Main Cast: Don Knotts, Barbara Rhoades, Jackie Coogan, Don "Red" Barry, Ruth McDevitt
Release Year: 1968
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
Plot
This hilarious oater finds Jesse Heywood (Don Knotts) as a Philadelphia dentist who leaves his home to open a new practice on the western frontier. The hapless dentist is saved by the expert gun handling of Penny (Barbara Rhoades), a reformed bandit trying to earn a pardon by intercepting gun shipments to hostile Indians. After several more situations in which Penny saves the nervous newcomer, Jesse believes he has exceptional firearms prowess and believes himself to be a hero. Comedy ensues when the jumpy Jesse faces a bevy of bad men and nervously clutches a six shooter with a very unsteady hand. Penny has to help the pseudo-hero out of even more trouble before they can ride off together into the sunset. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Henry Larrecq - Art Director, Grady Hunt - Costume Designer, Joseph E. Kenny - First Assistant Director, Alan Rafkin - Director, Tony Martinelli - Editor, Dave Blume - Composer (Music Score), Jerry Keller - Composer (Music Score), Vic Mizzy - Composer (Music Score), Joseph E. Gershenson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Dave Blume - Songwriter, Jerry Keller - Songwriter, Bud Westmore - Makeup, Andrew Jackson - Cinematographer, Edward J. Montagne Jr. - Producer, Perry Murdock - Set Designer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, Waldon O. Watson - Sound/Sound Designer, Jim Fritzell - Screenwriter, Everett Greenbaum - Screenwriter
Jesse W. Haywood (Don Knotts) graduates from dental school in Philadelphia in 1870 and goes west to become a frontier dentist. As a "city slicker", he finds himself bungling in an odd new environment.
On his way west the stagecoach he is travelling on is held up and robbed by two masked bandits. A posse sets out to capture the bandits and catches one of them, Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushing (Barbara Rhoades).
Held by the sheriff and facing prison as a convictedstagecoachrobber, Penelope is offered a pardon if she will track down a ring of gun smugglers that also involves a local Indian tribe. She tricks Haywood into a sham marriage as a disguise.
Haywood unintentionally and inadvertently becomes the legendary "Doc the Haywood" after he guns down "Arnold the Kid" and performs other exploits (all with covert assistance from Penny).
The plot of the film Beethoven's 3rd revolves around a DVD copy of The Shakiest Gun in the West, and, consequently, this film is discussed during the Beethoven film.
