Four Fast Guns (1960)

A gunslinger (James Craig, DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER) is mistaken for , a hired "town tamer" in a town called Purgatory (entering the town, a sign says "When you enter Purgatory, say goodbye to God"). The town wants him to rid them of a wheelchair bound tyrant (Paul Richards) who in turn hires three fast gunmen to rid him of Craig's town tamer. When the tyrant's wife (Martha Vickers, THE BIG SLEEP) falls in love with Craig, complications ensue. This modest "B" western looks a bit richer than most "B" westerns principally because of John M. Nickolaus use of B&W CinemaScope. The storyline is dark and violent and the potential is there for a terrific western. I would love to have seen what Anthony Mann or Samuel fuller could have done with it as opposed to director William Hole Jr. who acts more of a traffic cop than anything else. The film's finale seems head for a bleak conclusion and the traditional ending we get seems phony. Co-starring Brett Halsey as the most interesting of the gunmen and Edgar Buchanan as the town drunk.