Five Guns West (1955)

Given the choice of death or a deadly mission, five convicts (John Lund, Mike Connors, Paul Birch, Jonathan Haze, Bob Campbell) agree to hijack a stagecoach for the Confederate Army. The stagecoach is carrying a traitor (Jack Ingram) who absconded with 30,000 in gold but the convicts plot to keep the gold for themselves. Directed by Roger Corman in his directorial debut, this low budget western lacks the flair that would mark Corman's horror films. Shot in nine days and incorporating stock footage, it's a perfectly acceptable B western but it's so routine that it's quickly forgettable. The film shows where Dorothy Malone's career was at (Corman had also used her in FAST AND THE FURIOUS) at the time. Supporting roles in A movies and lead roles in B movies. But BATTLE CRY was about to be released which got her a lot of attention (the posters of this movie labeled her "That BATTLE CRY girl!") and the following year, WRITTEN ON THE WIND made her a viable name in Hollywood. Lund was a bland leading man which allows Connors, Haze and Campbell's despicable bad guys to take over the movie. Unless you're a westerns film buff, you can safely pass this up. With James Stone as Malone's uncle.