The Gun That Won the West (1955) User Reviews

Slow moving but OK account of Red Cloud's War 1866-68

[georgegauthier-944-917780 · 6/10 · 15 April 2012]

Despite the summary above, this events that this movie depicts happened during Red Cloud's War happened in 1866- 1868 not the late 1880s. Also, the Secretary of War depicted in the movie, Edwin Stanton left office in 1868. The introduction of the Springfield rifle helped the Army win some battles. Peace came after a change of policy that lead to the Army's abandonment of the Powder River Country and its forts along the Bozemann trail. Settlers were channeled to the Transcontinental Railroad then nearing completion. It's route ran farther south.

Red Cloud was the only major Indian leader who really won a war against the US Army. The peace treaty did not last long thanks to white treachery, greed for gold, Custer's thirst for glory, etc.

Run-of-the-mill Cavalry Western with usual confrontation between US troopers and Sioux warriors

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 19 June 2019]

In the late 1860s, Colonel Carrington (Roy Gordon) and his command are assigned the job of constructing a chain of forts along the Bozemann trail. But then they are besieged by Sioux - of Wyoming. Carrington recruits former cavalry scouts Jim Bridger (Dennis Morgan) and "Dakota Jack" Gaines (Richard Denning) to lead the project in Indian territory . Bridger and Gaines are friendly with Sioux Chief Red Cloud (Robert Bice) , and they feel a peace treaty with the Indians can be made. Later on , there is a meeting between US cavalry and Indians into signing a treaty. If an Indian war breaks out, the cavalry is depending on getting the weapon that stopped the last great Indian raid , a new type of arm : Springfield rifle. Bridger, Gaines and Gaines wife, Maxine, arrive at the fort for the conference in which dealing with the peace treaty . But thing go wrong when Gaines, in a drunken fit, attempts to intimidate the Indians . Along the way they must fight off enemies , hunting American Buffalo and rampaging Sioux who are also after them . The Story of the Unconquerable! .When a new kind of weapon wrote history in the Old West¡

The film packs thrills , fights , noisy action , crossfire , Indian charges , including Sioux habits with their rites and ceremonies and being enough entertaining . An ordinary and tolerable Cavalry Western in which explorer James Bridger is saddled with the risked assignment of steering a Cavalry regiment through hostile Indian territory surrounded by hostile Sioux . It's a medium budget film with comfortable actors , technicians , functional production values and passable results . Being freely based on historical events as Red Cloud's War 1866-68 and appearance by some legendary roles as the famous explorer James Bridger and Indian leader Red Cloud who was actually the only major Indian chief who vanquished a war against the US Army .Moving and action-packed Western with a simple , standard story that engages the viewer until the last scene when cavalry comes to the rescue in the nick of time by a river . Starred by a trio of little known actors as Dennis Morgan as Jim Bridges , Paula Raymond as Mrs. Maxine Gaines and her drunk husband performed by Richard Denning as 'Dakota' Jack Gaines . Second-class support cast with unknown secondaries as Roy Gordon and Robert Bice as Chief Red Cloud who threatens war if his territory is invaded by any troops building forts .

It contains an atmospheric and adequate musical score , as well as faded and tarnished cinematography Henry Freulich with a very bad print , being utterly necessary a perfect remasterizing . Produced in low budget by by Sam Katzsman , due to a combination of astute marketing and the fact that he ground out films so quickly and cheaply that he could cash in on a fad before it faded away, Katzman's movies seldom if ever lost money , taking a lot of stock footage here and there .William Castle used battle footage from Last of the Comanches (1953) , Buffalo Bill by William A Wellman and other films from Columbia Pictures at charge of production .This low-budgeted motion picture was profesional but regularly directed by William Castle . He was an expert craftsman with some of the all-time great schlock names serving as the producer Sam Katzman and fondness for gimmicks as proved in his successful terror films such as House of haunted hill , The Tingler , Mr Sardonicus , Strait-jacked , Homicidal , Macabre and 13 Ghosts . Castle emulated Alfred Hitchcock , this included the practice of appearing in the trailers, and even making cameo appearances in his films . Furthermore , he made several Western such as 1955 Duel on the Mississippi , 1955 The Gun That Won the West ,1955 El Americano , 1954 Masterson of Kansas , 1954 The Law vs. Billy the Kid , 1954 Jesse James vs. the Daltons , 1954 Battle of Rogue River , 1953 Fort Ti , 1951 cave of outlaws. Rating : 5/10 . So-so and average Western oater .

