Five Guns West

Unrated

4/15/19551h 18m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ GUNS, GOLD AND A GIRL! ~

Overview:

During the Civil War, five condemned Southern prisoners are plucked off Death Row and promised pardons on the condition that they undertake a mission to head west and bring back a double-crossing Confederate spy who has a stagecoach full of Confederate gold.

Director:

Roger Corman

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

gold
civil war
stagecoach
confederate soldier
19th century

Cast

John Lund

~ as ~

Govern Sturges

Dorothy Malone

~ as ~

Shalee

Mike Connors

~ as ~

Hale Clinton

R. Wright Campbell

~ as ~

John Morgan Candy

Jonathan Haze

~ as ~

William Parcell 'Billy' Candy

Paul Birch

~ as ~

J.C. Haggard

James Stone

~ as ~

Uncle Mike

Jack Ingram

~ as ~

Stephen Jethro

Larry Thor

~ as ~

Confederate Captain

Jack Bohrer

~ as ~

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

John Chard
Written 8 year(s) ago
5
The Dirty Five.

Five Guns West is directed by Roger Corman and written by R. Wright Campbell. It stars John Lund, Dorothy Malone, Mike Connors and Jonathan Haze. Filmed in Pathecolor with cinematography by Floyd Crosby and music by Buddy Bregman.

Desperate for men during the last days of the war between the States, the South found it necessary to offer pardons to outlaws to carry out special assignments. Strange dark figures rode under the flag of the Confederacy.

Well the central idea of the story formed the basis of better films to come further down the pipe, but outside of Malone's perky performance, there's not a great deal to sing about here. Corman was a master of the cheap production and he does well to keep this from total damnation, but excitement is rare, there's a lot of wood propping up the acting and the predictability of it all renders the finale a damp squib.

Its worth in the history of independent American cinema is at least notable, and once the film reaches the stagecoach station and Malone enters the fray; thus the ruffians have something to get in a pickle about, the pic just about holds interest. But come the end you realise it's the sort of Western that achieves the minimum it can to get released and is quite simply the first rung of the ladder for one Roger Corman. 4/10
Wuchak
Written 4 year(s) ago
5
Five ex-cons on a mission for the Confederacy

Near the end of the Civil War in Texas, five hardened convicts are pardoned to participate in a dangerous mission to apprehend a traitor and a gold shipment. Mike “Mannix” Connors plays one of the ne’er-do-wells while Dorothy Malone is on hand as one of two people living at the stage stop. John Lund co-stars.

"Five Guns West" (1955) is a B Western, known for being the directorial debut of trailblazing Indie filmmaker Roger Corman. It’s not bad and thankfully shot in color. But the geography is disingenuous and the early reference to 1867 is laughable in light of the fact that the Civil War ended in 1865.

There are similarities to the earlier "Hangman's Knot" (1952), but it’s different enough to stand on its own, although it lacks the budget and isn’t as good. The movie focuses on the bickering social dynamics of the five former convicts and which one will get the woman.

The film runs 1 hour, 17 minutes, and was shot at Jack Ingram Ranch (in Woodland Hills) & Iverson Ranch (in Chatsworth), both in northwest Los Angeles.

GRADE: C+