Quantez (1957)

Four bank robbers (Fred MacMurray, John Gavin, Sydney Chaplin, John Larch) and a girl (Dorothy Malone) on the run from a posse find haven in a deserted town for the night. What they don't know is the town is surrounded by hostile Apaches. It sounds more interesting than it is. It's a rather sluggish western and the director Harry Keller (TAMMY TELL ME TRUE) doesn't take advantage of the story's potential. There's a lot of talk, talk, talk and some action in the film's last 10 minutes but by then, it's too late. The film's most interesting character is Sydney Chaplin who plays a white man raised by Indians and filled with hate for the white man and contempt for the Indian. Considering that the film's not very visual, choosing to focus on the interiors rather than the exteriors, the film's cinematographer, Carl E. Guthrie, (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL) makes good use of the CinemaScope format. Curiously, Malone's character is called Chaney and her next film role at the same studio was as Mrs. Lon Chaney in MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES. Coincidence or an in joke? Perhaps not as amusing as the credit "Gowns by Rosemary Odell" when Malone's entire wardrobe consists of denim jeans and a work shirt. The solid score is by Herman Stein. With James Barton and Michael Ansara.