Gun For A Coward (1957)

A western that follows three brothers: Fred MacMurray as the eldest and the one everyone depends upon, Jeffrey Hunter as the middle son whose sensitivity earns him a reputation for cowardice and Dean Stockwell as the reckless, hot headed kid brother. Janice Rule is MacMurray's fiancee who's really in love with Hunter. Directed by Abner Biberman, the film is handsomely shot in CinemaScope but it's pretty predictable. Is there any doubt that Hunter will have to eventually prove his manhood by an act of violence? Some of the characters are interesting, particularly Josephine Hutchinson as the boys' mother whose favoritism to the middle son contributes to his indecisiveness, lack of interest in her youngest son encourages his recklessness and unspoken, her coldness toward her eldest son may have cost him the warmth necessary to hold onto Rule. As a western, standard stuff with some psychological enhancement. With Chill Wills and John Larch.