The story of the ex-gunfighter trying to put his past behind and go straight has been done more than few times in the western genre. (It's also been done to death in contemporary stories about retired hit men/mafiosi/mercenaries). The two greatest versions of this story among westerns are George Stevens' 1953 "Shane" and Clint Eastwood's 1992 "Unforgiven." Both those films depicted former gunmen truly traumatized by their violent pasts. Alan Ladd's "Shane" is a sad man doomed to a life as a lonely outcast and Clint Eastwood's "Bill Munny" knows that damnation and hellfire is what awaits him in the afterlife.
But then you have "The Fastest Gun Alive's" "George Temple" (Glenn Ford). Like Munny and Shane, George is an ex-gunfighter trying to walk away from his past. His reason for doing so is to please his uberbabe-of-a-wife, "Dora" (Jeanne Crain). Escaping the past, the couple own and operate a dry goods store in a podunk town where everyone views George as a teetotaling milksop. However, unlike Shane and Munny, George has no real regrets as to killing or any fear of eternal condemnation. In fact, he's practically chomping at the bit to brag about his skills and past.
What sets George over the top, though, is professional jealousy. You see another gunfighter, "Vinnie Harold" (Broderick Crawford), recently shot down a perceived rival in a nearby town in order to lay claim to the title: "fastest gun," and the people in George's town just can't stop talking about it. George's jealousy over hearing people marveling at Harold's feat makes him snap. So, he reveals his past. And that's where this film lost me: George's braggadocio and bullying while revealing himself to be A-Number-One-Gunfighter made him come across as a complete jerk. He's no Shane forced back into his profession to save a friend or Bill Munny killing again to save his family from financial ruin. Instead, George's just a braggart. Yeah, Harold comes hunting for him and threatens the town, but that would have never happened if George hadn't had such a big mouth and a bigger head. After the "reveal" scene, I really couldn't stand him or this movie anymore.
Also, the ridiculous depiction of gunfighting being some sort of "sport" that requires six hours of practice a day turned what appeared to be as serious film into a kiddie matinée B-pic. As Bill Munny puts it near the end of "Unforgiven" that his being a successful gunman was nothing more than luck and an ability to kill without conscious. (Another reviewer mentioned Don Siegel's 1975 "The Shootist" which had John Wayne's character making the same point that being "willing" to kill was far more important than being the best shot or the fastest draw.) George Temple, on the other hand, would say, "practice makes perfect." Yeah, right.
But then you have "The Fastest Gun Alive's" "George Temple" (Glenn Ford). Like Munny and Shane, George is an ex-gunfighter trying to walk away from his past. His reason for doing so is to please his uberbabe-of-a-wife, "Dora" (Jeanne Crain). Escaping the past, the couple own and operate a dry goods store in a podunk town where everyone views George as a teetotaling milksop. However, unlike Shane and Munny, George has no real regrets as to killing or any fear of eternal condemnation. In fact, he's practically chomping at the bit to brag about his skills and past.
What sets George over the top, though, is professional jealousy. You see another gunfighter, "Vinnie Harold" (Broderick Crawford), recently shot down a perceived rival in a nearby town in order to lay claim to the title: "fastest gun," and the people in George's town just can't stop talking about it. George's jealousy over hearing people marveling at Harold's feat makes him snap. So, he reveals his past. And that's where this film lost me: George's braggadocio and bullying while revealing himself to be A-Number-One-Gunfighter made him come across as a complete jerk. He's no Shane forced back into his profession to save a friend or Bill Munny killing again to save his family from financial ruin. Instead, George's just a braggart. Yeah, Harold comes hunting for him and threatens the town, but that would have never happened if George hadn't had such a big mouth and a bigger head. After the "reveal" scene, I really couldn't stand him or this movie anymore.
Also, the ridiculous depiction of gunfighting being some sort of "sport" that requires six hours of practice a day turned what appeared to be as serious film into a kiddie matinée B-pic. As Bill Munny puts it near the end of "Unforgiven" that his being a successful gunman was nothing more than luck and an ability to kill without conscious. (Another reviewer mentioned Don Siegel's 1975 "The Shootist" which had John Wayne's character making the same point that being "willing" to kill was far more important than being the best shot or the fastest draw.) George Temple, on the other hand, would say, "practice makes perfect." Yeah, right.