Gun Duel in Durango (1957) User Reviews

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[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 31 January 2017]

Gun Duel in Durango is directed by Sidney Salkow and written by Louis Stevens. It stars George Montgomery, Ann Robinson, Steve Brodie, Bobby Clark, Frank Ferguson, Don Barry, Henry Rowland and Denver Pyle. Music is by Paul Sawtell and Berts Shefter and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.

Standard 50s Oater as per formulaic story, but it's spiritedly played and it's not without emotional hefts. Story has Montgomery as Will Sabre, who has had enough of the outlaw life and quits the gang that are titled in his name. Only the gang wont let him quit and he has 30 days to change his mind or else! Not good since under an alias he's landed a nice job in Durango, become a surrogate father to an orphan, and if he can stay straight he'll get the hand of his honey, Judy (Robinson).

It starts with a callous murder and from there we are in no doubt that the one time Sabre Gang, now the Dunsten (Brodie) Gang, are bad dudes and Will Sabre (alias Dan) has his hands full from a number of angles. It's the various active threads that keep the pic from falling into mediocre hell, with Montgomery finding believable chemistry with both Robinson and young Clark. Action scenes are well staged, the Simi Valley and Chatsworth locales are nicely present and Gertsman's crisp black and white photography is most pleasant.

No surprises in store but this is above average and better than the plot would suggest. 6.5/10

Despite a relatively low budget, this is pretty good.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 30 January 2014]

George Montgomery plays Will Sabre--an outlaw. However, he's sick of the life and wants to retire--but his gang vows to kill him if he does. But, they like him so they give him 30 days to change his mind...or else.

On his way into town, Sabre happens upon an orphan. Robbie's father is dead and he's stranded along the trail. Sabre feels sorry for him and takes the boy with him into Durango. There he gets a job and tries to make something of himself--renaming himself Dan Tomlinson. But the gang is an ever-present threat. What is he to do? As is the case with all of George Montgomery's westerns I've seen, this is a very very competent and well made lower-budgeted film. Montgomery is excellent as always and they manage to make rather ordinary stuff a bit better than it should be. Well worth seeing.

By the way, the trivia section on IMDb is mistaken. It says that the boy Robbie was played by a 20 year-old. Bobby Clark was only 12 or 13 when the film debuted, as he was born in 1944.

They Drag Me Back In

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 11 March 2014]

Sad to say that a cheap production characterizes this George Montgomery B western. With some color and a few more touches Gun Duel In Durango might have rated a bit higher. It also would have been nice had the hero who of course is Montgomery and chief villain Steve Brodie actually had a classic gun duel in the middle of street as per the title.

Even so Montgomery turns in a fine performance as an outlaw who wants to quit his gang and go straight, straight to Ann Robinson an old girl friend and marry her. But the gang won't leave him alone and the current leader Steve Brodie has a notion he can take Montgomery.

In addition to Robinson, Montgomery also picks up orphan Bobby Clark and the three do become a family after a few rough patches. George must have felt like Michael Corleone the way his old crew wants to drag him back in.

Western fans should be pleased with this one.

The evergreen plot begins to get brown around the edges.

[horn-5 · 13 November 2005]

Dan Tomlinson, aka Will Sabre (George Montgomery), head of a gang of outlaws, states his intentions to go straight but is warned by the the new gang leader, Dunston(Steve Brodie)that he has thirty days to come back to the gang---or else.

On his way back to his hometown and girl, Judy (Ann Robinson), Dan picks up 10-year-old Robbie (Bobby Clark (I)) whose father has been killed. Dan gets a job as a bank teller and suspicion falls on him when a hold-up occurs and he doesn't use his guns. And, on top of that, Dunston and his former gang plants evidence to make it appear as if Dan cooperated with them.......wait, a minute, haven't we seen this before? A reformed outlaw comes to town, gets a responsible position (such as sheriff or stage guard or maybe even a bank teller---the reel west was getting really whimpy by 1956), and his old gang shows up, makes off with whatever is the most valuable and easiest to haul off...and the ex-outlaw is left to take the blame?

Well, by cracky and by gum, we indeed have...like in 1937'S TWO GUN LAW and 1939's THE THUNDERING WEST with Charles Starrett and 1932's Texas GUN FIGHTER with Ken Maynard and 1930's THE LONE RIDER with Buck Jones...and Universal trotted it out for Johnny Mack Brown in MAN FROM MONTANA...and Maynard liked it so much he used it again at Columbia in 1935 and in a 1940 Colony production and, all in all, it is probably the third most-recycled plot in the western-film genre.

No problem with the always-good George Montgomery filling in for the likes of Jones, Starrett, Maynard and Brown,or Bob Steele or Jack Perrin or Tom Tyler in other versions but Steve Brodie falls way short of the menace of Harry Woods or Dick Curtis.

Writer Louis Stevens shows once again what he lacked in originality, he more than made up for in total recall of plots that had been used before. In this instance, many times.

