Forty Guns

"The Taming of the Arizona Territory!"

1957 1h 20m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 149

WesternDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.

“The Taming of the Arizona Territory!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Barbara Stanwyck
Jessica Drummond
Barry Sullivan
Griff Bonell
Dean Jagger
Sheriff Ned Logan
John Ericson
Brockie Drummond
Gene Barry
Wes Bonell
Robert Dix
Chico Bonell
Jidge Carroll
Barney Cashman
Paul Dubov
Judge Macy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Samuel Fuller
Writers: Samuel Fuller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Samuel Fuller, shot by Joseph F. Biroc. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gene Fowler Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Taming of the Arizona Territory!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Samuel Fuller directs. Joseph F. Biroc behind the camera. Gene Fowler Jr. cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
469 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Directed by Samuel Fuller, shot by Joseph F. Biroc. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Gene Fowler Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The Taming of the Arizona Territory!".
9IMDB entry: tt0050407 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Editing: Gene Fowler Jr.
Costume design: Charles LeMaire
Makeup / hair: Robert J. Schiffer
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $300,000
Box office: $6,344
Return: 2% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Forty Guns (1957)

Also by

Samuel Fuller

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-03-27
★ 8/10
I was born upset. Forty Guns is written and directed by Sam Fuller. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Gene Barry, Robert Dix, Eve Brent and Ziva Rodann. Music is by Harry Sukman and cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc. It's all going to kick off in Arizona between the Bonnell brothers, U.S.Marshals, and Jessica Drummond - the tough no nonsense lady rancher who controls the territory. So what do we have here then? Just another recycled Western plot that is basically the Earp's/Clanton's feud that culminated in the Gunfight At The O.K. Corral? Well no, not really, for this is Sam Fuller on devilishly twisty form. Fuller gives this particular Western a film noir make over, both in look and dialogue innuendo. Pic is filled with outstanding sequences, be it shocking deaths, bravado pumped show downs or chiaroscuro framing of key characters, no frame is wasted in this piece - visually or aurally. From a psychological stand point it's a right hornets nest, a meaty broth of cynical observations on love, power and that bastion of American cinema - the Western. The action construction on offer is electrifying, if Fuller isn't dallying with various camera techniques to keep the story on the hop, he's being kinetic with is action filming. All of which is in the Scope format, with the ace Biroc weaving some monochrome magic. Probably now it has risen above being just a cult Western classic, Fuller's standing in the decades that would follow this release have ensured that to be the case. Yet it is noted that this holds no surprises in how story eventually pans out, which is disappointing given the noir pulse beats driving it forward. In fact a charge of schmaltz at pics end is justified and stops this being the masterpiece many of us yearn it to be. Still, tis a superb genre piece of some considerable substance. A film that begs to be revisited on more than one occasion. Thank You Samuel. 8/10
CinemaSerf2026-05-03
★ 7/10
I don't think there was ever a woman as at home in a western at Barbara Stanwyck and even though I didn't love the direction of travel this one takes, she is still near the top of her game with this. Her "Jessica" runs a vast Arizona spread from the back of her brilliant white stallion with some help from a pliable sheriff and her own private army. Then marshall "Griff" (Barry Sullivan) arrives with his two brothers to impose some emblance of law and order on the place and to arrest her wayward younger brother. Initially, she is happy to see these interlopers dispensed with by said trigger happy sibling "Brockie" (John Ericson) but when that doesn't quite go to plan, she becomes intrigued by this enforcer who does not use a gun - but who has two brothers slightly less scrupulous on that front. The pair seem destined to clash heads, but whose tactics will prevail in the end? This film isn't great, no, but there are some stand out features - not least a fairly convincing whirlwind and a Dean Jagger whose sheriff has the spine of a drunken jellyfish. There is plenty of action throughout, too, and the cinematography makes full use of the grand scale scenery to help imbue her role as the baroness of all she surveys with quite a bit of feisty determination. Sullivan? Well I reckon there were reasons why he never quite made the top flight, and though he does enough here he doesn't really bring much charisma to the party which does make you wonder why "Jessica" would see him as her ideal anything, let alone man. I'm not sure we really needed the softly sung ballads from Jidge Carroll as they didn't exactly help the pace of the film, but all in all this is stylishly put together piece of cinema that sees it's star not afraid to do a few of her own stunts and features just the odd risqué line in the script.