Just Saw It On Encore Westerns Channel

I just finished watching "The Gun That Won The West" on the Encore Westerns Channel. It was in color and had some really magnificent scenery. Dennis Morgan and Richard Denning are good as the stalwart heroes trying to prevent an Indian war. And the usually glamorous Paula Raymond spends most of the movie in a very plain outfit with little makeup, but she is beautiful, as always.

What is a little surprising is that the springfield rifle which is the subject of the title and is featured prominently in the poster, makes no impact at all in the climactic battle at the end. The footage for the big fight was lifted from the 1944 color film, "Buffalo Bill." It features the cavalry and Indians charging at each other down a shallow stream in a large canyon. Both sides are armed with the dreaded springfield single-shot, breech-loading rifles, but the troopers use their pistols and the Indians use bows and arrows and knives. Not one springfield rifle is seen at all. At the beginning of the attack, there is a closeup of the Indian chief, who yells to his braves, "Kill with your knives!" That serves to explain why the Indians don't use their rifles. Still, it seems a little silly to call the rifle, "The Gun That Won The West," when it had no impact at all in the final showdown between the two sides.

All in all, I would say that this movie is a touch above the normal B-western, due to the stars and the really great scenery and camera work. It was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.