Gunplay (1951) User Reviews

Where did the killer go ???

[revdrcac · 6/10 · 20 July 2006]

This western series of the late '40's and early '50's was one of the best...... mainly due to the exemplary performances of Tim Holt & Chito Martin. This film was very well done, with Tim & his woman-crazy sidekick on the trail of an elusive killer.

Action and suspense were always in the forefront in these films, with this one being a prime example. Holt was a rare star who could handle action & acting equally well. In this one, he helps to make a standard plot believable.

Even non-western fans can find good entertainment in a Holt film. Enjoy this one, pardners ! ( I did .... )

Justice done

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 9 April 2015]

Gunplay has Tim Holt and Richard Martin looking for work and finding it on Joan Dixon's ranch. But no sooner are they hired then they find young Harper Carter on the trail, afoot and abandoned and looking for his father. Father Robert Bice is found later hanging from a tree.

Previous to that Bice had located a man who was living under another name as the man who swindled him out of a gold mine. But murder is then committed and cowboy heroes Holt and Martin are ready to see justice done and right prevail. Fortunately for them their boss Dixon wants the same thing otherwise they'd be looking for work again.

No mystery, the villain is a traditional one in B westerns. A respectable citizen with a criminal past. Richard Martin even gets a proposal of marriage for the boy's sake and does he fade with that one.

The villain even gets custody of the boy in Snidely Whiplash tradition. This is a man that must be stopped and Tim Holt and Chito Rafferty are just the men to do it.

Tim Holt fans should be pleased.

Nice Holt entry

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 25 January 2021]

Another watchable Holt entry with some offbeat elements. Holt, Chico and Dixon help a young boy find the killer of his father. There's some action but it's the suspense that drives the enjoyable entry. Yes there are some flaws such as the boy knowing there would be a panel at the side of jail when he hadn't seen it before. Nevertheless the jail breakout is a nice touch. Beats trying to breakout from the front.

Average, At Best

[dougdoepke · 8 February 2015]

Okay entry in the Holt-Rafferty series. I could have used more of their screen time than what they get, which is surprisingly little for cowboy leads. After all, they're the main reason fans tune in. Here they're helping an orphaned boy (Carter) whose dad has been swindled and then murdered by a slickster named Potter (Hugo). Trouble is no one in town seems to know who Potter is now that he's changed his name to Landry. So our heroes can't even be sure who they're fighting against.

Looks like RKO scrimped out a bare-bones budget since the action never leaves the San Fernando Valley, nor a studio town. So there's no scenery to speak of. What's unusual is the 11-year old boy played by Carter. He's one tough-talking little terror once he finds his dad hanging from a tree. But then in a rather awkward shift, he goes all meek and agreeable. It's really he who gets much of the screen time. I agree that Moritz Hugo is outstanding as the villainous Potter-Landry, suitably persuasive in a complex role. And catch that great all-purpose thug Robert Wilke as one of the henchmen. All in all, it's an average entry, at best, one that could use more of the usual Holt-Rafferty pizazz.

A "5" on the Matinée Scale

"How am I gonna pick off those buzzards if I keep my head down?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 23 February 2014]

I have to say, I thought the scene where young Chip Martin (Harper Carter) gets to see his father hanging from a tree was a bit gruesome for the era. I thought about all those young matinée fans back in the day and what their feelings might have been while watching. Not to mention Chip wielding a rifle later on in the picture in a shootout with the bad guys at the Blake ranch. That would have been a huge politically incorrect scene if filmed today, and I can just imagine the gun control lobby going wild.

I bet if there were a Snidely Whiplash look alike contest held today, I couldn't think of a better contender than the villain of this piece. I don't think I've ever seen Mauritz Hugo in a picture before, but he sure fits the bill as a despicable character here. Where the writers got the idea to have him adopt Chip Martin I'll never know, but I just couldn't imagine that scenario ever playing out. It would have been more believable to have Chito (Richard Martin) get married to Miss Blake (Joan Dixon) like she hinted at one point, but I guess then the team up between Chito and Tim Holt would have ended right there.

