en Gunpoint (film)

Gunpoint
Gunpoint
Directed by	Earl Bellamy
Written by	Mary Willingham; Willard W. Willingham
Produced by	Gordon Kay
Starring	Audie Murphy
Cinematography	William Marguiles
Edited by	Russell F. Schoengarth
Music by	Hans J. Salter
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	January 18, 1966 (New York City-Premiere); April 6, 1966 (Los Angeles-Premiere); April 27, 1966 (United States);
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$500,000

Gunpoint is a 1966 American Western film directed by Earl Bellamy and starring Audie Murphy.^[2] It was Murphy's final film for Universal Pictures.

Plot

In a small town in 1880s Colorado, a gang of outlaws led by Drago (Morgan Woodward) rob a train and kidnap a saloon singer, Uvalde (Joan Staley). Determined to chase them down, the sheriff, Chad Lucas (Audie Murphy), forms a posse which includes Uvalde's fiancé, Nate Harlan (Warren Stevens), Mark Emerson, Nicos, and Lucas's deputy Cap (Denver Pyle) – who is secretly in league with the outlaws. During the chase Nate realises that Chad and Uvalde used to be lovers. The posse battles Indians, horse thieves and conflicts among themselves before discovering Uvalde; eventually the sheriff's pursuit is successful.

Cast

Audie Murphy as Chad Lucas
Joan Staley as Uvalde (Bonnie Mitchell)
Warren Stevens as Nate Harlan
Edgar Buchanan as Bull
Denver Pyle as Cap Hold
David Macklin as Mark Emerson
Nick Dennis as Nicos
Royal Dano as Ode
Kelly Thordsen as Ab
Morgan Woodward as Drago
William Bramley as Hoag
Robert Pine as Mitchell
John Hoyt as Mayor Osborne
Ford Rainey as Tom Emerson
Mike Ragan as Zack
Roy Barcroft as Dr. Beardsley

Production

The film was the last of seven Westerns Audie Murphy made with producer Gordon Kay, starting with Hell Bent for Leather (1960).^[1] Parts of the film were shot at Kanab Canyon in Utah.^[3] Scenes from earlier Universal films starring Murphy, including Kansas Raiders, The Cimarron Kid, Ride Clear of Diablo, Night Passage, Gunsmoke and Sierra, were re-used in this film.

When Hedda Hopper asked him what the story was about, he told her, "Same story only we're getting older horses".^[4] Leading lady Joan Staley suffered a horse riding accident during production which limited her subsequent career. After making the movie, Murphy went to work in Europe for a number of years.

References

^ ^a ^b Don Graham, No Name on the Bullet: The Biography of Audie Murphy, Penguin, 1989 p 291
^ Gunpoint at the Audie Murphy Memorial Site
^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
^ Hedda Hopper (April 3, 1965). "Audie Murphy to Invade Europe". Los Angeles Times. p. 17.