George Montgomery plays Cruze, a lawman left bitter by his last job. Seems he arrested those who needed arresting only to find that the law could be bought and they’d be freed again.
Nevertheless, he agrees to become marshal of a town named Maryphine after tangling with the Moran brothers — Tray (Neville Brand), Hort and Gad.
When cattle start going missing, he suspects those same Moran brothers and learns they’ve been hanging out at the Downing ranch.
That ranch is owned by pretty Charlotte Downing (Dorothy Malone) and her younger brother Cass.
Seems Cass has been borrowing money from the Morans to pay the ranch’s bills. In return, he allows the Morans to keep their stolen beef on the range.
A gambler named Fairweather who Cruze befriended throws a card game the youngster’s way so he can pay back the Morans and escape from under their thumb. But he’s shot from behind by someone using the gambler’s gun.
That leaves Cruze with a friend in jail facing a murder charge, a grieving sister who wants the guilty party to pay and no more evidence against the Morans than when he started — except for a playing card Fairweather leaves in his cell as a clue.
George Montgomery as Cruze, explaining why his last stint as lawman didn’t end very well in The Lone Gun (1954)
Frank Faylen as Fairweather, giving Cruze a clue about the guilty parties in The Lone Gun (1954)
Review:
Satisfactory Montgomery Western thanks to snappy dialogue, a couple decent plot twists and a nice performance by Frank Faylen as the happy-go-lucky gambler named Fairweather.
This was one of a dozen Westerns that Dorothy Malone played in during the 1950s alone and also features one of the better performances by the oft-irritating Neville Brand in the role of the lead villain.
Dorothy Malone as Charlotte Downing, learning from her brother that there’s rustled cattle on their land in The Lone Gun (1954)
Skip Homeier as Cass Downing, who enters into a deal with the Morans to keep his ranch out of debt in The Lone Gun (1954)
Directed by:
Ray Nazarro
Cast:
George Montgomery …….. Cruze
Dorothy Malone …… Charlotte Downing
Frank Faylen …………. Fairweather
Skip Homeier ………….. Cass Downing
Neville Brand ……….. Tray Moran
Douglas Kennedy … Hort Moran
Robert J. Wilke … Gad Moran
Douglas Fowley … Charlie (bartender)
Fay Roope … Mayor Booth
Runtime: 76 min.
Neville Brand as Tray Moran, leader of the Moran gang in The Lone Gun (1954)
Robert J. Wilke as Gad Moran, one of the outlaw brothers in The Lone Gun (1954)
Memorable lines:
Fairweather, describing his knack at cards: “By the time I was 12, I was so famous, no one would sit in a game with me. Not for long, anyway”
Cruze: “Well, there’s always solitaire.”
Fairweather: “Hate solitaire. Always wind up cheating either myself or me.”
Cruze: “Don’t get into any shooting scrapes. One of you is likely to get killed.”
Fairweather to Tray Moran, after hearing his plan for bushwhacking Cruze: “I have to hand it to you Moran. It takes brains to be as complete a skunk as that.”
Tray Moran: “Shut up, Downing. You make noises like you had a choice.”
Cruze to Hort Moran, after taking him captive: “One yell, and you’ll be waking up in the devil’s cookhouse.”
George Montgomery as Cruze, using Hort Moran (Douglas Kennedy) to get to his brothers in The Lone Gun (1954)
Fay Roope as Mayor Booth, the man who convinces Cruze to become marshal of Maryphine in The Lone Gun (1954)
The Moran brothers (from left), Gad (Robert J. Wilke), Tray (Neville Brand) and Hort (Douglas Kennedy) in The Lone Gun (1954)
Dorothy Malone as Charlotte Downing and George Montgomery as Cruze, realizing they have a common interest in The Lone Gun (1954)
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