Four Guns to the Border (1954)

Very well executed

Brilliant and touching

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Distinguished by its overt, out in the open, relationships between Men and Women circa 1885 in the Old West. It is that Story flirtation that makes this one a bit different than most of the Westerns of the 1950's.Behind the Women taming the wild Men of the Old West is a gang of bank robbers led by Rory Calhoun with John McEntire, and Jay Silverheels. They encounter Walter Brennan and his coming of age Daughter in tow and from the very first scenes this one sets itself up as a steamy, sexy Western."Didn't anyone tell you not to scratch yourself in front of other people? Dad Brennan asks the curvaceous and cute "Lolly" (Colleen Miller) as she awakens.She is doused with water as Her blouse clings and the camera lingers from below on Her upper half. You'd better sew up that dress," He tells the oblivious Gal after a roll around with Calhoun. And there's more. She is Flirtatious with a Candy Cane and a Bottle of Sarsaparilla.She goes out in a nighttime rainstorm in Her bed clothes and meets soaking wet with Calhoun in the barn.There is dialog, once the gang gets to town about Men being hogtied by Women and Calhoun's ex-Lover is now His former Friend's Wife and She breaks up a fistfight by literally pulling a buggy whip on both of them. This kind of Adults at play stuff was not available on The Tube and by 1954 it was obvious Movies had to offer something a bit different to get Folks off the couch.The good Cast, color Photography, and the sexual stuff make this one stand out as an above average Entry in the crowded field of the Western Movies of that Decade.

"Four Guns to the Border" is one of those entertaining little 80 minute westerns that Universal turned out in the the 50s. The leads in those films were largely interchangeable (i.e. Audie Murphy, Jeff Chandler, Rory Calhoun, Jock Mahoney etc.)Calhoun stars in this one as a largely unsympathetic character Cully, a bank robber, trying for that one big score. Riding with him are Bronco (George Nader), Dutch (John McIntyre) and Yaqui (Jay Silverheels). On the trail the boys meet former outlaw Simon Bhumer (Walter Brennan playing it straight this time) and his comely young daughter Lolly (Colleen Miller). In spite of Simon's warning, sparks begin to fly between Cully and Lolly.But first thing first. Cully it seems has a past with Sheriff Jim Flannery (Charles Drake) and his attractive wife Maggie (Nina Foch). He uses this past relationship to goad Flannery into a fight as a diversion to the bank hold-up. Then the gang flees into Apache territory where of course they meet up with the Bhumers and............."Four Guns to the Border" was directed by actor Richard Carlson who does a creditable job but allows Calhoun's character to find redemption in the usual contrived happy Hollywood ending though. Brennan is good as the protective father as is McIntyre who was a past master at stealing a scene. Nestor Paiva also has a nice bit as "Greasy".An entertaining little western.

What made me see this film was an article I read about "the woman in the western", by Blake Lucas in the book "The Western Reader", where it is one of the films mentioned. Colleen Miller is a girl who is going to town with her father Walter Brennan and on the way meets outlaw Rory Calhoun, who is planning a bank robbery with three other members of the gang. Colleen is a very sensual girl and in no time she and Calhoun are having some of the most erotic scenes that I have ever seen on a movie. The story, by Louis L'Amour is good and unpredictable and it shows through Nina Foch and Colleen how a woman can be important in trying to stop a deadly fight between their men. The only criticism I have is about an Indian attack where stock shots seem to be used which do not blend so well. This is a totally neglected film which deserves to be seen.

This dull shoot-'em-up, a typical run-of-the-mill, cowboys 'n' Indians, robbers vs.posse oater, has one remarkably fascinating aspect: a bare-bones plot punctuated by surprisingly sexual imagery, much of which can be interpreted as homoerotic. Some scenes are steamingly obvious in their depiction of passion, and others are so gratuitously injected that they can only be seen as surreptitiously symbolic. (There's even a totally irrelevant pussycat with kittens). The creators must have had a bang-up good time foisting such a naughty piece on mid-fifties audiences, and modern viewers should have just as much fun ferreting out each and every nuance! Fans who favor peeking below the Production Code will have a ball!