Lots of Gunplay in Slightly Above Average Saddle Soap

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 5 September 2016]

A Tad Above Average B-Western that has Plenty of Heart and Plenty of Gunfire. George Montgomery is trying to Hang-Up His Outlaw Guns but His Old Gang won't let go. The always Reliable Steve Brodie is now Heading the bunch of No-Goodniks and is Determined to make Montgomery Pay in more ways than one.

Nifty Little Saddle Soap that utilizes that 50's Plot Point that Post-War Baby-Boomers got there Handle. It's all about Kids ("Shane", "The Rifleman"). This one isn't too Sappy and the Cast makes it Appealing and Heartwarming.

Guns Ablaze and the Solution has an Optimistic, Forgiving Attitude about Gangster Reform for a Sunny Conclusion. Enjoyable, Fast-Paced Western that should Please Fans of the Genre.

Brodie Steals the Show as a Nasty Creep and the rest of the Seasoned Cast Help things stay on course. The Kid, who just Lost His Dad, shows some Intelligence and Attitude that Rivals the Grownups and does Not Diminish the Grit of the Movie.

Surprisingly entertaining B saddle story

[adrianovasconcelos · 7/10 · 1 February 2021]

Never heard of Director Salkow but he does a decent job with this B pic, and cleverly allows child actor Bobby Clark to steal the spectator's heartstrings.

Montgomery is not a great actor but he is effective as a gun hand trying to reform and stop killing. Ann Robinson is a dish, so they make a great couple. Steve Brodie is a convincing villain, and the action is somewhat slow and frustrating because initially Sabre wants to take on the identity of Bobbly Clark's father and allow killer Sabre to be reported dead but then he dithers and goes back on his plan, when all he had to do was to shoot all the members of the Sabre gang dead and the sheriff would not be able to identify him.

At one point he tells lovely Robinson that he has switched names because he does not want to kill anymore but, after much hesitation, he goes ahead and kills three or four gang members for good measure.

So go figure that contradiction. Apart from that, it's a touching and entertaining B pic.

"By the time you grow up, men won't be wearing guns."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 8 April 2012]

Though it has a slicker look and better production values than all those Westerns of the Thirties and Forties, this one is still a B picture all the way. With a recycled plot of an outlaw hanging up his guns, George Montgomery carries this picture only so far, as the story never really builds up any kind of tension to speak of. Some of the situations are head scratchers actually, like the opening when Dunsten (Steve Brodie) and his gang confront Will Sabre (Montgomery) for the first time. The set up has you believing that Dunsten wants to gun down Sabre for running out on the gang, but when they finally meet up, Dunsten gives him thirty days to decide if he'll come back.

Or how about the bank manager giving Will, now Dan Tomlinson, a job as a bank cashier? Could it have been that easy, even back in the 1890's? No resume, no references, just walk in and tell the owner that you had some experience balancing the books at your former saloon. OK, the sheriff (Frank Ferguson) gave his blessing, but it all seemed a stretch to me.

Then there's the relationship between Will and Judy (Ann Robinson) - after two years he shows up, now with a kid in tow, and asks her to take him in. Her initial reluctance just melted away in the space of a brief conversation and young Robbie's (Bobby Clark) injury in the horse spill. I guess what I'm saying is that all the pieces just seemed to fit so neatly together to make the story work out, with everyone living happily ever after.

What got a bigger reaction out of me was finding out that the actor portraying Robbie Donovan was actually twenty years old at the time - what??!! Talk about a case of arrested development. Either that or the information on the IMDb website is wrong, which it may be as there are some indications that his date of birth is listed incorrectly. I'd hate to think that Bobby Clark had to go through his young adulthood with everyone thinking he was still in grade school.

Tolerable Little Horse Opera

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 20 June 2015]

"Gun Brothers" director Sidney Salkow's "Gun Duel in Durango" qualifies as a routine but entertaining horse opera about a notorious bank robber who reforms. Later, he makes himself a credit to his community. Although this swiftly-paced, little sagebrusher boasts few surprises, Salkow and scenarist Stevens don't deviate from the formula. While it relies ostensibly on clichés, Salkow delivers a sturdy oater. The production values look good enough.

George Montgomery plays two-gun packing desperado Will Sabre in "Gun Duel in Durango ". Initially, like the typical western villain of the 1950s, Sabre wears black from his Stetson to his boots. The first time we see him, Sabre is on the lam, fleeing from Kansas into Texas with his former gang in hot pursuit. Jake Dunsten (Steve Brodie of "White Heat") has taken over leadership of the gang. While the gang watches, Dunsten pays a harmless old-timer the sum of $20 for information regarding Sabre's whereabouts. Afterward, the trigger-happy Dunsten shoots the old guy twice in the back. The gang don't approve of Dunsten's cold-blooded murder. Nevertheless, Dunsten defends his deed! He argues the old timer could have identified them to the Texas Rangers. Meantime, Sabre stays ahead of Jake and the gang. Our hero stumbles onto a covered wagon with a corpse inside it and a destitute adolescent, Robbie Donovan (Bobby Clark of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), armed with a repeating rifle. Robbie has carved a six-foot grave out for dead father. Sabre conceals himself in the open grave with Robbie so he can get the drop on Dunsten and his old gang. An irate Dunsten gives Will 30 days to rejoin them, and then the gang skedaddles. Hiding in the grave is symbolic for Will because it implies death and rebirth. Will is no longer the same man. Earlier, Sabre had rubbed his initials off the grips of his six-shooters on some rocks. Now, he decides to masquerade as the youth's uncle. Robbie agrees to countenance Sabre's deception. Not long after Jake's gang rides off, Texas Rangers gallop up and ask Will about the gang. Will refuses to inform on his old cronies much to Robbie's chagrin.

