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Forty Guns
Forty Guns
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Gene Barry
Director: Samuel Fuller
Genres: Westerns, Indie & Art House, Drama
NR     2005     1hr 19min

A cattle rancher who unlawfully rules the county with her posse of hired guns, finds herself falling in love with the new marshall who arrives to peacefully restore law and order to the land. — Genre: Westerns — Rating: NR — ...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Gene Barry
Director: Samuel Fuller
Creators: Joseph F. Biroc, Samuel Fuller, Gene Fowler Jr.
Genres: Westerns, Indie & Art House, Drama
Sub-Genres: Westerns, Indie & Art House, Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 05/24/2005
Original Release Date: 01/01/1957
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/1957
Release Year: 2005
Run Time: 1hr 19min
Screens: Black and White
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 1
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Movie Reviews

Forty Guns
Tony Williams | Carbondale, Il United States | 05/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The imminent release of this 1957 DVD is well worth waiting for especially in showing the fim in its original widescreen format. FORTY GUNS is a creative Fuller reworking of the western genre turning stereotypes on their heads, revealing the raw emotionalism and insecurity affecting various characters, and containing brilliant examples of crane and tracking shots representing key elements of this cinematic genius.
FORRTY GUNS has received good critical comment in the past. But what is most notable in this film is the reworking of previous westerns such as THE GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K CORRAL and THE FURIES into a Fulleresque cinematic battleground. The Bonnell brothers (led by Barry Sullivan now reluctant to kill) are reworked versions of the Earpps while Barbara Stanwyck's sexually assertive Jessica Drummond is Fuller's masculinized version of Vance Jeffords from Anthony Mann's THE FURIES and her previous "Cattle Queen of Montana." Stanwyck, of course, personified the strong woman on screen in the pre-feminist era and this is one of her best performances. In this film, all conventions are overturned resulting in one of the most iconoclastic endings ever to appear in a Western. I will not spoil it for those who have not seen it but merely point out that Fuller directs the studio's "official climax" in a deliberately unbelievable manner. This is one of the best westerns of its kind directed by one of the major artists of Hollywood cinema. Cliches are absent and Stanwyck's character represents one of the most amazing inversions of classical Hollywood gender stereotypes ever to appear outside "film noir."

Companies should now follow Criterion's DVD release of PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET (1952)by releasing restored widescreen versions of Fuller's early Vietnam War entry CHINA GATE (1957) and MERRILL'S MARAUDERS (1961). In this current age of Hollywood creative bankruptcy, a return to the legacy of one of its greatest exponents is long overdue."
"High Ridin' Woman with a whip..."
Cubist | United States | 06/07/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hell and High Water was one of 20th Century Fox's earliest experiments with CinemaScope, widescreen movies that were Hollywood's attempt to lure people away from their TV sets and back into the theatres by giving them something they couldn't get staying home. Sam Fuller did such a good job with this format that he used it again on Forty Guns, a hard-hitting western as only he could make.

Right from the opening scene, Fuller presents an impressive, expansive vista: a wide open plain with a lone horse and carriage. There is a sudden, jarring cut to a close-up of many horse hooves thundering across the plain. It is 40 men on horseback being led by landowner Jessica Drummond (Stanwyck), clad all in black. They head straight for the men and their carriage only to go flying past them, surrounding them on all sides with no intention of slowing down. And then they're gone. Welcome to a Sam Fuller western.

Fuller uses every opportunity to show off the widescreen format while employing extensive use of close-ups and one of the longest tracking shots ever done at Fox's studio at that time. Forty Guns is one of the most dynamic westerns ever made and this is due to Fuller's infectious energy as reflected in his pulpy prose and kinetic camerawork. It's not enough to say that they don't make westerns like this anymore - they just don't make movies like this anymore."
Intriguing Western With Barbara Stanwyck Ruling The Wild Wes
Simon Davis | 12/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's not often that you get to see a western made in the 1950's where a strong female character is to the forefront of the action but that is what we most definately get in Samuel Fuller's classic western "Forty Guns". While as a film it will probably never to revered as much as some of the John Ford westerns produced in the '40's and '50's it is significant in that it provided the legendary Barbara Stanwyck with one last gutsy female character to play on screen before sadly the movie roles dried up for her like they did for most veteran actresses in this period. Having to continue her career in television productions in order to keep working Barbara Stanwyck sadly had a five year break from the big screen after "Forty Guns", only reappearing for "Walk on the Wild Side", in 1962. "Forty Guns", is a most unusual western with a highly interesting set of lead characters but it is for Stanwyck's performance as the hard as nails "woman with a whip", that the film stays in the memory among the glut of "shoot 'em up",style westerns saturating the screen around this time.

