The Fastest Gun Alive is a 1956 western film starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain and Broderick Crawford.
Plot summary
Notorious gunslinger George Kelby Jr. (Glenn Ford) and his wife Dora (Jeanne Crain) settle down in a peaceful little town under assumed identities to avoid having to continually face men out to become famous for shooting down the "fastest gun alive". George becomes a mild-mannered tea-totaling shopkeeper little respected by the other townsfolk.
One day, the whole town hears the news that outlaw Vinnie Harold (Broderick Crawford) has gunned down Clint Fallon, reputedly the fastest gun in the west. George's pride is stung. Eventually, he becomes so frustrated, he gets drunk and blurts out his secret. When the citizens disbelieve him, he gives them a demonstration of his skill.
Harold finds out and, backed up by fellow bank robbers Taylor Swope (John Dehner) and Dink Wells (Noah Beery, Jr.), threatens to burn down the whole town unless George faces him. With no other choice, George outdraws and kills Harold. When a posse pursuing the outlaws shows up, the townspeople claim that the two men shot each other dead, allowing George and Dora to resume their peaceful existence.
Notable
Russ Tamblyn, who later co-starred in West Side Story (1961), performs a dance routine during a hoe-down early in the film that includes a remarkable "shovel" dance, i.e. dancing on shovels used as stilts.
Demonstrating his prowess with a gun, the Glenn Ford character asks a citizen to hold a glass of beer away from his body and, upon the count of three, let it drop. He shoots it before it hits the ground. The scene is shot from behind the glass of beer with Ford facing directly into the camera. Ford's speed in his quick draw is remarkable.
Cast
External links
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