"Guns, Girls, and Gangsters" director Edward L. Cahn's predictable but entertaining oater "Noose for a Gunman" is a solid enough horse opera with a seasoned cast who have slapped leather many times. Veteran character actor Jim Davis plays Case Britton. Britton and local cattle baron Carl Avery (Barton MacLane of "G-Men") despise each other. Case gunned down Avery's two sons, and nobody in the town for Rock Valley has forgotten about his treachery. We learn later that Avery's boys were responsible for killing Case's brother. As "Noose for a Gunman opens, Case rides back into town and passes a frayed noose dangling from a tree with his name on a signboard. Town Marshal Tom Evans (Walter Sand of "Last Train from Gun Hill") knows Case, but he isn't prepared to lock him up. Case warns the paunchy lawman that notorious outlaw Jack Cantrell (grave-voiced Ted de Corsia of "Gunfight at the O. K. Corral") and his dastardly gang aim to waylay the Rock Valley stagecoach and steal $75-thousand. When word about this impending robbery reaches stagecoach line supervisor Jim Ferguson (Harry Carey, Jr., of "Rio Grande"), Ferguson cancels the stagecoach run. It seems that Cantrell tried to persuade Case to join his dastardly outfit, but our honor-besmirched protagonist turned them down.
As it turns out, Case is concerned about the welfare of one of the passengers on the stage, former dance hall songbird Della Haines (Lyn Thomas of "Triple Trouble"), who is coming to Rock Valley to marry him. Avery and his brawny right-hand hired gunman, Link (Leo Gordon of "Tobruk"), show up in town and embroil Case in trouble. During a brawl with Link on the boardwalk, Case sees Link's partner whip out his six-shooter on him. Case shoots him, and Tom has to put him under lock and key. Later, two of Cantrell's gunslingers ride into town to ferret out information. While they are wetting down their whistles in the saloon, Evans warns them that they have arranged a reception committee for Cantrell. Evans rides out to confront Cantrell at the outskirts of Rocky Valley. Cantrell promptly guns down Evans, and his gang storms Rock Valley. They hole up in the saloon and guzzle liquor. The Rock Valley townsmen make a deal with Case. If he can deal with Cantrell and his marauding gunmen, Case will have a new lease on life. Jim Davis of CBS-TV's "Dallas" is believable as a two-gun toting gunfighter who wants to turn over a new leaf, and Lyn Thomas is the lady who is going to straighten him out. Davis delivers a strong performance as a native son, and he carries himself and his matched pair of pistols with confident assurance. Anybody who loves westerns will spot several venerable character actor. Steve Fisher's story and the screenplay by Robert E. Kent of "Blood on the Arrow" boasts few surprises. Nevertheless, this 69- minute horse opera, "Noose for a Gunman" makes the grade.
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