Well directed by Lesley Selander ( unknown as a director to me ) it has two major merits; one, the casting of Sterling Hayden and Yvonne de Carlo, and two the use of the outdoors, and only marginally using interior shots. The editing is excellent and not one minute of the film is wasted. Hayden plays an outlaw turned good and Yvonne de Carlo plays an ex-saloon entertainer. Their pairing here is of a rough romance but the ending is inevitable. No spoilers on the plot except to say that Hayden is hunting down a batch of killers and finds de Carlo on the way. The film shows the Apache people in a slightly less offensive way than usual. There is a scene where de Carlo bathes in a stream hidden by foliage and there is no come on scene as depicted on the sensationalist original poster. It is true that Zachary Scott who has joined them takes a peek and gets very badly beaten up for it, but it is certainly no open season for Abby. De Carlo's character. On the contrary she is dressed in men's clothes all through the film, and there is never a female garment in sight. The BBFC shows the poster and it just shows how far Hollywood would draw in an audience, and to put it lightly exaggerate the subject matter. To sum up Hayden and de Carlo are perfect together and they both had the rare art of acting while being simply themselves. On screen that is, and it is not as easy as it seems.
Review of Shotgun
