Top Gun (1955) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Sterling Hayden is Rick Martin, a notorious gunman who returns to his hometown of Casper, Wyoming, and quickly learns he isn’t welcome.

In fact, there’s an open grave in the local cemetery, just a waitin’ for his dead body.

And Martin has arrived with some unwelcome news — Tom Quentin (John Dehner) and his gang are heading for Casper.

Quentin leads a renegade band that specialize in raiding small towns.

Marshal Bat Davis quickly tries to round up as many deputies as possible to protect the town.

Martin offers to help; the town council would prefer he get out of town as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Martin discovers he has a score to settle with townsman Canby Judd.

For starters, Judd is now engaged to his old flame, Laura Meade (Karin Booth).

For another, he suspects Candy of cheating his mom out of her ranch, then having her killed.

Sterling Hayden as Rick Martin, returning to warn a town where he’s no longer wanted in Top Gun (1955)

William Bishop as Canby Judd, a man with more than one reason to want Rick Martin out of Casper in Top Gun (1955)

Review:

Another wooden performance by Hayden and poorly filmed action scenes don’t add up to a classic 1950s Western.

And why would Quentin continue to follow through with a raid of a town with no significant loot to offer when he knows it’s been tipped off to his plans and he’s likely to lose lots of his men in doing so?

One interesting note is a very early screen appearance by Rod Taylor in just his third film. He plays a hot-headed youngster eager to prove his expertise with a six-gun by forcing a showdown with Rick Martin.

James Millican as Marshal Bat Davis, trying to save his town from renegades in Top Gun (1955)

Karin Booth as Laura Meade, Rick Martin’s former flame, now planning to marry Canby Judd in Top Gun (1955)

Directed by:
Ray Nazarro

Cast:
Sterling Hayden … Rick Martin
William Bishop … Canby Judd
Karin Booth … Laura Meade
James Millican … Marshal Bat Davis
Regis Toomey … Jim O’Hara
Hugh Sanders … Ed Marsh
John Dehner … Tom Quentin
Rod Taylor … Lem Sutter
Denver Pyle … Hank Spencer
William Phillips … Gorse

Runtime: 77 min.

Regis Toomey as Jim O’Hara, the one ally Rick Martin still has in the town of Casper in Top Gun (1955)

Denver Pyle as Hank Spencer and Hugh Sanders as Ed Marsh, town leaders unsettled by Rick Martin’s presence in town in Top Gun (1955)

Memorable lines:

Marshal Bat Davis, to Rick Martin, upon his arrival in Casper: “They (members of town council) claim you’re a black eye to the community. They’re tired of strangers asking to see where the famous gunman used to live. They’d rather show them where you were buried.”

Jim O’Hara, to townsmen reluctant to take up arms against the outlaws: “What kind of pussy-footing, back-biting buzzards have you three turned into?”

Marshal Bat Davis: “Let’s get back to the posse.”
Jim O’Hara: “That’s a fancy name for seven scared farmers.”

Hank Spencer: “Rick Martin’s the only man who can save this town.”
Canby Judd: “Why not? It’s a gunman against a gunman.”
Jim O’Hara: “A few hours ago, you were gonna hang him. Now, with the fear of death grabbing your puny souls, you want to beg him to fight for you and probably die for you.”

Laura Meade: “I’m tired of lies and deception.”
Jim O’Hara: “You’ve been listening to a slippery-tongued fella who can make a lie stand up and take a bow.”