Set in Cochise County, Arizona "Forty Guns", quickly introduces us to the unofficial ruler of the whole area in tough, non nonsense landowner Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck),who controls the running of the area with the help of her gang of "forty guns" who are paid to do whatever it takes to make sure Jessica remains in control. Local sheriff Ned Logan (Dean Jagger), is a spineless law provider in the town who secretly loves Jessica but doesn't have the power to control her or her hired thugs who pillage and murder as they please. When U.S Marshall Griff Bonnell (Barry Sullivan), a former gunslinger rides into town with his two brothers Wes (Gene Barry), and Chico (Robert Dix), to resore order a head on clash of wills and fight for power rises between Jessica and himself. Surrounded by weak willed men that do her bidding Jessica however begins to develop a passion for Griff especially when he wont buckle under her strong will like most of the men she knows do. While riding together out on the barren plains Jessica almost loses her life when she is thrown from her horse and dragged when the pair find themselves having to escape a tornado that suddenly blew. Forced together when they seek shelter in Jessica's old cabin nearby she and Griff begin to find out a bit more about what made both of them the people they are today further cementing an emotional bond between them. Meanwhile Jessica has a hard time controlling her younger brother Brockie (John Ericson), a hot head who is always getting into scrapes with the law usually over a girl and when Wes is shot dead on his wedding day to local gun maker louvenia(Eve Brent),Griff must bring in Brockie for trial which will undoubtedly see him hang. On the day of his trial however Brockie has other ideas and taking Jessica as hostage he attempts to shoot his way out of town however Griff temporarily abandons his newly acquired peace seeking ways, and using his expert shooting skills manages to shoot Brockie while only injuring Jessica. Now wanting to get away and move on to California Griff prepares to then leave town however Jessica has plans of her own realising that he is the man she truly loves who did what was best concerning her reckless brother. She pursues his wagon as he leaves and jumps aboard in order to join him in a new life together in California.

Written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller, "Forty Guns", is unique in that it displays a strong central female character which gives it a unique and most welcome change from your traditional western lead character. Barbara Stanwyck is just the actress to do this strong female lead role total justice and she doesn't disappoint. From the opening scene where we see her galloping down the hillside full speed at the head of her band of "40 Guns", we just know we are in for something totally different. Barbara Stanwyck was superb at playing these tough as nails characters who are made that way by circumstances and for a western story a lot of time is actually spent on showing the development of her character. Stanwyck brings her usual non nonsense professionalism to the role of Jessica Drummond and for a woman already in her fifties at the time of filming she is amazing in her energy and in her ability to handle a horse. She even did her own stunts in the famous tornado scene where she is dragged by a horse over rough terrain believing that it would be more effective and believable on screen that way. Barry Sullivan up against the Stanwyck powerhouse does as well as expected as the new law enforcer in town who comes up against the female land baron only to find himself falling for her. His is a largely passive role however he works well with Stanwyck and has some interesting contradictions to his character having been a killer turned law enforcer. While "Forty Guns", is dominated by the fierce Stanwyck performance the supporting cast is also an interesting one with the standouts being the always good Gene Barry fresh from his recent triumph in the classic "War of the Worlds", playing Sullivan's younger brother Wes, John Ericson as Jessica's hot headed brother Brockie and Dean Jagger in a very uncharacteristic role as untrustworthy and weak willed sheriff Ned Logan. Another interesting and non traditional role is also created for another female character in "Forty Guns", where Eve Brent takes on the part of the gun making Louvenia who loses her husband Wes on her wedding day. Her's is a most unusual female character for the 1950's and the western genre in particular which she plays very well and she has a great scene when Barbara Stanwyck comes to pay her condolences. Of course the great look and feel present on screen in "Forty Guns", is very much the result of a collaborative effort between Samuel Fuller and his main production staff. Special credit needs to go to Oscar winning cinematographer Joseph Biroc for his stunning photography of the Arizona region captured beautifully in breathtaking cinemascope, the renowned Charles le Maire for his authentic 1860 period costumes for both sexes in the story, and especially to the team of L. B. Abbot and Norman Breedlove for their stunning special effects efforts work. Their recreation of the savage tornado sequence in particular is amazing in its realism and even today it is still quite rightly regarded as a benchmark for such efforts on film.

Disappointment has sometimes been levied at Fuller's supposedly sell out ending that follows the conventional course of having former land baroness Barbara Stanwyck chasing after Barry Sullivan's wagon as it rolls out of town. While that could be viewed as conventional in the movie sense of how many similiar stories conclude Samuel Fuller still manages to illustrate the ever present strength of the Jessica Drummond character here where she is willing to risk everything for something that she knows she wants but still on her terms. When critically looking at "Forty Guns", the story, cinematography, and for the most part non stereotyped character construction makes it an exceptional western which strangely is not well known and not often revived nowadays. Samuel Fuller really provided Barbara Stanwyck with one of her last strong film characters here and the film is a worthy addition to any retrospective of the amazing body of work achieved by both Barbara Stanwyck and Samuel Fuller in their exceptional careers. Highly recommended viewing for western genre enthusiasts."
Forty Guns Is A Trip
Kent Martin | Elkridge, Maryland | 09/16/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forty Guns by Sam Fuller is about the strangest, most unusual, and bizarre "B" western made in the 1950's. I have watched it many times and I'm still not completely sure what the total plot of the film is and at various points during the film the plot switches to such strange directions that you as the viewer are wondering where the film is going and what's going on. Each time I watch it the more bizarre it looks. It is a western so unusual and strange that it is extremely entertaining and enjoyable. Most of the characters in this film are simply "Off the Hook" to use the slang of the kids today. I really like this film but I'm not completely sure exactly why. The characters that I enjoy the most are of course Barbara Stanwyck as the master of this giant ranch who rules with an iron hand, Barry Sullivan as the hired killer turned marshall who is a man who feels his time is over in the old west, and John Ericson who is Barbara Stanwyck's younger brother who is basically just crazy and shoots the original older town sheriff for fun and then kills Gene Barry on his wedding day - a very healthy individual. Dean Jagger's performance is also very strange and he hangs himself after trying to shoot Barry Sullivan and then being rejected by Barbara Stanwyck who he has secretly been in love with for years. All and all, one of the strangest westerns and movies for that matter that I have ever seen. I like it.

The B&W transfer for a film of this vintage is excellent which is a real plus.

"