Guns of a Stranger (1973)

Marty Robbins plays a sheriff who drifts from town to town, cleaning them up with his fast gun … so he earns the nickname, “The Drifter.”

In this tale, he decides to start drifting again after killing a young man in self defense and comes across a ranch family badly in need of help.

The father of pretty young Virginia Duncan and her younger brother Danny has been killed; their granddad (Chill Wills) drinks too much.

And their cattle are disappearing, supposedly at the hands of Indians who raid in the night. The Drifter smells a rat. Everyone knows Indians don’t fight — or for that matter — steal at night.

He sets out to find the real culprits and soon discovers other small ranchers are having similar problems.

He suspects Harley Rutledge (Tom Hartman) is behind those problems, trying to force small ranchers out of the area so he can gobble up their land.

Review:

Singing cowboy films had been out of vogue for about 30 years when this film was released, but it didn’t keep Robbins from trying.

He finds time to sing seven songs over the course of the film — including “The Drifter.” And by the time the credits role, you’ll likely come to the conclusion that he’s better off singing than acting.

But if his performance is wooden, that of Dovie Beams as Virginia Duncan is granite. Chill Wills doesn’t help much either, but at least you could tell he’d been in front of a camera before.

As for the plot, in one of the sillier moments, the Drifter summons some old friends for help. They arrive in a wagon that carries “Betsy.”

The bad guys begin to suspect The Drifter has brought in a gatling gun. Virginia accuses The Drifter of doing the same. In truth, the wagon contains musical instruments!

Steven Tackett plays Virginia’s younger brother, who develops a quick fondness for The Drifter. But, trust me, this isn’t Shane 2.0. Robbins had played the same character in a short-lived 1965 TV series. His son, Ronny, also appears in this film.

Now, back to Dovie Beams. She made this film after igniting a scandal in the Philippines. She had a two-year affair with President Ferdinand Marcos and secretly recorded their trysts, then released them to the press when she felt threatened. She appeared in just one more film after this mess.

Directed by:
Robert Hinkle

Cast:
Marty Robbins … Sheriff Roberts
aka The Drifter
Chill Wills … Tom Duncan
Dovie Beams … Virginia Duncan
Steven Tackett … Danny Duncan
Bill Coontz … Ace Gorenum
Shug Fisher … Shug Meadows
Tom Hartman … Harley Rutledge
Charles W. Aldridge … Clyde Terlan
Ronny Robbins … Alfred Bearden
Melody Hinkle … Faye Bearden
Don Winters … Axe Mayhew
Bobby Sykes … Bob Bishop
Fred Graham … Sheriff Stoner
Phil Strassberg … Nathan Cryder

Runtime: 91 min.

Memorable lines:

Virginia Duncan: “”We’ve been having cattle raids and all kinds of trouble with the Indians. We never had trouble with Indians around here before. What’s so strange is that these Indians have been attacking at night and burning houses and killing people.”
The Drifter: “You know, that is kind of strange because Indians don’t attack at night.”

Tom Duncan, ordering ammunition: “Me and the Drifter make it tough for skunks, varmints, rattlesnakes and Indians in this territory.”

Sheriff Roberts: “I’m going to work my way around this side-winding rattlesnake!”

Virginia Duncan, as The Drifter prepares to box a champ for a $300 prize to save her ranch: “What am I going to do about you?”
The Drifter: “Well, get some liniment, some sheets and plenty of hot water.”

Virginia Duncan: “Why do you keep drifting?”
The Drifter: “There’s something that makes me want to see what’s on the other side of the mountain.”