal players do a decent enough job but it's more or less a standard western with some conniving characters getting their comeuppance in time for Hayden and Booth to ride off into the sunset.