At Gunpoint (1955)

Fred MacMurray is Jack Wright, a shopkeeper in the small town of Plainview, happily married and with a young son.

One day, a gang of outlaws ride into town and holds up the bank.

When the sheriff is shot, Jack grabs his pistol and picks off the outlaw carrying the loot.

He and fellow townsmen Al Ferguson, whose rifle shots also helped bring down the outlaw leader, are celebrated as heroes.

And talk of Jack’s heroic deed spreads, with the distance of his shot getting longer and longer with each telling.

Bob Dennis (Skip Homeier), brother of the outlaw MacMurray gunned down, isn’t humored. He’s in a vengeful mood.

He returns to Plainview and kills Ferguson. Everyone knows Jack is next on the outlaw’s list of potential victims.

Soon, the good folks of Plainview don’t want their kids hanging out with Jack’s son. Then they stop going to his store.

Finally, they offer to buy him out, if he’ll only leave town and free them from the threat of retaliation.

strong>Fred MacMurray as Jack Wright, a store keeper whose lucky shot lands him in a world of trouble in At Gunpoint (1955)

Walter Brennan as Doc Lacy, the one Plainview resident who stands by Jack Wright (Fred MacMurray) in At Gunpoint (1955)

Review:

One of a number of serious Westerns MacMurray made in the 1950s before landing is Disney films and on TV in the hit series “My Three Sons.” It’s also one of the best.

In addition to a fine performance by MacMurray as the man who manages to keep his “heroic” deed in perspective, there’s the typical solid performance by Walter Brennan as the one townsman who stands by MacMurray, regardless of the situation.

Dorothy Malone is the shopkeeper’s wife; Tommy Retig, also starring on the TV show “Lassie” at the time, plays the son of Jack and Martha Wright.

Well done, and more violent than one would expect.

Dorothy Malone as Martha Wright and James O’Hara as her brother Wally, realizing an old friend has died in At Gunpoint (1955)

Tommy Rettig as Billy Wright, worried about his dad’s safety as rumors swirl around Plainview in At Gunpoint (1955)

Directed by:
Albert Werker

Cast:
Fred MacMurray … Jack Wright
Dorothy Malone … Martha Wright
Walter Brennan … Doc Lacy
Tommy Retig … Billy Wright
John Qualen … Livingston
Irving Bacon … Al Ferguson
John Pickard … Alvin Dennis
Skip Homeier …. Bob Dennis
Whit Bissell … Clem Clark
Jack Lambert … Kirk
James Griffith … The Stranger

Runtime: 81 min.

Skip Homeier as Bob Dennis, an outlaw determined to avenge the death of his brother in At Gunpoint (1955)

John Pickard as Alvin Dennis, the outlaw gunned down by Jack Wright and George Henderson in At Gunpoint (1955)

Memorable lines:

Jack Wright, telling a stranger about how his good deed has been exagerated: “You’re looking at the man who shot the notorious Alvin Dennis from a distance of a half mile. With a slingshot.”

Town leader: “We need a marshal.”
Doc Lacy: “Well, hire one. Send to Abilene, Dodge City, one of those places. Get a gunman. Preferrably one with two guns … Or more.”

Bob Dennis: “We’re not leaving that town til that store keeper’s guts have been shot out.”

Fred MacMurray as Jack Wright and Frank Ferguson as George Henderson, the men who foil a bank robbery in At Gunpoint (1955)

John Qualen as Livingston, the man whose Plainview bank is robbed in At Gunpoint (1955)

Whit Bissell as Clem Clark and Irving Bacon as Al Ferguson, worried Plainview residents in At Gunpoint (1955)

Harry Shannon as Plainview Marshal Pete MacKay, who loses his life in a bank robbery in At Gunpoint (1955)

Fred MacMurray as Jack Wright and Dorothy Malone as his wife Martha, their life turned upside down by a heroic act in At Gunpoint (1955)

Fred MacMurray as Jack Wright, determined to defend his right to stay in Plainview in At Gunpoint (1955)