Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Joel McCrea is Mke Ryan, an undercover agent heading to the town of Bancroft when the stage in which he’s riding is held up.

The fact that he doesn’t fight back against the lone holdup man irks passenger Molly Jones (Joan Weldon), a sheriff’s daughter used to more heroic men.

But Ryan spotted a second gun hiding in the bushes — a shotgun being wielded by Velvet Clark (Mark Stevens).

In fact, once the stage has left, Velvet uses that very shotgun to blast his partner away; you see, the partner was identified during the holdup.

And Velvet can’t afford for his cover to be blown. He’s got the good folks of Bancroft thinking he’s a law-abiding citizen who makes his living working a small mine, then spends his evenings romancing a saloon girl named Rosa and trying to make more money gambling.

But someone keeps robbing — and sometimes killing — around Bancroft, and it’s ruining the town’s reputation.

So much so that town leaders ask for the resignation of aging sheriff Tom Jones (Addison Richards), Molly’s dad.

That’s when Ryan reveals his true identity and announces his plan to work side-by-side with Jones to catch those responsible.

In the process, he earns Molly’s gratitude. Of course, it’s also her affection he wants.

Joel McCrea as Mike Ryan, an investigator temporarily stopped by a young girl with a rifle in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Mark Stevens as Velvet Clark, a gambler with a crooked means of making a living in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Review:

The presence of Stevens as a second male lead — a psychotic killer who might have become a piano-playing Eastern gentlemen under other circumstances — helps make this a better than average McCrea vehicle.

Occasional touches of humor help. Just watch how McCrea’s Ryan tricks a ranch owner into paying taxes on more cattle than are rightly his.

So does the rather unique three-way chase as the film reaches its climax. Having lost the money he stole, Stevens heads out on the trail of four bank robbers, planning to rob them at the same time he’s being tracked by McCrea.

This marked one of the first credited film roles for Joel’s son Jody. He plays a groom who’s about to be married to a lovely blonde when Ryan interrupts the nuptials with his story about the reward on the bandits’ heads.

Joan Weldon as Molly Jones, the sheriff’s daughter wondering about Matt Ryan’s bravery in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Darlene Fields as Rosa, the saloon girl interested in Velvet and his stolen money in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Directed by:
Francis Lyon

Cast:
Joel McCrea …Mike Ryan
Mark Stevens … Velvet Clark
Joan Weldon … Molly Jones
Addison Richards … Sheriff Tom Jones
Darlene Fields … Rosa
Carolyn Craig … Farm girl
Robert Griffin … Herb Babcock
I. Stanford Jolley … Billy Daggett
George Chandler … Gus Withers
Slim Pickens … Hank Moss
Herb Vigran … R.B. Davis
Kitty Kelly …. Mrs. Donahue
Jody McCrea … Groom
Cynthia Chenault … Bridge
L.Q. Jones … Lazy Heart Ranch Hand
Dan Blocker … Bartedner

Runtime: 85 min.

Title tune: “Gunsight Ridge”
sung by Dean Jones

Addison Richards as Tom Jones, an aging sheriff in need of a helping hand in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Carolyn Craig as the young farm girl Velvet Clark befriends in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Memorable lines:

Alex, after being identified robbing the stage: “I’m your friend.”
Velvet Clark, just before blowing Alex away with a blast from his shotgun: “I don’t have any friends.”

Velvet, on why he doesn’t play the piano much anymore: “I wanted to be the best. Takes money for lessons. I didn’t have any. Do you know what it’s like to have talent, a lot of talent. I tried to kill mine. But it wouldn’t die. I hate it, but sometimes, I just gotta play.”

Rosa: “Devil, you’re not afraid of anything, are you?”
Velvet: “Not of anything that’s alive.”
Rosa: “Well, we won’t wake the dead, will we?”
And then they kiss.

Jody McCrea as the groom who has his wedding interrupted in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Cynthia Chenault as the young beauty upset her wedding has been interrupted in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Joel McCrea as Mike Ryan, tricking rancher Gus Withers (George Chandler) into paying taxes on rustled cattle in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

LQ. Jones as one of the Lady Heart ranch hands in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Slim Pickens as Hank Moss, a stage driver who gets drunk after a holdup in Gunsight Ridge (1957)

Joel McCrea as Mike Ryan and Addison Richards as Sheriff Jones, working to solve a rash of robberies in Gunsight Ridge (1957)