Hour of the Gun, 1967 - ★★★★

Hour of the Gun, 1967 - ★★★★

REVIEWED



"When we were kids we used to argue about whether when you were dying... your whole life flashed in front of you or not."

- Wyatt Earp (James Garner)


R.I.P. James Garner 7/4/1928 - 20/7/2014



I had something of an epiphany this afternoon while watching westerns, Rockford Files and Carry On made me the man I am today (far more than religion, country or peers ever did).


..:: Machismovision: Wow The West Was Fun - Film #16 ::..

Wyatt Earp's brother is murdered in a revenge killing in Tombstone by Ike Clanton's clan. Earp and Doc Holliday pursue the band of killers over the Coloradan west. But Earp's fully intent on using Ike's arrest warrant more has an hunting license for revenge.


I've deviated recently in my recent Sunday western viewing (and in truth this was a stop gap at hearing the sad news of Garner passing away), but this is a true traditional mans mans western. 'Hour of the Gun' is John Sturges lavish looking (and sounding) sequel to 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Featuring great macho performances from the three leads - 'James Garner' as Wyatt Earp the marshal who wants to throw out the rules, 'Jason Robards' as the more moralist friend Doc Holliday and 'Robert Ryan' as tired outlaw Ike Clanton facing his final setting sun. Sadly after its claustrophobic block rockin' opening, Hour's plot & pace gets lassoed into the ground, feeling more like a frontier histrionics lesson than a guns blazing western adventure. Its good movie and worth seeing but falls a stetson short of being a true classic.


[Personal Reasons For Remembering]

Jerry Goldsmith's score is truly fabulous if theres a missing link between vintage western soundtracks and revisionist ones this is it.






Originally taken from Letterboxd

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