Stage line agent investigates a series of robberies by taking the job of a deputy sheriff in a border Arizona town.Stage line agent investigates a series of robberies by taking the job of a deputy sheriff in a border Arizona town.Stage line agent investigates a series of robberies by taking the job of a deputy sheriff in a border Arizona town.
Photos
I. Stanford Jolley
- Shelley Daggett
- (as Stanford Jolley)
Cynthia Chenault
- Bride
- (as Cindy Robbins)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was shot in Arizona, including Tucson's Western Street, and at the Paramount--Sunset Studio in Hollywood. According to one news source, Gunsight Ridge was to be shot at Paramount's Conejo Ranch. Parts of the movie were filmed in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.
- GoofsIn the final scene when McCrea is talking to the girl a car is seen driving by in the background.
- Quotes
Billy Daggett: Seems like I ought to place you, but I can't.
Mike Ryan: Can I be of any help?
Billy Daggett: Where you from?
Mike Ryan: Well, almost any place you can get and some you can't.
Billy Daggett: In what capacity?
Mike Ryan: Well, that depends on where I go.
Billy Daggett: Know doubt you've got something quite special off in Bancroft.
Mike Ryan: That depends on Bancroft.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)
- SoundtracksGunsight Ridge
Performed by Dean Jones
Featured review
Only One Would Leave Gunsight Ridge Alive!
Gunsight Ridge is directed by Francis Lyon and written by Talbot and Elisabeth Jennings. It stars Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens, Joan Weldon, Addison Richards, Darlene Fields and Carolyn Craig. Music is by David Raksin (title tune sung by Dean Jones) and cinematography by Ernest Laszlo.
McCrea plays Mike Ryan, an undercover Stage Line agent who while investigating a series of robberies takes the job of a deputy Sheriff in a border Arizona town.
Gunsight Ridge is a neat little Western, better than most of its black and white type because it rises above its formulaic story to reveal interesting characters and good strands of plotting. In the mix is the detective work as Ryan hunts stagecoach robber Velvet Clark (Stevens) whilst also enforcing law in the town. There's a gang of ruffians on the outskirts of town known as The Lazy Heart Boys, who offer a side-bar of criminal activity, while Ryan and the Sheriff's daughter (Weldon) start to build an attraction. There's cold blooded murder on show, a rampaging stagecoach sequence through the rocky terrain and a finale up in them thar rocks that satisfies greatly. It is also a film that looks and sounds terrific. Raksin's score is full of thunder and sorrow, while Laszlo's moody photography is atmospherically noirish.
It's the characterisation of Velvet Clark that is the trump card though. He is shown to be a ruthless killer and thief, yet he also has a sympathetic edge. He is given some depth by the writers, shown to be a frustrated pianist, he's tortured by his artistic leanings and how he has ended up on the wrong side of the law. With McCrea doing another in his line of straight backed and stoic man of the people turns, the dual aspect of good and bad characters works beautifully. There's other little character moments of worth as well, such as Carolyn Craig playing a young farm girl romanticising herself with the outlaw Clark, and old Sheriff Jones (Richards) obsessed with catching the robber because he doesn't want his perfect record blemished.
Comfortably recommended to fans of 1950s "B" Westerns. 7/10
McCrea plays Mike Ryan, an undercover Stage Line agent who while investigating a series of robberies takes the job of a deputy Sheriff in a border Arizona town.
Gunsight Ridge is a neat little Western, better than most of its black and white type because it rises above its formulaic story to reveal interesting characters and good strands of plotting. In the mix is the detective work as Ryan hunts stagecoach robber Velvet Clark (Stevens) whilst also enforcing law in the town. There's a gang of ruffians on the outskirts of town known as The Lazy Heart Boys, who offer a side-bar of criminal activity, while Ryan and the Sheriff's daughter (Weldon) start to build an attraction. There's cold blooded murder on show, a rampaging stagecoach sequence through the rocky terrain and a finale up in them thar rocks that satisfies greatly. It is also a film that looks and sounds terrific. Raksin's score is full of thunder and sorrow, while Laszlo's moody photography is atmospherically noirish.
It's the characterisation of Velvet Clark that is the trump card though. He is shown to be a ruthless killer and thief, yet he also has a sympathetic edge. He is given some depth by the writers, shown to be a frustrated pianist, he's tortured by his artistic leanings and how he has ended up on the wrong side of the law. With McCrea doing another in his line of straight backed and stoic man of the people turns, the dual aspect of good and bad characters works beautifully. There's other little character moments of worth as well, such as Carolyn Craig playing a young farm girl romanticising herself with the outlaw Clark, and old Sheriff Jones (Richards) obsessed with catching the robber because he doesn't want his perfect record blemished.
Comfortably recommended to fans of 1950s "B" Westerns. 7/10
helpful•161
- hitchcockthelegend
- Jul 20, 2013
- How long is Gunsight Ridge?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
- 1.37 : 1
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