Man from God's Country (1958)

I love this movie so much

Sadly Over-hyped

An Exercise In Nonsense

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

"Man from God's Country" reteamed square-jawed George Montgomery with his "Last of the Badman" director Paul Landres. This sturdy western shoot'em up ranks as one of Montgomery's best, thanks in part to scenarist George Waggner's first class screenplay. Not only does Montgomery reteam with Landres, but also House Peters, Jr., of "Black Patch" is back. This time Peters plays our hero's old pal from the American Civil War. Everything that you want in a good western appears in this lean, mean dust-raiser. Clocking in at a trim 72 minutes, "Man from God's Country" doesn't stray. Frank Wilcox and James Griffith qualify as excellent adversaries. As the entrepreneurial dude who owns the saloon, Wilcox exudes egotism and charm to the max, while Griffith is equally as treacherous as Wilcox's bushwhacking henchman. Wilcox is cast as the owner of a freight business who doesn't want to see the railroad lay track through his stomping grounds until he has cleaned up. We'll probably never know if Spaghetti western director Sergio Corbucci ever saw "Man from God's County," but the pistol-packing finale anticipates "The Mercenary" with competitors who face off but gun down their adversaries. Meantime, the supporting cast is first class with Phil Terry as the sheriff who has more spine than most star-packers. Leading lady Randy Stuart made her last big-screen appearance here as a saloon girl before she took advantage of the television. She is the other lady with a slightly tarnished past who never gets a chance to put a lip lock on our hero, while Susan Cummings is the good girl who is romantically attached to Peters' gunhand. Although this is a low-budget Allied Artists oater, "Man from God's Country" boasts a solid, atmospheric budget. Veteran western producer Scott Dunlap doesn't short-change this sagebrusher that confines itself largely to town settings. The title seems a mite misleading. You don't see any preachers in "Man from God's Country" and our hero is a former sheriff who is a sure shot with a six-shooter. None of the scenes occur in a sanctuary and the Bible isn't quoted by anybody. Typically, gospel means a narrative about the life and death of Jesus. A couple of characters do change their over the duration of the story and our hero calls his advice to a youngster as preaching, but that is as close as it comes to religious. Altogether, "Man from God's Country" is a western worth watching.

Man from God's Country is directed by Paul Landres and written by George Waggner. It stars George Montgomery, Randy Stuart, Gregg Barton, Kim Charney, Frank Wilcox, Susan Cummings, James Griffith and House Peters Junior. A CinemaScope/De Luxe production, with music by Marlin Skiles and cinematography by Harry Neumann.Dan Beattie (Montgomery) is a former Civil War soldier who is working as the sheriff of Yucca. After being acquitted of murdering a rabble rouser, he quits on principle and heads towards the town of Sundown where he hopes to hook up with his old war buddy Curt Warren (Peters Jr). Upon arrival, though, Dan finds a town run by a shifty business man Beau Santee (Wilcox) who mistakenly suspects Dan of being in league with the railroad company who want to run a line through the town. This opens up a can of worms and friendships and families become in danger of being ruined.Little known Oater from the end of the 50s, Man from God's Country is a standard B picture that never quite fulfils the promise of its themes. There's interesting threads within, though nothing that hasn't been dealt with better elsewhere in 50s Westerns. The railroad is the devil who patrols the edges of the frame, this causes no end of suspicion and treachery as "honest" Dan proves to be the catalyst for Sundown's secrets and lies to come tumbling out of the dust in a blaze of guns, fists and tears.It's handled efficiently by TV director Landres, with Waggner's screenplay mature and not without merit. Cast are mostly run of the mill, though Montgomery (looking and sounding like a poor man's Charlton Heston) proves more than capable at being the macho cornerstone of this particular production, where just like Heston he could throw a believable punch. Filmed out of Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California, there's some nice exteriors photographed by Neumann, costuming and colour are very pleasing and at 72 minutes in length the film never has time to labour.It's more about "potential" psychological characterisations than action, which is fine, all be it annoying since the characters just don't get fleshed out at all. What action there is is done in short sharp shock manner, and in truth the ending, which is never in doubt, is all too brief and not doing justice to the good versus bad thread that director and writer were striving hard to build upon. 6/10

This western opens with Sheriff Dan Beattie being forced to gun down a cowboy who opened fire on him; for this he finds himself on trial with the town mayor stating that the time for lawmen like him is past as the town needs to entertain cowboys; surprisingly it is the dead man's boss Col. Miller who comes to Beattie's defence. He is cleared but resigns anyway and joins Miller's cattle drive as far as the town of Sundown. He intends to meet up with his civil war buddy Curt Warren there but doesn't get the welcome he was expecting; first somebody takes a pot shot at him on the outskirts of town then his friends suggests that he'd be wise if he left. It turns out the town 'boss' Beau Santee believes that Beattie is working for the railroad, surveying a potential new route and as head of the local freight company he is determined to keep the railroad out. If Beattie is to stay in town he will have to face Santee and discover who can be trusted there.This is a fairly routine B western; if you are a fan of the genre it passes the time well enough but is hardly a must see. We have plenty of genre staples; a good man going into a potentially dangerous situation, an old friend who may now be a danger, a couple of attractive women to cause some jealousy and misunderstanding and even a boy for the hero to befriend; presumably to appeal to the younger viewer. There isn't all that much action but the final shootout is exciting enough even if the outcome isn't really in doubt. George Montgomery is likable in the lead role and the rest of the cast are solid enough although young Kim Charney was clearly older than the 'nearly ten' he claimed to be. Overall I'd say it is worth watching on television if you are a fan of B westerns but it isn't worth going out of your way to see.

In this standard late 50's color western from George Montgomery, a decent script is hampered by so-so casting and pacing . Montgomery is convincing in the lead hero role --- in a film that is ultimately routine.As movies moved into the late 50's and 1960's, audiences were demanding more adult themes and conflict. This film is an example of that trend. Strained friendship, betrayal, redemption and renewal are all on display in this film ...... but it's too much in too short a film.This is really a "C" western, and while it does entertain it is undemanding and barely memorable........