Misleading title, disappointing battle

[emsmith-07346 · 5/10 · 21 January 2016]

After building the entire plot and several key scenes around the introduction of the breech-loading Springfield "trapdoor" rifle, this movie fails to show a single round fired from the new rifles in the climactic battle with the Indians. Instead, the cavalrymen charge with sabers and wrestle in hand-to-hand combat, much too close to get off any shots. This is inexplicable in light of the general accuracy of the firearm details in the film: the cap-and-ball revolvers and 1860ish muzzle loading percussion rifles are period correct, as are the unadorned gun belts and of course the Springfields. I was even impressed with the Indians' reasonably dignified dialog, which was notably free of the "me see um" and "ugh" variety. Maybe the misleading title should be changed to "The Gun That Won the West Right After This Movie Ends."

an insult to the historical record

[hoffmanaz · 3/10 · 8 August 2017]

Any resemblance in this film between historical accuracy and what you see in the picture isn't coincidental, it's downright unintentional. The fact that Sam Katzman produced it should have been a warning that this film would be made as cheaply as possible, with lots of stock footage borrowed from "Buffalo Bill" ("Pony Soldier" borrowed the same battle scenes) and Indian "war" dances. The fact is that Red Cloud (who lived into the 20th century) made numerous visits to the White House to plead the cause of his people. The Bozeman Trail, supposedly the reason for the U.S. Army to escort railroad builders, simply isn't true; no railroad was built into the area at that time. Red Cloud succeeded in getting the Bozeman trail forts abandoned, a detail not mentioned in the film. Lots of anachronisms, including a Wild West show taking place in the 1860s, Jim Bridger actually in his dotage by then, and demeaning references to Native people ("Redskins") unacceptable today. The fight between Bridger and the Indian in the river comes straight out of "Buffalo Bill" in which Joel McRae as Buffalo Bill fights Yellow Hand played by Anthony Quinn to the death. I wasted 1:15 watching this film; should have taken the time to read a book.

Fair Western from Castle

[Michael_Elliott · 16 August 2018]

The Gun That Won the West (1955)

** (out of 4)

Director William Castle and producer Sam Katzman teamed up for this cheap Western that takes place after the Civil War as the government wants to build some forts but it is in Sioux territory so they recruit Jim Bridger (Dennis Morgan) to lead the project. It doesn't take long for the project to run into trouble with the Indians.

THE GUN THAT WON THE WEST has an epic title but of course that's certainly not what was delivered. If you know anything about Castle or Katzman then you know they were masters at working on low-budgets and delivering cheap entertainment. That's not to say that their cheap movies weren't entertaining at times but there's no doubt that movies like this were meant to be rushed into theaters to make a quick buck.

In all honesty, if you're a fan of these type of "B" Westerns then you should get some mild entertainment out of this. I think the most impressive thing for me was how many extras were on hand here. This was especially true for the Indian characters as their group was quite large during certain scenes and I was surprised because of the budget. The story itself is pretty typical and there's certainly nothing original going on.

For the most part Morgan was mildly entertaining as was Richard Denning and Paula Raymond. There's certainly nothing great about the performances or the characters but, then again, we're watching a "B" movie. Castle keeps the film moving along well enough so fans of his will enjoy this.

The gun that lost the audience

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 31 May 2015]

William Castle who directed some interesting if gimmicky fright films is at the helm of The Gun That Won The West. This account of Red Cloud's war with the USA in the post Civil War years is one cheap production with some very bored actors giving some very pedestrian performances.

The same criticism I had of the film Tomahawk where Van Heflin played Jim Bridger applies here as well. Dennis Morgan plays the famous frontier scout and mountain man whose best days in the 1860s were far behind him. Bridger was in his sixties suffering from a variety of health issues of which arthritis was the most prominent. Hardly a western hero at that point of his life. Nor was he ever involved with Wild West Shows which started a decade or so after the years this film was set in.

Morgan and married friends Richard Denning and Paula Raymond are busy with a wild west show where the drunken and dissolute Denning is unable to perform in any number of ways. Still they get a mission and drop the wild west show and go to Dakota Territory to help the army conduct a string of forts. That does not sit well with Red Cloud and the Sioux and war breaks out.

Denning's character is poorly written. For the first half of the film he's a drunken bum. Then for no apparent reason he becomes the real hero of the piece. As for Paula Raymond she follows Tammy Wynette's advice and stands by her man even though Morgan is more appealing.

The title refers to the army's new Springfield Rifles. But The Gun That Won The West has lost its audience long before the film ends.

