Jim Davis is Case Silverthorne, a gambler ready to retire from life in the saloon to run a ranch.
But when he arrives to claim the Double D ranch, he discovers the previous owner has been lynched and no one was aware of the sale, not even the man’s grown son and daughter.
That said, the local saloon was just purchased by a man named Kelly Barnum for the same price Silverthorne claims he paid for the ranch.
The gambler sells his horse and silver saddle for a stake and sets up a game of cards in the saloon while trying to sort out the mystery.
Jud Donovan (Don Dorrell), son of the ranch owner, doesn’t have to wait long to get the answers.
He’s confronted by his dad’s three hired hands – the Larkin brothers — who inform him of a little deal they had with his father.
In exchange for their $3,000 investment in the ranch, he let them keep stolen cattle there.
In fact, they’re in the process of rustling another 1,000 head.
Jim Davis as Case Silverthorne in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Merry Anders as Sharon Donovan in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Review:
This is one of a number of rather short, low-budget Westerns director Edward Cahn churned out in the early 1960s.
This one’s a rather drab, predictable affair that would have seemed perfectly at home in the 1940s and comes across as quite dated for its time.
Don Dorrell turns in a spirited performance as the rancher’s son. Merry Anders plays the rancher’s daughter, a young woman who can’t believe her father would sell a ranch that meant so much to him.
Davis, a secondary player in many larger budget Westerns, also starred in Cahn’s “Noose for a Gunman” (1960) and “Frontier Uprising” (1961).
Don Dorrell as Jud Donovan in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Bob Anderson as Tray Larkin explains how things work on the Donovan ranch to Jud (Don Dorrell) in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Directed by:
Edward Cahn
Cast:
Jim Davis … Case Silverthorne
Merry Anders … Sharon Donovan
Don Dorrell … Jud Donovan
Mark Allen … Marshal Dex Harwood
Addison Richards … Doc Devlin
Bob Anderson … Tray Larkin
Charles Cane … Kelly Barnum
Keith Richards … Het Larkin
John Craig … Rebe Larkin
Joe McGuinn … Hastings
Morgan Shaan … Thompson
Boyd “Red” Morgan … Luke
Boyd Stockman … Dave
Runtime: 67 min.
Keith Richards as Het Larkin explains how stray collectors do their business while brother Rebe (John Craig) looks on in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Bar owner Kelly Barnum shares some information with Het Larkin (Keith Richards) in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Memorable lines:
Case Silverthorne: “Never did like necktie parties. Especially the impromptu kind.”
Jud Donovan, when the Larkin brothers tell him they aren’t really his ranch hands: “Real business? What do you mean?”
Trey Larkin: “You might call use stray collectors.”
Het Larkin: “Yeah, you know — mavericks, yearlings, calves with no brands on ’em.”
Rebe Larkin: “Or not so good brands.”
Donovan: “You’re rustlers!”
Case Silverthorne to Jud Donovan: “Never plays (cards) when you have to win and never put up more money than you can afford to lose.”
Mark Allen as Marshal Dex Harwood in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
Merry Anders as Sharon Donovan and Don Dorrell as brother Jud learn of their father’s death in The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
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