Gunman's Walk (1958)

Gunmans Walk is a little known western but superior to many of it's better known counterparts. Quite why it's not better thought of is a bit of a mystery to me. A young man goes off the rails while his dad tries to cover up his misdeeds. Van Heflin is superb as the rich father who just wants his two lads to be like him. Tab Hunter also excels as the hot headed brother who just wants to make a name for himself without his fathers intervention. A strong supporting cast all add there bit to the impressive mix. The cinematography is outstanding and it also features a good musical score. Whilst it may lack the gun play of many westerns the clever script makes this compelling at all times. I found this to be an enthralling and intelligent western with a great ending. For lovers of westerns, this really is a must see. Highly recommended.

Van Heflin and Tab Hunter both deliver commanding performances in this quite gripping western about a hard as nails, old- time rancher father who wants both his son's to be tough and gun savvy. Trouble soon arises as the son played by Tab Hunter becomes too headstrong while the other son played by James Darren, insists he doesn't need a gun to prove his manhood. Problem is for some reason Van Heflin makes no bones about his approval for the son who is basically spoiled and ruthless. Grim reality sets in when Heflin realizes his son has become an out of control animal with no morals and basically must be put down by him. Although James Darren's role isn't quite as active as Hunters, he finely portrays the kind and gentler brother who falls in love with a half breed, played by Kathryn Grant. Even though the end of Hunters life is violent, there is a very touching scene between Heflin, Darren and Grant to close out the story. It is hard not to give a full synopsis of this powerful story, full of conflicts, tension and violence. I appreciated the story and strongly recommend the reader to watch this western film and decide for themselves.

An outstanding and unjustly neglected western from that fine genre director Phil Karlson who, if he never quite made it to the front ranks, could nevertheless be counted upon to produce first rate and thought-provoking entertainments of which this is one. Karlson had no problem juggling the pieces' myriad themes, (the Freudian relationship between a martinet father and his hot-headed son, miscegenation and racial prejudice, gun culture and the changing ways of the West), without ever sacrificing the solid entertainment value of what is essentially a good old-fashioned western.As the father piling all his affection on the wrong son, Van Heflin is as reliable as ever. The real surprise of the picture, however, is Tab Hunter as the son who both hates and idolizes his father. Hunter was never much of an actor but here, cast against type as the villain of the piece, he manages to bring depth and feeling to the role. Perhaps he located the misfit nature of the character. After all, being gay in Hollywood in the fifties and living a life that was fundamentally a lie, surely can't have been easy.

Van Heflin played second lead in a score of pictures over 3 decades. In this excellent western he gets to play the lead, and his performance is one of the greatest of his long career. He displays a completely believable fatherly range of emotion and makes the audience identify with his 'how the west was won' mentality. Phil Karlson's deft direction keeps the pacing of this picture very crisp and poignant. The settings and western scenes are also quite excellent. All of this has been said without mentioning Tab Hunter's taught performance, which is really the defining touch that makes this movie great. Surprisingly, Hunter was a teen idol especially developed by the movie studio to be just another screen image. He defied the studios by delivering this amazing performance as a wild and reckless young man growing up in the shadow of his father's hard nosed old western legacy, determined to leave his own stamp on the developing times in the west. Gunman's Walk may be the most underrated western in screen history. It almost feels like a real metaphor for the western motif, and the changing civilization that beckons just over the horizon.