Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Robert Knapp is Gil Reardon, a former gunman who’s been reformed by his wife. But his wife and his best friend are killed and his cattle are taken from him by an old enemy, Ben Keefer, and his brothers.

And when Gil rides into Laredo seeking vengeance, he soon learns Ben Keefer runs the town.

He’s convicted of murder for defending himself and sent to prison. He manages to escape, then encounters a pretty Indian maiden (Jana Davi as Rosita) tied to a tree.

He frees her, then kills her captor, who just happens to be an Indian chief’s son.

Now he has to deal with a posse, a band of angry Apache and the desert he’ll have to cross to get back to Laredo for a chance to even the score.

Gil and Rosita fall for one another, of course. And she urges him time and again not to risk his life.

But Gil won’t give up on his hatred for Reardon. He might find an unexpected ally in Matt Crawford, the new sheriff of Laredo.

He knows Keefer and his brothers are corrupt, but hasn’t found a way to rid the town of them — at least not yet.

Robert Knapp as Gil Reardon, a man so desperate to even a score that he breaks out of prison to do it in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Jana Davi as Rosita, warry of the white man who has rescued her in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Review:

Lucky Gil Reardon. He breaks free from prison, pops out of a hole and finds a real-life beauty queen (Jana Davi was Miss Ceylon, Columbia, 1955, and competed for Miss Universe) tied to a tree, just waiting to be freed.

That’s just one of the improbabilities that plagued this low-budget flick. The lushest desert you’ll ever find in a Western is another. And poor Jana Davi is given some ridiculous lines to pull off.

But it’s a breezy and pretty action-packed 67 minutes, and the leads are are likeable, including Sheriff Crawford, who practices law with a simple motto: “It all evens out in the end.”

Walter Coy as Ben Keefer, becoming more desperate once he realizes Gil Reardon is out of prison and likely gunning for him in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Paul Birch as Marshal Matt Crawford, determined to bring law and order to Laredo, but to do it his way in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Directed by:
Wallace MacDonald

Cast:
Robert Knapp … Gil Reardon
Jana Davi … Rosita
Walter Coy … Ben Keefer
Paul Birch … Matt Crawford
Don Harvey … Dave Marlow
Clarence Straight … Frank Bass
Jerry Barclay … Jordan Keefer
Roy Hayes … Walt Keefer
Charles Horvath … Coloradas
Jean Moorhead … Katy Reardon

Runtime: 67 min.

Jerry Barclay as Jordan Keefer and Roy Hayes as his brother Walt, talking about evening a score with older brother Ben in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Jean Moorhead as Katy Reardon, watching rustlers approach her wagon in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Memorable lines:

Gil Reardon, confronting Ben Keefer after his wife and friend have been killed: “You slipped up on me, Ben. And you’re going to be sorry right up until the moment I kill you.”

Rosita: “That is bad way. Some rock. Big canyon. Not much water. Desert god make big storm this time of year.”
Gil Reardon: “Oh, you believe in desert gods now.”
Rosita: “I know them best.”

Matt Crawford to Ben Keefer: “Remember, Ben, a rattler can get stepped on permanently. If a man’s fast enough.”

Gil Reardon: “My woman, as you call her, is dead.”
Rosita: “I am glad.” Gil grabs her in anger. “It is right to be honest. I say I am glad. I am. Is it wrong? I say what I think. Like we are here alone. And I am glad. Are you?”
Gil: “I haven’t given it a thought.”
Rosita: “That is not honest. That is not true. I see your eyes. They talk to me. You look at me sometimes like a man looks at his woman. Like you want me …”

Rosita: “Hate it no good. It eats in here.” She indicates her heart. “It changes a good spirit.”

Charles Horvath as Colorados, an Indian chief looking to avenge his son’s death in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Harry Antrim as Judge Frank Parker, presiding over Gil Reardon’s murder trial in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Jana Davi, tied to a tree for safe keeping while her Indian ‘husband’ goes hunting in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)

Robert Knapp as Gil Reardon, ready to even the score with the men responsible for his wife’s death in Gunmen from Laredo (1959)