Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Helloturia
I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Scott LeBrun
The legendary Roger Corman began his impressive directing career with this entertaining Civil War era Western. It's not memorable in any way and it doesn't really hint at any future greatness but it served to show how Corman was able to work with limited budgets and brief shooting schedules (a mere nine days in this instance).The performances are basically good in a tale of five outlaws hired by a Confederacy desperate for personnel. Their job is to intercept the path of a traitor named Jethro (Jack Ingram) and deliver him to the authorities. Adding incentive is the fact that Jethro is in possession of a substantial amount of gold. The stoic, low key Govern Sturges (John Lund) appoints himself leader of this group, and he finds that it's hard work dealing with the strong personalities of his accomplices. Complications arise when he takes a liking to Shalee (lovely Dorothy Malone), who runs a stagecoach station with her uncle Mime (James Stone).The action is unfortunately a little underwhelming as the story plays out; clearly, Corman wasn't very well suited for the Western genre and had yet to find his voice as a creator of entertainment for the youth market. Still, the scenery (reverently photographed by Floyd Crosby) is beautiful, the music (by Buddy Bregman) is nice, and some of the performances are colourful. Lund is a little TOO low key in the lead, but Malone is feisty and appealing, and future 'Mannix' star Mike Connors is fun as lusty, greedy gambler Hale Clinton. Co-starring are Corman stock company player Jonathan Haze, screenwriter R. Wright Campbell, and Paul Birch (the evil alien in Cormans' "Not of This Earth") as the rest of the gang. A young James Sikking, future co-star of TV's 'Hill Street Blues' and 'Doogie Howser M.D.', makes his film debut as a Union sergeant.Overall, "Five Guns West" is reasonably engaging, if understandably not too well known. It is worth a look for those who want to see the earliest efforts in Cormans' career.Seven out of 10.
lynnetrue
This was a fairly typical "formula" western. Since I grew up on this sort of western, I rather enjoyed it. One must concede that it could never have been considered a contender for any sort of award, but it was entertaining enough to keep me watching until it was over (of course, most any movie can do that LOL).Actually, I really enjoy the old western movies -- I don't even mind the corny ones. I believe that one must remember that these movies were made for entertainment (and mostly entertainment for kids at the Saturday afternoon matinée showings, I suspect). Given those sorts of parameters, Five Guns West doesn't seem so bad. It is entirely possible that I first saw it on a Saturday afternoon back in Franklin, NE during the mid-1950s.
westerner357
Mediocre story about 5 southern prisoners given pardons in exchange for intercepting a Confederate spy using an alleged gold shipment as an inducement. John Lund is the good guy while all the others are the bad guys. This has some good acting concerning the participants involved, but the story is ridiculous and the premise is wildly implausible. Why trust a bunch of criminals to do this kind of a job? Good grief!This is Roger Corman's first attempt at the directors chair and it shows, but at least he filmed it outdoors instead of on cheap Hollywood soundstages. Maybe he couldn't afford it. Or the box lunches, for that matter. (laughs) It also has Dorothy Malone as the love interest who not too long afterwards, would earn an Oscar for WRITTEN ON THE WIND. Talk about a career jump!3 out of 10
Arnold-7
This early film by Roger Corman was a promising start to what turned out to be an extraordinary career as a director and producer. It demonstrated his ability to tell an interesting story without much to work with. The story was interesting, it moved right along, and there was a bit of a surprise at the end.