Incompetent western by a bunch of people who don't care

[funkyfry · 2/10 · 1 June 2014]

This movie, although shot in widescreen and color, is as cheap as a Bowery Boys adventure, features no appealing actors, typically racist characterizations of Native Americans, poorly staged fight scenes, and just about everything else that is poor and forgettable in the American Western. Surprise, surprise -- it was directed by the notorious William Castle, whose main talent was not direction but rather in-house cinema tricks like electrocuted seats and flying skeletons. For an example of how poorly the film is directed, take a look at the two big fight scenes with the film's lackluster leading man, Dennis Morgan -- in the first, he's ambushed by a single "indian" as he's out in the woods for no good reason with his best friend's wife (Paula Raymond who, incidentally, he earlier offered to "make love to"). The "indian" takes one poor shot at Morgan and Company, then we see Morgan apparently maneuver around a rock to take a crack shot at the "red skin" (yes, this film liberally uses that term), who we see die in a close-up. In other words, never were the two combatants actually on screen together, and never is there a single shot that situates them in such a way that there is any suspense and sense of physical location in the combat. In another example of Castle carelessness, during the big final confrontation, Morgan and a "red skin" are mud wrestling rather ineffectively while everybody else seems to be hacking and shooting each other. It's as if Morgan and his foe are in another movie. The action scenes in this film are done in such a way that there is no excitement and no drama whatsoever, just a cartoonish killing spree.

It's a cheap, ugly film and it has nothing at all to offer a modern viewer. Richard Denning is the only actor who can hold any weight, and after his initial half-convincing drunk scenes, he becomes a boring self-sacrificing hero. The most exciting scene in the film is a hunt for wild buffalo. It's not worth taking time out of your life to see this.

Just Where is...The Gun That Won the West?

[bsmith5552 · 5/10 · 13 June 2018]

"The Gun that Won the West", the Springfield Rifle, was an advanced breech loading single shot gun that was introduced in order to help the U.S. Army have the upper hand in battles with the Indians. It was yet another Sam Katzman/ William Castle production using an historic figure, in this case Jim Bridger (Dennis Morgan).

Jack Gaines (Richard Denning) is running a Wild West Show but has been drinking heavily. His wife Maxine (Max) Gaines (Paula Raymond) pleads with him to stop. His friend Jim Bridger is equally concerned. At one performance, General Carreth (Howard Negley) and Colonel Still (Kenneth MacDonald) recruit Bridger and Haines to lead an expedition to build forts along the rivers of Wyoming. The Wild West show is sold by Max without Gaines' consent.

Bridger believes a peace treaty with Sioux Chief Red Cloud (Robert Bice) is possible. However, Red Cloud is against the Whit man building forts on his lands. At a peace conference, in a drunken stupor, Gaines discloses the coming of a new advanced rifle that will out perform any thing to date. Max finally fed up, leaves Gaines and joins Genersl Carrington's (Roy Gordon) expedition to search for fort locations.

Red Cloud realizes that his tribe cannot out battle the army with the new Springfield Rifles and decides to attack Carrington's group before they can be re-armed with the new rifle. Gaines meanwhile has come to his senses and takes one of the new guns to Red Cloud to demonstrate its power. When Red Cloud leaves to attack Carrington, Gaines is wounded.

General Pope's troops carrying the new weapons decides that they can "head Red Cloud off at the pass" and attack them before they can reach Carrington's group and......................................................

It is odd that Pope's troops do not use the new rifles in the film's climatic attack. They use sabers and hand to hand combat instead. The film uses a multitude of stock shots from other productions, particularly the large attack scenes. And oh yes, the Buffalo Hunt.

The best performance is turned in by Denning as the drunken Gaines. Morgan doesn't make a very creditable Jim Bridger, the legendary trapper. He had been a popular musical comedy star in the 1940s.

The stock footage provides the best of the action scenes.

Ok western

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 28 February 2021]

Dennis Morgan stars as Jim Bridger who is hired to scout land for the cavalry. They want to build a land encroaching on Red Cloud's territory. Predictably Red Cloud is not happy with that, and consequently there's an injun vs cavalry feud, despite the New Springfield rifles on their way. It is a watchable western, but it doesn't standout. It's slow moving at time and though the action is energetic, the battle at the end features none of cavalry firing the new rifles, and it ends as if they ran out of film time.

Springfield 1866 rifle vs. Red Cloud's 'Indian' Confederation

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 23 December 2012]

1955 was a bang up year for Hollywood films featuring conflicts between European settlers or the US army and Native Americans led by Sioux Red Cloud in the Powder River region of Wyoming. Besides this film, "The Last Frontier" also dramatizes the conflict between this 'Indian' confederation and the US army, which built a series of forts along the Bozeman Trail through this region."The Tall Men", starring Clark Gable, dramatizes the first large cattle drive from Texas to Montana, passing through this region. All of these films include some historically-relevant aspects, along with major fabrications and/or anachronisms. In this era, 'Indians' were still nearly always scripted as the enemy: inconvenient obstacles to technological progress and the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny. Thus, none of these 3 films mentions the fact that Red Cloud's confederacy ultimately won a peace treaty in 1868 that stipulated that the US army would abandon its newly built forts along the Bozeman Trail and that this trail would be closed to European settler traffic. This treaty effectively lasted until 1876, when the discovery of gold in the Black Hills again brought European settlers in conflict with the Sioux and related tribes. The previous film "Tomahawk" provides a much more accurate account of this war.

