The Gunfighter (2015)

Orson Ossman is Jasper Mudd, an outlaw on the run and with a $5,000 price on his head when Marshal Cartwright (Eric Roberts) catches up with him.

The two have been exchanging gunfire, and Cartwright has been counting bullets.

When Jasper fires his sixth shot, the marshal moves in for the kill, having already wounded his prey in the shoulder.

But Jasper had a seventh bullet hiding in his boot. So he’s able to kill a very surprised Cartwright, then steals the lawman’s identification.

His flight leads him to the ranch of pretty blonde Annabelle Jefferies (Martha Mae).

She’s cautious of the young lawman, but willing to feed him and allow him to sleep outside until he recovers.

In the meantime, a Pinkerton agent (Chris Voss) has picked up Jasper’s trail.

And he doesn’t quite believe the story he hears upon finding Annabelle and Jasper at the ranch.

Orson Ossmon as Jasper Mudd, on the run from the law and wondering which route to take in The Gunfighter (2015)

Chris Voss as Eugene Stockton, a man determined to track down Jasper Mudd and bring him to justice in The Gunfighter (2015)

Review:

A low, low-budget Western that’s basically a three-character story, with those characters including Jasper, Annabelle and the relentless Pinkerton agent.

Eric Roberts? He’s the big name in the cast, but he’s also playing the role of the marshal killed by Jasper in the first five minutes of the film.

As indie Westerns go, you could do worse. Ossman and May turned in solid performances, and the script provides a couple of surprises along the way.

But some of the action scenes are crudely done and better editing would have helped. In one scene, Jasper uses his flask as a shooting target. A couple of minutes later, he’s drinking from an undamaged flash.

Later, he bashes a man to death with a gold bar, splattering his face with blood. But not a speck of that blood landed on the hat he was wearing at the time.

The original title, “Five Grand,” comes from the price on Jasper’s head.

Martha Mae as Annabelle Jefferies, spotting a strange man approaching her home in The Gunfighter (2015)

Eric Roberts as Marshal Cartwight, trying to track down Jasper Mudd, an outlaw with a $5,000 price on his head in The Gunfighter (2015)

Directed by:
Orson Ossman and
Tyler Graham Pavey

Cast:
Orson Ossman … Jasper Mudd
Chris Voss … Eugene Stockton
Martha Mae … Annabelle Jefferies
as Martha Magruder
David Ossman … Abner Wilhelm
Van White … Killion ‘The Killer’ Benoit
Casey Frey … Patrick ‘Tricky’ Smith
Tyler Graham Pavey … Kane Mudd
Carlos Jacinto … El Jefe
Billy Hetherington … Mr. Jefferies
Eric Roberts … Marshal Cartwright

aka: “Five Grand”

Song: “Worried Man”

Runtime: 86 min.

Tyler Graham Perry as Kane Mudd, an outlaw leader who’s killed a number of his own men in The Gunfighter (2015)

David Ossman as Abner Wilhelm, an aging minor Jasper Mudd encounters as he flees the law in The Gunfighter (2015)

Memorable lines:

Annabelle Jefferies to Jasper: “Marshal young as you would get shot in the back.”

Jasper Mudd: “I had to kill him. Shame I had to leave his body there though. Man’s got $5,000 on his head, and now he’s just rotting in the middle of the desert.”
Annabelle Jefferies : “Five thousand dollars — that’s a lot of money. That must be a real bad man to have that much put on him.”
Jasper: “No. Just means he stole a lot of money from the wrong person.”

Jasper Mudd: “You killed all the boys in cold blood, Kane. There’s a special place in hell for people like that.”
Kane Mudd: “I’ll see you there, friend.”

Orson Ossman as Jasper Mudd and Martha Mae as Annabelle Jefferies in The Gunfighter (2015)

Van White as Killion Benoit and Casey Frey as Patrick ‘Tricky’ Smith, engaged in a gunfight with Jasper Mudd in The Gunfighter (2015)

Carlos Jacinto as El Jefe, leader of a band of Mexican bandits who want to rob Eugene Stockton in The Gunfighter (2015)

Chris Voss as Eugene Stockton, eager to hang the man he’s been tracking in The Gunfighter (2016)

Martha Mae as Annabelle Jefferies, getting more acquainted with a wounded visitor pretending to be a U.S. Marshal in The Gunfighter (2015)

Orson Ossman as Jasper Mudd, toting a shotgun and ready to use it to maintain his freedom in The Gunfighter (2015)