After the Rangers depart, they ride smack into an ambush. Jake's second-in-command, Larry (Don 'Red' Barry of "Shalako"), isn't elated with Jakes decision to lay in wait for the lawmen. They wound a couple before Sabre shows up.When Robbie and Will pull into Durango, Will has shed his six-guns and adopted a different name. Now, he calls himself Dan Tomlinson, but the local lawman, Sheriff Howard (Frank Ferguson of "Johnny Guitar") has some suspicions about him. Meantime, Will convinces the manager of a local bank to hire him as a cashier, since he used to work in a gambling hall. When he isn't counting money at the bank, Dan spends his time out at a nearby ranch run by Judy Ollivant (Ann Robinson of "The War of the Worlds"), who knows Sabre because he used to work with him. Robbie has a difficult time getting used to being at the ranch. At one point, he takes a horse and tries to ride away. Robbie's horse stumbles and throws him. Reluctantly, Robbie gives in and agrees to stay at Judy's ranch and attend classes in Durango. Eventually, Jake learns about Sabre's masquerade in the bank and he abducts Robbie so he can force Will to help him. Predictably, Sabre has to open the vault and lets the gang steal the loot in the dead of night. Once he gets Robbie back, Will wants to go after Jake and the gang. Sheriff Howard tries to prevent him from going, but Will refuses to be thwarted in his aim. Our hero infiltrates Jake's hide-out and prompts a showdown with Jake. The despicable Jake seizes Larry and uses him as a shield when Will surprises them. Will has climbed atop their hide-out, and he opens fire on them, killing Larry as Jake stands behind him. Will wounds Jake and takes him into town. The Governor hears about Will's conduct and provides him with a pardon.

For the record, Stevens wrote 49 screenplays, and several were westerns, including "The Texas Rangers," "Border Legion," "Massacre River," "Colorado," "Horizons West," and "The Cimarron Kid." Furthermore, Stevens contributed material to the Bela Lugosi classic "Dracula." Montgomery makes a stalwart hero, while Steve Brodie is a genuine villain. "Gun Duel in Durango" draws its title from a shoot-out that occurs when Jake's gang makes their first attempt to rob the bank. Comparatively, "Gun Duel in Durango" isn't as good as either "Black Patch" or "Masterson of Kansas."

Gun Duel in Durango review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 16 April 2020]

An infamous criminal's attempts to live an honest life are complicated by his love interest, his concern for a young orphaned boy, and former gang members who don't want to see him going straight. An ordinary B-Western held together by a workmanlike performance from George Montgomery and competent direction from Sidney Salkow. Loses points for an unaccountably rushed ending, though.

Gun Duel In Durango

[Oslo_Jargo · 6/10 · 23 April 2016]

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Pretty average stuff here, with some basic silly story lines added to the mix which make no sense. It starts out quickly, like a TV Western. You'll recognize plenty of faces from TV and film. There's not much to the artistry, although the direction is capable.

Stiff George Montgomery as (Will / Dan) plays some outlaw who suddenly changes his ways and turns his back on his outlaw posse. Steve Brodie as Dunsten wants revenge. There's also a snot-nosed kid whose father has just died and was being buried. In all his heart, George Montgomery as (Will / Dan) helps him out and takes him to the nearest town.

It's all rather stupid and contrived, but it's not horrible. Frank Ferguson as Sheriff Howard is another annoying Sheriff who pries into everything. George Montgomery as (Will / Dan) gets a job as a bank clerk and wants to change his ways but is pulled into another holdup with his old crew.

You can figure out the ending from here.

Gun duel in Durango

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 19 January 2022]

Ex-outlaw Will Sabre wants an honest life under the alias Dan Tomlinson but his old gang, under new leader Dunsten, wants him back for a new string of armed robberies.

Standard western about an outlaw trying to reform is a competent heartwarming little programmer that features a fine performance from George Montgomery, who expresses desperation as an ex-outlaw trying to bury his past; his interactions with the boy comes across natural and a reason for him to reform. Apart from the emotional content, there's some lively gunplay and a really callous main villain. Just wished that it was in colour, though.

For George Montgomery fans only

[searchanddestroy-1 · 2 July 2023]

OK, that's a pretty good time waster, but there were dozens, or even hundreds like this one where a former outlaw wants to redeem himself, forget his past and have a new life, facing his former associates. It is well done by a very professional Sidney Salkow, but the plot is sooo predictable and boring. I hardly made it concerning the viewing, me who likes being surprised. Here, not at all. This was actually not a deception because I am not naive enough to expect anything more. I had seventy four minutes to waste in my sunday afternoon and that's why. But, I insist, it will please to most western fans. I have seen far far worse.