The Wild Westerners (1962)

Must See Movie...

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

The Wild Westerners is directed by Oscar Rudolph and written by Gerald Drayson Adams. It stars James Philbrook, Nancy Kovack, Duane Eddy and Guy Mitchell. Music is by Ross DiMaggio and Eastman Color cinematography is by Gordon Avil.It is what it is, a traditional Western made with a modest budget that tries to do the best it can. It's 1864 in the Montana Territory and some outlaw types are easily robbing gold shipments. How come it's so easy? This is something Marshal McDowell (Philbrook) and his trusty team must try to answer before it's too late - especially since the Marshal's newly "acquired" bride (Kovack) is becoming a key figure.Oddly enough there is quite a bit going on here for a "C" grade production, though the core thematic drive involves outlaws who are made known to us from the off, rendering the shifty - cum - mysterious shenanigans around town as kind of redundant! There's also a thread that involves trying to keep the Cheyenne off of the war path, a burgeoning romance that has the most auspicious of beginnings, and some jealousies and macho posturings. The acting is a mixed bag of the average and the poor, the production value a blend of the nice (outdoor photography at Lone Pine) and the cheap (wonky and poorly designed sets), while there are no surprises in store off of the page. Yet there are far worse Westerns out there that had bigger budgets, it's brisk and has good action, a couple of good guy/bad guy characters to cheer and boo respectively, and Duane Eddy's title guitar music is quality.Not one to rush out to see, but some charm and minor qualities stop it from being in stinker hell. 5/10

I am used to suspending disbelief and going along with the spirit of a movie, but for that to happen there needs to be a spirit in the first place.I don't usually detect bad acting, but some of the acting here is the worst you'll ever see.This movie uses inserts from library footage or other movies to help with the skirmish scenes.It is generally a poor effort and time would be better spent watching an episode of "Gunsmoke" which generally has better story writing, more effectively put together.

I realise that the "10 then there's 10" review is an attempt at humour but its silliness goes too far. Worse than "Plan 9 ..."? Hardly. Sure, the acting is generally on the wooden side but Guy Mitchell's villain is good and a cut above the average for a B western. "Wild westerners" has other merits - for example. 1 - location: anyone tired of watching exteriors shot at Alabama Hills, Lone Pine is tired of life. All that granite! 2 - colour: OK, not Technicolor, but good Eastmancolor. 3 - Duane Eddy's guitar music: an influence on Ennio Morricone? 4 - Jerome Thoms' editing: an Oscar nominated editor, Thoms' work is exemplary and his cutting between medium shots of the stars and long shots of the stunt people is worthy of inclusion in a film editing course.

Low-rent, cardboard horse opera from quickie producer Sam Katzman about a gang of crooked lawmen, a string of gold robberies, murders, Indians, and a bunch of other stuff, none of it even remotely interesting. James Philbrook is too old for his part and is almost visibly straining not to look like it, the exotic Nancy Kovack is way out of place in a rock-bottom cheapie like this and doesn't have much to do anyway, the script is tired, what passes for "action" scenes are limp and lifeless, the direction is leaden, and the whole thing looks cheap, rushed and incomplete--in other words, everything you've come to expect from Sam Katzman. To be honest, though, this little oater doesn't even come up to Sam's usual "standards"--for lack of a better word--and you can no doubt find much better ways to waste an hour or so than sitting through this. Don't bother.