The Gundown

Anchor Bay Entertainment

R4 DVD

The Western genre is almost dead in the U.S. As Dustin Rikert , the co-writer and director of The Gundown, points out, there are no Western TV shows so there is no follow-on for the younger generations to move on to the Western films. He set out to make a film that had the action content of an Indiana Jones-type film. The plot is not overly complex but the film is filled with action to appeal to younger audiences as well as the lovers of traditional Westerns. All the elements are there, from the tired aging Sheriff to the prostitute who wants to better herself.

It is the 1890s. A gunman-for-hire and ex-Range Detective, Cole, is travelling around Arizona looking for the gang who killed his wife and family five years earlier. He comes into the town of Dead River as the Sheriff is trying to deal with a major problem. A gang of outlaws has a scam running, led by Travis, the owner of one of the town’s saloons. The rowdies in his gang will terrorise the town until the Sheriff can’t handle it, then Travis will offer his “services” to run the gang out of town. He has been running this protection racket for a while and the Sheriff is well aware of how it worked in other towns. He will not hire Travis but he is getting no help from the State Capitol so he is running out of options. As part of their troublemaking the gang shoots Thomas Morgan, the owner of the other saloon. His tough-as-nails wife takes over and it is obvious that she is going to be the next target.

Cole comes into town with the body of one of the gang he ran into. The man is a wanted criminal so he gets a decent reward for it. The Sheriff, who sees Cole as a decent man, asks him to work as a Deputy. Cole declines and heads off to the hotel for a bath and a meal, meaning to keep moving on. At the hotel he meets Cassie May, a young prostitute, who also sees him as decent type. The murdered saloon owner Thomas has been teaching her to read and write until he was killed and now his wife decides to help the girl as well. Travis is worried about this new gunman in town and marks down Cole for death if he shows any sign of becoming a Deputy.

Whether he wants to or not Cole has become involved and now must choose sides in the fight.

The film was shot in a tourist western village called Gammons Gulch. It has a great look for this type of film but it didn’t have a saloon so the film company helped them build one. They also advised on matters like ceiling heights and rafter spacing to accommodate film lighting, with future films in mind. A lot of action takes place in the saloon and the careful preparation of the building gives the shots a quite authentic look. That can be said of the whole film. Everything has a gritty feel that the Spaghetti Westerns got right. When Cole comes in off the trail he is dirty and unshaven and looks like someone who has been on the road for days. The buildings are rough and unpainted. There is none of the “he’s wearing white so he must be a goody” nonsense.

If the Western is ever to have a revival, this is the sort of film that will do it. It is full of stereotype characters but has a good plot, some excellent actors and non-stop action. It is simply good entertainment from start to finish. Bring back the Western !

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