This story begins with alcoholic ex-frontiersman Jack Gaines(Richard Denning) and his beautiful wife(Paula Raymond) running a traveling wild west show through the eastern US. Storied mountain man and scout Jim Bridger is part of their show. Comes an army request that Bridger return to the West as a scout for Colonel Carrington and an influence with chief Red Cloud, in an endeavor to build a series of forts along the Bozeman Trail to protect workers building a railroad through this prime hunting grounds for the north plains 'Indians'. Bridger accepts, and Mrs. Gains convinces a reluctant Jack to accompany Bridger. To help accomplish this task, the army has commissioned the manufacture of a superior Springfield rifle. Unlike previous models, this one has a rapid breech-loading mechanism, and is accurate at long distances, thus making it a much more effective weapon against the 'Indians' than previous models.

Once at Fort Laramie, Carrington's headquarters, Gains suggests they threaten Red Cloud with news of the new rifle. But Red Cloud says he will exterminate them before this rifle arrives. Later, Gains appeals to General Pope, who has replaced Carrington as commander at Ft. Laramie, after Carrington left for the Powder River region. Gains demonstrates the rifle to Red Cloud, who is impressed, but again says he will exterminate Carrington's forces before more of these rifles arrive. Wounded Gains rides to tell Carrington, and Bridger rides to tell Pope to direct his forces, with the new rifle, to attack Red Cloud before he attacks Carrington. A big battle ensues, the new rifle takes its toll, and the 'Indians' retreat. A now sober Gains is reunited with his estranged wife, and they talk about starting a ranch in this region.

To me, the film appears to have been largely shot in the spectacular-looking Badlands region of SD, which includes the bison chases and kills. Apparently, some stock footage from "Buffalo Bill" was used for the Wild West show scenes. The real Jim Bridger would have laughed himself silly at Dennis Morgan as his stand in. The real Bridger was in his 60s during the Red Cloud War, and usually with long hair and bearded, not the '50s-looking, young, clean-shaven and shorn, bland,Morgan.

Denning was OK as the fictional Jack Gaines. But, Wild West shows didn't begin until the '80s, whereas the rest of this story takes place 15-20 years earlier. Thus, this unnecessary aspect of the film should have been deleted. Roy Gordon was OK as the historically-correct Colonel Carrington, and Howard Wright was OK as ex-Civil War General Pope. The real Pope did spend some years involved in western 'Indian' wars, but apparently was not involved in this way. Paula Raymond made a beautiful and forceful Mrs. Gaines, but Robert Rice hardly makes a credible-looking Red Cloud. Young Man Afraid Of His Horses(probably a mistranslation) was a real lieutenant under Red Cloud during the Powder River War. However, Red Fox, later to gain fame in Buffalo Bill's traveling show, wasn't even born yet, and lived to see Nixon resign as President! Overall, the acting and dialogue is a bit wooden, and no major stars are included. This was the first year for Clover Productions, which mostly produced low budget fantasy films at this time, marketed by Columbia.

The real Powder River War had nothing to do with railroad building, and everything to do with protecting settlers who were mostly heading for the recently discovered gold fields around Virginia City, MT. The 1866 model breech-loading Springfield was rushed to Carrington's forces, and did greatly improve the effectiveness of the army against the 'Indians', over the previous muzzle-loading version: the standard issue in the Civil War. However, ultimately the army brass decided to pull out of this area and concentrate its resources on protecting the transcontinental railroad, being built across southern Wyoming at this time. Incidentally, 'The Gun that Won the West' is usually considered to be the Winchester repeating rifles, also introduced in 1866, and the Colt revolvers, not this single shot army rifle.

Classic low budget 50s western

[paul-rose7-246-61823 · 6/10 · 3 January 2022]

Entertaining enough although the weak script, low budget and poor film editing let the film down somewhat, probably a B movie supporting a better feature film when released. The dialogue and most of the action will frighten and shock millennials and wokes not brought up in the glorious 50s and 60s when we all played cowboys and injuns! Good that these western and war films still get plenty of tv airtime and no doubt sizeable audiences still.

Castle to construct forts

[searchanddestroy-1 · 14 June 2023]

Well, I expected worse from this Sam Katzman's production, the infamous Sam Katzman who was so obsessed with bringing films with the tiniest budgets that sometimes the result was simply awful or laughable. This one is OK, maybe inspired by a true story, part of conquest of the West history. This film also belongs to the Columbia Pictures period for William Castle, before he eventually found his way in terrific and terrifying horror films that made his legends for generations of fans. Unlike his Columbia period.... This one, I repeat, is OK, agreeable to watch and the plot is rather interesting, smooth and not that predictable.