Gunman's Walk

"BLISTERING RAW DRAMA!"

1958 1h 35m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

⭐

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 61★7IMDB · 2,172

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.

“BLISTERING RAW DRAMA!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Van Heflin
Lee Hackett
Tab Hunter
Ed Hackett
Kathryn Grant
Cecily "Clee" Chouard
James Darren
Davy Hackett
Mickey Shaughnessy
Deputy Sheriff Will Motely
Robert F. Simon
Sheriff Harry Brill
Edward Platt
Purcell Avery
Ray Teal
Jensen Sieverts

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phil Karlson
Writers: Ric Hardman, Frank S. Nugent
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

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Van Heflin and Tab Hunter and Kathryn Grant carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "BLISTERING RAW DRAMA!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0051690 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phil Karlson directs. Charles Lawton Jr. behind the camera. George Duning scores. Jerome Thoms cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

168 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Jerome Thoms shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Van Heflin and Tab Hunter and Kathryn Grant carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "BLISTERING RAW DRAMA!".
7IMDB entry: tt0051690 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.
Original score: George Duning
Editing: Jerome Thoms
Makeup / hair: Clay Campbell
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Gunman's Walk (1958)
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 2,172 votes
MPAA: Approved

Also by

Phil Karlson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-20
★ 7/10
I'm A Runaway. Rancher and old school Westerner Lee Hackett is determined to mould his two sons in his own tough gun-fighting image. Something that backfires when his eldest boy, Ed, becomes a murderer. Gunman's Walk on plot synopsis and summaries sounds like your standard B Western fare, and certainly the theme of parental influence is nothing new. But Phil Karlson's film, adapted from Ric Hardman's story, has many things going for it to keep it from being mundane and used solely as a time filler. It fuses together multiple issues, parenting, prejudice and ignorance during a time of change in the old Wild West, it's central character, Lee Hackett (Van Heflin), is seen as the link between old and new. He has primarily lived his life as a shooter and killer of Indians, something that he is not totally committed to shaking off, but here he is now, a most respected and feared member of the community, faced with his two sons both taking different paths. One, Ed (Tab Hunter), is full of bile and gun slinging machismo, represents the old West. The other, Davy (James Darren), doesn't need a gun to feel like a man, his affection for half Indian Clee Chouard (Kathryn Grant) clearly gives a point of reference to the new West. It gives us two sides of the coin with one Lee Hackett perched firmly on the fence, to which Van Heflin gives an emotionally driven standout performance. I wouldn't say that Gunman's Walk is undervalued as such (its director most definitely is though), it's possibly more like it's been tarred with that old saying brush called "B Western", a saying that unfortunately some use derogatory. Whilst if the truth be told the support to Heflin is rather flat (both Hunter & Darren are average at best). But some average support acting can't stop Gunman's Walk from being an intelligent and potent genre piece. I mean if only for Heflin and the catchy central song, "I'm A Runaway", then you should see this, but as it is, if you give it your undivided attention you hopefully will find it's really rather good and clever. 7/10

Production companies