The Quiet Gun (1957)

Prodded by a saloon owner (Tom Brown) who has ulterior motives, a small town votes to arrest a rancher (Jim Davis) on immorality charges. His crime? Living openly with an Indian girl (Mara Corday) he's not married to. However, when confronted by the city attorney (Lewis Martin), the rancher shoots him when the attorney attempts to pull a gun on him. Based on the novel LAWMAN by Lauran Paine and directed by William F. Claxton (NIGHT OF THE LEPUS). For most of its brief running time (one hour, 17 minutes) I found this B western absorbing. But it declines severely in the film's last half hour when it sinks into routine and the events seem contrived and not organic. A pity because for awhile I thought I might be watching a sleeper. Nicely shot in crisp B&W CinemaScope by John J. Mescal (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN). With Forrest Tucker, Kathleen Crowley, Lee Van Cleef, Hank Worden and Edith Evanson.