Pernell Roberts as Sam Benner and Lloyd Bridges as Brad Clinton during a climatic moment in The Silent Gun (1969)
Lloyd Bridges is renown gunfighter Brad Clinton, who tracks Trace Evans to the town of Burton Stop, planning to avenge his brother’s death.
Outnumbered a dozen-to-one, he survives a shootout there. But he’s wounded while Evans slips away unscathed.
And in the middle of the gunfight, Clinton mistakenly points his gun at a young girl and pulls the trigger. Fortunately, the hammer calls on an empty chamber.
From that point on, Clinton won’t carry a loaded gun, despite warnings from buddy Billy Reed that such a habit could be life-threatening.
Next stop: Coleville, where Sam Benner (Pernell Robers), an old acquaintance of Clinton’s, owns the saloon and is doing his best to gain control of every other valuable piece of land around.
One piece he craves in particular is the ranch of old-timer John Cole (Ed Begley), one of the men responsible for settling these here parts.
Cole’s been looking for a lawman who can clean up Coleville. His pretty daughter Lorisa (Susan Howard) wants Clinton to take the job.
Eventually, Clinton relents. But he still won’t load his gun.
Meanwhile, Benner has imported his own fast gun to help him deal with Clinton. That fast gun is none other than Trace Evans.
Lloyd Bridges as Brad Clinton, rejecting Sam Benner’s suggestion that they work together in The Silent Gun (1969)
John Beck as Billy Reed, Brad Clinton’s very capable long-time sidekick in The Silent Gun (1969)
Review:
A made-for-TV movie that aired in December 1969 on ABC and stars Bridges about two decades after he romanced Rhonda Fleming in “Abilene Town” (1946) and abandoned Gary Cooper during his time of need in “High Noon” (1951).
He turns in an okay performance, but the “fright” of nearly shooting a young girl isn’t very well handled and his use of a deadly reputation to overcome a lack of bullets from that point on seems a wee bit far fetched.
Edd Brynes, back in the U.S. after starring in a trio of 1967 Spaghetti Westerns, plays a bullying fast gun on Sam Benner’s payroll.
But the real villain here is Pernell Roberts, who gained fame as Adam on “Bonanza” but left the role after the 1964-65 season because he wasn’t happy with the show’s direction.
This marked the first made-for-TV starring role for Susan Howard. Fans are likely to remember her best as Donna Krebs on “Dallas.” She appeared in 198 episodes of the hit nighttime soap between 1979 and 1987.
Pernell Roberts as Sam Benner, barking orders to one of the henchmen in his employ in The Silent Gun (1969)
Michael Forest as Trace Evans, the man for whom Brad Clinton is gunning in The Silent Gun (1969)
Directed by:
Michael Caffey
Cast:
Lloyd Bridges … Brad Clinton
John Beck … Billy Reed
Ed Begley … John Cole
Edd Byrnes … Joe Henning
Pernell Roberts … Sam Benner
Susan Howard … Lorisa Cole
Michael Forest … Trace Evans
Bobby Diamond … Eddie
Barbara Rhodes … Dolores, saloon girl
Russ Conway … First sheriff
Walker Edmiston … Sheriff Hart
Pitt Herbert … Luke
Stuart Nisbet … Simpson
Susan Newmark … Callie
John S. Ragin … Preacher
Runtime: 75 min.
Susan Howard as Lorisa Cole, hoping Brad Clinton can help bring justice to Coleville in The Silent Gun (1969)
Ed Begley as John Cole, offering Brad Clinton a marshal’s badge in The Silent Gun (1969)
Memorable lines:
Brad Clinton: “The only thing between me and a dead kid was luck. My gun was empty. I’d have killed her.”
Billy Reed, his partner: “Stop talkin’ about it, will ya? It’s all you’ve been ravin’ and mumblin’ about ever since. Now, stop it!”
Billy Reed, after meeting Lorisa Cole: “She’s about the prettiest thing I ever seen.”
Brad Clinton: “Wonder if she’s as pretty when she’s not all riled up.”
Billy Reed to Brad Clinton: “You got yourself an empty gun. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”
John Cole, describing the situation in Coleville: “Other people plant the tree and grow the fruit. Then Benner shakes it and it’s all his.”
Lloyd Bridges as Brad Clinton, arriving in Coleville after a desperate shootout with Trace Evans and his friends in The Silent Gun (1969)
Edd Brynes as Joe Henning, one of Sam Benner’s hired guns in The Silent Gun (1969)
Barbara Rhodes as Dolores, the saloon girl Billy Reed (John Beck) takes a liking to in The Silent Gun (1969)
Walker Edmiston as Sheriff Hart, Sam Benner’s hand-picked lawman in The Silent Gun (1969)
Susan Newmark as Callie, the young girl Brad Clinton nearly shoots in The Silent Gun (1969)
John Beck as Billy Reed and Lloyd Bridges as Brad Clinton, hoping to clean up Coleville in The Silent Gun (1969)
){kind=link}