Russ Tamblyn plays Tully, the orphan son of a slain outlaw, who finds going rough in the town of Chalmers. Oh, the sheriff’s ready to give him a fair shake, but the rest of the townsfolk — especially Deputy Nix — can’t help but think he’ll turn out like his pa.
After a shuffle with the deputy, Tully leaves for the small settlement of Black Crater, an outlaw hangout where he figures to fit in better. He soon discovers all that’s left in Black Crater are some old has-beens and a group of young ruffians anxious to pick up where their dads left off.
Those young punks don’t take kindly to the stranger, so he has to prove his toughness to the likes of San Antone, Jonesey and Knox Cutler. Gloria Talbott, as Nora, is at the hangout, too. She’s the daughter of an outlaw, looking after her three young brothers and waiting for his return while encountering the same prejudice as Tully.
Anxious to make a name for themselves, the gang starts planning a bank robbery in Chalmers. And the members want Tully to lead it since he knows the town so well. He’s tempted, but he’s also got the sheriff and Nora urging him to abide by the law, not break it.
Review:
The teenage rebel flick goes West with mixed results. Tamblyn doesn’t look tough enough to be as tough as he’s portrayed. As for the rest of the young gang … well, they’re not all that threatening either.
There is a good fistfight between Tully and San Antone, and a unique mugging in which a gang member tips his buddies off to which poker player will be leaving his dad’s poker game with the most money.
Tamblyn played a troubled youth in a number of Westerns in the 1950s before landing the role for which he’s best remembered as Riff in “West Side Story” (1961). He then faded into obscurity before resurfacing as a doctor in the TV cult favorite “Twin Peaks” (1991).
Gloria Talbott appeared in several Westerns as well, but also starred in a trio of 1950s horror flicks, “I Married a Monster from Outer Space,” “The Cyclops” and “Daughter of Dr. Jekyll.”
Directed by:
Albert Band
Cast:
Russ Tamblyn … Tully Rice
Gloria Talbott … Nora Bawdre
Perry Lopez … San Antone
Wright King … Jonesy
Chubby Johnson … Grandpa
Myron Healy … Deputy Nix
Scott Marlowe … Knox Cutler
Walter Coy … Sheriff Jim Peyton
James Goodwin … Georgie Briggs
Rayford Barnes … Kid Cutler
I. Stanford Jolley … Felix Briggs
Runtime: 84 min.
Title tune: “Song of the Young Guns”
by Guy Mitchell
Memorable lines:
Sheriff Peyton to Deputy Nix: “There’s no law that says kids have to serve time for what their fathers did. Time was, we used to decide what was the law, Nix. Not anymore. Now we work for it.”
Red, poker player: “This place is getting to be worse than a bellyache. Nothing but old geesers and kids.”
Sheriff Peyton: “You’re young, Tully. So is that new gun of yours.”
Tully: “There’s newer models.”
Sheriff: “That’s not what I mean. A gun stays young as long as it stays quiet. The minute it starts to make noise, it gets old. The man who fires it, he gets old. Cause he doesn’t have long to live. Keep your guns young, Tully.”
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