Colt .45

source: Colt .45

Colt .45

I'm a fan of Randolph Scott's westerns. They have a nice late night feel to them that always hits the spot. "Colt 45" is a pretty good one. It's fast moving with a short running time. It doesn't overstay its welcome. Scott was good as always. Ruth Roman was dreamy. Zachary Scott was a complete nut. The body count in "Colt 45" is off the charts. I wonder what Peckinpah would have done with this one.

Colt.45 is a classic action western with comic strip heroics. It's not meant to be a serious western but a rip roaring shoot 'em up. The plotting is superb with great characters. I love it when the Indian chief says: 'indians can be so quiet.' Zachary Scott is a real slimy villain whose tendencies borders on psychotic. The way his cheek just twitches and he cold-bloodedly shoots Lloyd bridges is great. Randolph Scott is in fine form here and i always preferred his pre-Boeticher westerns. His warner Bro. stuff was exciting and lacking in the long drawn out talk his Boeticher westerns seemed to have. Colt.45 is a fine example of the kind of westerns i love and i can say with sadness that they unfortunately don't make it like 'em afore.'

Any western that includes Randolph Scott is guaranteed to be a decent western but then add Lloyd Bridges, Ruth Roman, and Zachary Scott to the mix and you have just made the film a western classic. Ruth Roman is especially hard not to like in her role as the good, then evil, then again good woman. The plot is simple enough when Zachary Scott while breaking out of his jail cell absconds with Randolph Scott's two prototype .45 guns. So the hunt is on but whose chasing who? This is a pretty good western/adventure/romance film and when you include an underlying storyline of white men pretending to be mean Indians you just know there is going to be hell to pay to rid the town of the bad guys. I give the film a decent 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Two Scott's, one is the good guy ( Randolph Scott, of course) and the other ( Zachary Scott) is an unhinged bad guy with a thirst for killing cold-bloodedly, and a pair of Colt .45 he has stolen from the hero lends him that edge. He heads the .45 gang, robbing and killing indiscriminately- only one guy can stop him and you know who. Randolph Scott. The concept of a gun wielding the power, equaling the balance, a super gun of a sort, is similar to the Excalibur in Arthurian legend. This is the gimmick in this highly entertaining, action-packed western. Comic strip is written all over it, from the fast-paced plot to the Indians ( the good guys for a change) and the tongue-in-cheek dialogue ( Steve Farrell referring to a dead gunman says: "I won't get anything from him. Walking Bear shrugs comically and replies: "Him no good for talk all right.") Ruth Roman is ravishing. Zachary Scott steals the scene with his performance. Great fun, a film that makes me feel like a kid again.

Randolph Scott is a salesman for Colt Firearms traveling the west demonstrating his company's newest invention, the .45 revolver to law enforcement. At a police station a slimy weasel of a man makes off with his demonstration models and goes on a robbery and killing spree, aided by the superiority of the revolver to the average one shot pistols. Scott sets out to clear his name and retrieve his guns. Like all studio backed B-pictures, this looks good and is technically well made with good action sequences but with a somewhat forgettable script. However, this has some novelty as probably the only fifties western where all the lawmen are portrayed as crooked villains and/or stubborn dummies while the Indians are the good guys, saving the hero's bacon on more than one occasion! I particularly enjoyed the lighting and Technicolor in this.

Yes its just a routine B western. But its above average and worth your viewing time. The villain is a rotten creep as portrayed by Zachary Scott. Randolph Scott is of course stalwart and solid in the lead role. Lloyd Bridges provides solid support. But I really like this film because Ruth Roman is not your typical pretty b-western actress here. She is tough, forceful, physical and believable as well as very beautiful. She really pops in Technicolor wearing that fringe buckskin. Absolutely gorgeous and she out-acts every male in the movie. The immortal Stanley Andrews, the stentorian-voiced ultimate Sheriff of all Western movies and later TV's Death Valley Days, contributes his dignified screen presence. This film is a triumph of great casting over what could otherwise be routine.