John Sands: Even Billy the Kid backed down from him! Panhandle is directed by Leslie Selander and written by John C. Champion and Blake Edwards. It stars Rod Cameron, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Anne Gwynne, Blake Edwards, Dick Crockett and Rory Mallinson. Music is by Rex Dunn and cinematography by Harry Neumann. John Sands (Cameron) has to return to his gunfighter ways when news reaches him that his brother has been murdered... Filmed in Sepiatone and a little more serious than many other 1940's Westerns, Panhandle is a satisfying experience for genre enthusiasts. Formula is rife as we would come to know it in Oaters, though, as picture ticks off the check list: badman turned good who is forced to turn bad again for revenge, romance tingling in the air, quick draw shoot-outs, punch-up, weasel villain and his hired cronies, poker games with the inevitable cheat called out and the "hooray" finale. All of which is nicely directed and performed by the cast. The location scenery doesn't get much chance to shine through, and in truth the Sepiatone does little to improve the picture, but this is easily recommended to the Western faithful. 7/10
Randolph Scott lookalike Rod Cameron is "Sands", a former lawman who travels to a Texas town to investigate the shooting of his newspaper-man brother. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers the town, indeed the territory, under the heel of "Matt Garson" (Reed Hadley). With the help of his secretary "Dusty" (Cathy Downs) he vows to avenge his brother's death. It's quite eerily shot - much of the action takes place at night, in torrential rain, but the story is all just a bit too well travelled, and neither the actors nor the script offer much by way of innovation. This is still a perfectly watchable B-feature that dawdles for the first half hour before finally picking up just enough speed to hold the attention. It's too long - but then films were frequently elongated to accommodate the paying public's appetite for cinema, rather than because the story justified it.
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.
The town of Primrose, Arizona is beset by outlaws, so the towns people hire Fletcher Bissell III (A.K.A. The Silver Dollar Kid) as their new sheriff. Fletcher is so cowardly the townsfolk are sure that the local outlaws will be too proud to gun him down. This proves to be the case, and the outlaws hire their own cowardly gunfighter, Chicken Farnsworth, to go up against The Silver Dollar Kid. Written by Jim Beaver
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
The Gunfight at the OK Corral only happened once, but has been tirelessly recreated in films, television shows and western towns ever since. No one has a monopoly on truth, and in Tombstone Rashomon, the truth is shared by six conflicting, yet historical perspectives. In doing so, the film’s narrative becomes prismatic and the result is perhaps the most comprehensive telling of the most important gunfight in American history. This is the Tombstone story told in the style of the Japanese classic Rashomon where we see history from several perspectives including that of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Kate, Ike Clanton, Colonel Hafford and Johnny Behan.
Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Books, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son. However, it is not Books' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
Legendary marshal Wyatt Earp, now a weary gunfighter, joins his brothers Morgan and Virgil to pursue their collective fortune in the thriving mining town of Tombstone. But Earp is forced to don a badge again and get help from his notorious pal Doc Holliday when a gang of renegade brigands and rustlers begins terrorizing the town.
A band of Mexicans find their U. S. land claims denied and all the records destroyed in a courthouse fire. Their leader, Louis Chama, encourages them to use force to regain their land. A wealthy landowner wanting the same decides to hire a gang of killers with Joe Kidd to track Chama.
A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago. After gunning down three gunmen who tried to kill him, the townsfolk decide to hire the Stranger to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man.
A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.