Living By the Gun (2011)

When his shiftless brother loses most of their property, then beds his wife, Pat McIntire goes gun crazy.

In seconds, the brother and his wife are dead. The brother’s wife is left pregnant with a cabin and 10 acres of land as her brother-in-law rides off to live life by the gun.

Over the years, the body count grows as McIntire’s character will apparently kill anyone – preachers included — if the price is right.

Meanwhile, his niece (Judy Rhodes) is raised by a mother who teaches her to be tough by whipping her with a crop every time she shows any sign of weakness.

The niece wants one thing: To see her uncle dead.

So she straps on a gun and begins to leave her own bloody trail as she tracks him down, intent on making him pay for the life she was born into — one her mother convinced her was all her uncle’s fault.

Wounded in a gunfight, the uncle finds refuge with a Christian family named the Fords who are facing their own struggles. The railroad and the bank want their land; they don’t have the money to pay off their debts.

The uncle helps them all he can, but they refuse his money. Meanwhile, he dreams of a future as a partner on their ranch and falls for a young whore saving her money for what’s “next.”

The niece runs into her own problems, namely a short-term partner who kicks her senseless after they’ve killed and robbed a traveling salesman. She’s taken in the owner of a boarding house who wants to teach her how to be a proper lady.

But both niece and uncle are pulled back into a life of violence by tragic turns that put them back on a collision course.

Pat McIntire as the Uncle, listening to a stolen watch in Living By the Gun (2011)

Judy Rhodes, watching for the arrival of the uncle she plans to kill in Living By the Gun (2011)

Review:

In the right hands, with the right cast, this could have been a fine, dark Western – a modern Spaghetti, perhaps, since the lead characters are nameless. The plot isn’t the problem.

The cast is. This film is loaded with Grade Z performances, including Pat McIntire in just his second film (preceded by 2011’s “Cowboys vs. Zombies”) and Judy Rhodes as the blood-thirsty niece in her film debut.

About the only character that doesn’t come off as wooden is Dave Reimer as Miles, the one man the niece trusts, very briefly. But his role is limited to a couple of scenes in the middle of the film.

Poor Amber Beasley plays a young woman forced to whore for a living, a fate that pales in comparison to the lines she’s asked to pull off in this turkey. As of 2016, this was the only film directed by James Miller, who also wrote the script.

Watch the extras on the DVD release, and it becomes clear that this was a fun project put together by friends who are Old West re-enactors and volunteered their time. Rhodes and her father responded to a casting call at a fire department thinking they might land spots as extras; Rhodes, who had never even taken a drama course, wound up as the female lead.

Don Jespersen as Mr. Ford, the man who gives the Uncle refuge in his home after he’s been wounded in Living By the Gun (2011)

Carol Bayers as Mrs. Ford, who helps nurse the wounded Uncle back to health in Living By the Gun (2011)

Directed by:
James Miller

Cast:
Pat McIntire … Uncle
Judy Rhodes … Niece
Cheryl McIntire … Mrs. Ormond
Don Jespersen … Mr. Ford
Carol Bayers … Mrs. Ford
Amber Noel Beasley … Uncle’s Soiled Dove
Dave Reimer …. Miles
Buck King … Ben Armstrong
David Hesseltime … Ed (brother)
Mary Peterson … Sister-in-law

Runtime: 104 min.

Title tune: “Living By the Gun”
Closing tune: “Death in the Air”
Performed by Steve Mantelli

Amber Noel Beasley as the whore who takes a liking to the Uncle in Living By the Gun (2011)

Cheryl McIntire as Mrs. Ormond, who gives the Niece lessons on becoming a lady in Living By the Gun (2011)

Memorable lines:

Niece, touching a six-gun: “I was just looking.”
Uncle: “Looking and touching are two different things. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

Loudmouth at a bar to man whose partner has been killed by the uncle: “You might think you’re the biggest toad in the pond. You ain’t even worth a fart in a whirlwind.”

Uncle, stumbling from a bar wounded, to a townsman: “You: Get me on that horse. Or I’ll shoot you dead.”

Mr. Ford to Uncle: “Remember, whatever’s chasing you can only catch you if you let it.”

David Hesseltime as Ed, the brother who starts all the trouble in Living By the Gun (2011)

Mary Peterson as the sister-in-law, shocked after watching the Uncle kill two of his relatives in Living By the Gun (2011)

Traveling salesman: “You’re a cute little shaver. Maybe we can strike up a deal. I’d like to drive a hard bargain with a fine young cherry like you.”
Niece, riding by: “Hobble your lip, old man.”

Miles: “Now that we’re partners, how ‘bout a little poke?”
Niece: “The only poke you’re going to get is my pistol poking into your privates.”

Soiled dove, her conversation with Uncle interrupted by a cowboy who wants a poke: “I’ll press my presence to a quick conclusion so that we may continue our most pleasant intercourse.”

Dave Reimer as Miles, the Niece’s short-lived partner in crime in Living By the Gun (2011)

Rick Ernster as the father out for revenge who puts a reward on the Uncle’s head in Living By the Gun (2011)

Pat McIntire as the Uncle, brandishing shotgun and pistol to rob a stagecoach in Living By the Gun (2011)

Judy Rhodes as the Niece, brandishing a pistol to defend the boarding house where she finds refuge in Living by the Gun (2011)