Five years before the film starts, Case Britton (Jim Davis) was shunned from Rock Valley for killing two sons of a wealthy rancher named Carl Avery (Barton McLane).
Now he’s forced to return to warn the town of impending trouble. He’s discovered that Jack Cantrell (Ted de Corsia) and his band of bandits plan to steal a $75,000 stagecoach shipment, and he can’t let that happen because his fiance (Lyn Thomas as Della Haines) is aboard the stage.
The welcome in Rock Valley is anything but warm. There’s still a noose hanging from a tree as you enter town. A sign on the tree makes it clear: The noose is waiting for Case Britton.
But with the $75,000 stashed in the bank and Cantrell’s outlaw gang sure to hit the town to get it, the good folks of Rock Valley just might need a fast gun on their side.
The town marshal is the first to realize that.
Jim Davis as Case Britton, arriving to warn a town where he isn’t welcome in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Lyn Thomas as Della Haines, anxiously watching a gunfight play out in Rock Valley in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Review:
Another of the low-budget Westerns director Edward L. Cahn churned out in the early 1960s; he directed 21 films in 1960 and 1961 alone.
Ted de Corsia lends some gusto to the role of outlaw Jack Cantrell, but Jim Davis lays the bravado on just a little too thick and some silly dialogue doesn’t help.
In 1964, the Audie Murphy film “The Quick Gun” would cover much of the same ground.
Harry Carey Jr., still looking surprisingly young at 39, has a key role. So does Barton MacLane as a respectable rancher who turns out to be a scoundrel. Come 1965, he’d land the recurring role of Gen. Peterson on “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Harry Carey Jr. as Jim Ferguson, one of Case Britton’s few friends in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Ted de Corsia as Jack Cantrell, the man whose outlaw gang takes over the town of Rock Valley in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Director:
Edward L. Cahn
Cast:
Jim Davis … Case Britton
Lyn Thomas … Della Haines
Harry Carey Jr. … Jim Ferguson
Walter Sande … Marshal Tom Evans
Barton MacLane … Carl Avery
Ted de Corsia …. Jack Cantrell
Leo Gordon … Link Roy
William Tannen … Willetts
William Challee … Gorse
Runtime: 69 min.
Barton MacLane as Carl Avery with Link Roy (Leo Gordon), his fast gun for hire in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Leo Gordon as Link Roy, Carl Avery’s hired gun in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Memorable lines:
Marshal Evans to Avery: “You’ve got a lot of say in Rock Valley, Mr. Avery. But not enough to kill a man.”
Marshall Evans: “Right now, I’d accept help from the devil himself.”
Councilman: “So would I, if we could trust the devil behind our back.”
Case Britton: “Hi, Della.”
Della: “Hi, tall fella.”
Jim Ferguson to Case Britton: “You sure called the turn on Cantrell.”
Britton: “That’s easy. All you have to do is think like a corkscrew.”
Ferguson to the townsfolk: “All these years, you’ve been wanting to hang him. Now, with the fear of death grabbing your puny souls, you want him to fight for you, maybe die for you.”
Walter Sande as Marshal Tom Evans, getting unwelcome news about an outlaw gang headed toward town in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
William Tannen as Willetts and William Challee as Gorse, two of Cantrell’s gang members in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Lyn Thomas as Della Haines, arriving in Rock Valley to marry the man she loves in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Jim Davis as Case Britton, pinning on a marshal’s badge to help residents in the town that wanted to hang him in Noose for a Gunman (1960)
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