Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Michael Morrison Superlative cast given great dialogue in good story and well directed and photographed in turn give us a thoroughly admirable and enjoyable movie.Despite my interest, I had never even heard of this excellent Audie Murphy movie until accidentally seeing the listing at YouTube.Murphy is backed by another Irishman, the veteran and extremely talented Paul Kelly. The leading lady, Susan Cabot, is someone of whom I knew nothing until reading the IMDb bio. Now I see that she had a very unhappy life, which ended young and tragically.The only complaint I have about "Gunsmoke" is that Susan Cabot, despite being beautiful and talented, was outrageously padded, apparently a frequent flaw in Hollywood pictures of this era. (Even pre Weinstein.)Other players, including veteran Western performer Hank Mann who figured merely in the background, and the great Edmund Cobb, with a memorable windy stagecoach driver part, merely made this "Gunsmoke" even better.Not knowing whom to credit for the excellent writing, that is, whether the dialogue is from the novel by Norman A. Fox or by the screenplay writer D.D. Beauchamp, I will merely again express my admiration.Director Nathan Juran helmed beautifully, with no obtrusive gimmickry and a seamless progression of the action.I highly recommend this "Gunsmoke," but if you look for it on YouTube, some knucklehead has it dated 1958 so hunt carefully. You'll be glad.

weezeralfalfa Superior Audie Murphy oater, although it incorporates one of the most widely used plots in westerns, in that a grasping cattle baron is trying to grab the last significant competing ranch in his area, by foul means. Additionally, two young women are featured. Susan Cabot, as Rita, is the daughter of ranch owner Dan Saxon(Paul Kelly). She is the girlfriend of ranch foreman Curly(Jack Kelly), until Audie shows up. Although her initial reaction to him is chilly, she eventually warms up. Mary Castle, as Cora, is a saloon entertainer, who sings a song every now and then, along with being the owner's moll. Her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lake(Charles Drake), shows up eventually, and by the end of the film will repeat as her current boyfriend. Mary has quite a dynamic personality, and was often compared to Rita Hayworth in looks....Filming mostly took place in Big Bear Valley, CA.I'd like to summarize several key relationships: Reb(Audie) and Dan Saxon:Dan owns the biggest spread in the region, after Telford's. Reb originally came to this area at the invitation of Telford, to act as his gunslinger, especially in regard to Dan. However, Telford refused to pay Reb's initial price. Meanwhile, Dan was playing cards downstairs in the saloon. He offered Reb a gamble, high card winning. If Reb won, Dan would sign his ranch over to him. If Reb lost, he would work for Dan for an undetermined time period. Dan, a card sharp, fixes things so that Reb won. Why did he do this? He wanted to make sure that Telford and Reb wouldn't agree to a deal to spearhead an effort to delay getting Dan's cattle to market, so that he wouldn't meet the deadline for repaying a loan from Telford. Also, Dan had the impression that his daughter might eventually become Reb's wife. To show his gratitude, Reb hired Dan and daughter Rita.Reb and Johnny Lake: The film begins with Reb and Johnny hiding behind some bushes from a cavalry patrol. Seems they last were hired guns in the Johnson County WY cattle war. Now, they part ways. But they will meet again when cattle baron Telford wants a gunslinger comparable to Reb, who had rejected his offer. After rancher Dan signs over the deed to his ranch to Reb, Johnny takes the main responsibility in seeing that his cattle don't get to market in time to pay off the loan from Telford. First, he leads a nocturnal stampede of Reb's cattle. This sets Reb back a few days, but is insufficient by itself. Next, Johnny sets fire to the grass in a valley Reb's cattle have to go through. Turns out this is insufficient also, as Reb decides to try herding the cattle over a mountain. With great difficulty, he makes it. Johnny tried to stop him, but Reb came up with a plan to ambush Telford's men, and most were shot dead. They finally meet in Telford's saloon, where Johnny challenges Reb to a gun duel, which Reb rejects. However, Johnny shoots Telford when he tries to shoot Reb in the back. Johnny explains that Telford was trying to cheat him out of $2500. for killing Reb. After that, they are friends, again.

King_man While certainly in the mold of a "B" western, Gunsmoke manages to raise itself above its peer group. Good production values, an above average supporting cast that appeared to enjoy themselves, an OK plot bolstered by some spirited dialog, and a young Murphy showing he was incorrect in his self-assessment of "no talent." The plot is pretty much by the numbers: Gambler Telford (Donald Randolph) wants Dan Saxon's (Paul Kelly) ranch and sends for gunslinger Reb Kittridge (Murphy) to arrange an early departure for Saxon from this earth. Due to the luck of the draw, or more probably Saxon's card skills, Kittridge ends up owning said ranch but has to get the cattle to market to maintain possession. Taking to the trail with Saxon, now a cowhand, Saxon's daughter Rita (Susan Cabot), her possessive boyfriend / ranch foreman Curly (Jack Kelly), and the rest of Saxon's old crew, Kittridge must beat both the elements and Telford who doesn't give up just because he's had a setback.This could have been a B caliber movie but it's better than that. The plot is predictable but pretty much everything else is a step up. Veteran screenwriter D.D. Beauchamp's script has more life than usually found in this type of movie. Saxon – "He ain't no killer, Doc." Doc –"Well, if he isn't , he's been taking money under false pretenses all the way from Texas to the Canadian line." Later, when Saxon says he's willing to work for Kittridge in the cattle drive, his daughter pounces on him in an epic fail. Rita – "You mean you're going to work for him?" Saxon – "Well, we gotta eat don't we?" Rita – "I'd rather go hungry." Saxon – "I've tried that too. I wouldn't recommend it."Paul Kelly adds immeasurably in his role as a rancher who sees parallels in Kittridge with his own early life and wants to provide a bit of course correction into the gunfighter's life. His timing is great and his easy going drawl a great counterpoint for Murphy. His scenes with Chubby Johnson are also great fun. While certainly a lot is filmed on sets, there are some good outdoor scenes and some nifty wagon riding down a hillside. The only quibble I have is with Susan Cabot. Somehow she doesn't have quite the presence of some other not-quite-A- list actresses of that era such as, say, a young Piper Laurie, but I guess that's a personal taste.All in all, this is a better oater than most B pictures and shows an inexperienced Murphy could perform quite well when given good direction and surrounded with a good cast to play off of. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) I like the westerns Audie Murphy made before 1955. No matter how routine they might have been, they were colorful, entertaining, with a lot of action. Here he is Reb, a gunfighter, who seems to be a bad guy(like in most of Murphy's films). Susan Cabot as Rita is better than in any other film she made. Mary Castle is too stiff for the role she plays, which is what Marlene Dietrich was in "Destry Rides Again", she even sings "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have". Paul Kelly as Rita's father is an asset for any movie he is in. Charles Drake is Johnny Lake another gunfighter that is a friend of Reb, but then, suddenly they are on opposite sides. Reb has to deliver a cattle herd and he is going to have all the odds against him.