Although it's always cool to watch one of their team ups, this one played out a little awkwardly from start to finish. Besides the hanging mentioned earlier, I also had to question the logic of having the henchmen shooting it out at the Blake ranch with Terry (Joan Dixon) and Chip Martin. At that point in the story, the outlaws wouldn't have had to be so aggressive. By the time it came to bring outlaw Landry (Mauritz Hugo) to justice, it seemed more like the picture reaching it's one hour time limit than a climactic showdown. Then, in an odd closing scene, Holt rides off with Chip Martin, leaving you to wonder if Chito's going to finally make a move on the picture's heroine.

fine standard western

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 2 October 2023]

Tim Holt (Tim Holt) and Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) arrive at a ranch to work for Terry Blake (Joan Dixon). They are surprised to find that Terry is a woman. The trio encounters Sam Martin and his young son Chip who are lost on their way to nearby Orodale, Arizona. Once in town, Sam catches up to his former criminal cohort Curt Landry and demands payback. Later, the Martins get ambushed.

This is a fine standard western. The leads are all very functional. I like the group chemistry and I like the duo. It has a good standard premise. It's shot in California and looks like a B-western. It's not more than that.

Tim Holt B Western without the usual action, and too many plot holes

[jacobs-greenwood · 5/10 · 19 December 2016]

Lacking the usual action and featuring several plot holes, this B movie Tim Holt Western also includes his regular lady's man sidekick Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamante Rafferty (Richard Martin). It was directed by Lesley Selander but written by Ed Earl Repp, not Norman Houston. Despite its substandard quality, the story does feature a strong female character, played by Joan Dixon; Mauritz Hugo and Robert Wilke appear in their usual villainous roles.

Tim and Chito were hired by mail as ranch hands by Terry Blake (Dixon), without realizing that she was a woman. Sam Martin (Robert Bice) and his young teen son Chip (Harper Carter) are just passing through on their way to Orodale, Arizona. Unbeknownst to Chip, his father is trying to catch up to Matt Porter, his former mining partner in Arizona City, who cheated him and, as Curt Landry (Hugo), now owns the town's key businesses. Sam agrees to give Landry time to make things right after the crook gives him $2,000 in advance and promises to have paperwork drawn up the next day. But then Landry sends his henchmen Dobbs (Marshall Reed), Winslow (Wilke), and Zeke (Leo McMahon) after Martin, telling them that he'd been robbed and not to let the thief come back alive. When Martin sees the men riding towards them, he puts Chip out of the wagon and tells him that if anything happens Matt Porter is responsible before riding off to his fate.

While roaming the Blake ranch, Tim, Chito and Terry happen upon a wandering and alone Chip; they then find his dad hanging dead from a tree. Of course when Tim and Chito go to town and ask about Matt Porter, no one knows who they're talking about except Landry's henchmen. But Landry is curious what Tim and Chito want, so he has Dobbs pose as Porter to get information. He learns about the boy and then begins a fight to have these strangers in town arrested by the Sheriff (Jack Hill) in his pocket, but Tim and Chito escape. Later, Tim and Chito capture Dobbs to learn more, but Landry kills him before he can tell them. Then Landry decides to adopt Chip in order to have control over the boy.

Winslow and Zeke get wise to who killed Dobbs and pressure Landry to agree to pay them $5,000 to keep quiet. Meanwhile, Tim and Chito visit Landry's apartment and, after Chip lets them in, search the premises where they find a picture of Landry in mining boots in Arizona City. But Landry and his henchmen catch Tim and Chito and have them jailed for trespassing and robbery. Chip takes the picture out to Terry so that she can take it to Arizona City via the stagecoach the next day in hopes that someone can identify Matt Porter. But Landry gets wise to the plot and decides to empty his vault and take the stagecoach with her. Chip in turn helps Tim and Chito to escape so that they can save the day.

Now just exactly what are Tim and Chito going to be able to do with Landry once they get him back to his town and his Sheriff as escapees from Orodale's jail? Do they expect that their word is going to count with the Sheriff and that Landry is going to wait around until Terry gets back from Arizona City with proof that he's Porter? Uh, no.

Outstanding Western from 1951

[whpratt1 · 10/10 · 9 November 2007]

This film starring Tim Holt had a great story and was not just one of the mill old time Western. This story starts out with a young boy named Chip Martin, (Harper Carter) and his father who are traveling through the countryside and heading into town. The father wants to visit a man named Matt Potter, aka Curt Landry, (Mauritz Hugo) who cheated him out of his mining investment and he seeks out Curt to get back all the funds. Curt gives the father two-thousands dollars as a down payment and plans to make a settlement. However, as soon as Chip Martin and his father leave he sends men after him and they take the law into their own hands and hang the young boys father. There is plenty of action and Mauritz Hugo gave an outstanding performance. Joan Dixon, (Terry Blake) gave an outstanding supporting role and female charm to this film. Don't miss this one.