Way out west, Dean Martin has a plan to do something big. To do it, he needs a Gatling gun. Albert Salmi has one, and is willing to sell it to Martin for a woman - he's stuck out here, where there are none, because he'll be arrested and probably hanged if he goes anywhere else. So Martin goes and lifts Honor Blackman. She's the wife of Retiring cavalry colonel Brian Keith. Also, Martin's fiancée Carol White shows up.
It's a good set-up for a comedy, and Andrew McLaglen directs it drily, with lots of old-time character actors. Paul Fix and his son-in-law Harry Carey Jr., Bob Steele, Ben Johnson, all favorites of McLaglen's mentor, John Ford.
One of the things that McLaglen liked to show in his westerns was that the west was a place for men to work, and in this one, he certainly seems a lot less concerned with making sure the images on the screen look good than in making that point.
It's an end-of-the-road for several of the leading actors. Certainly, Martin's movie career was tailing off after the MATT HELM series. The movie itself is a ramshackle affair, giving an air of nothing really getting done until the very end.
It's a good set-up for a comedy, and Andrew McLaglen directs it drily, with lots of old-time character actors. Paul Fix and his son-in-law Harry Carey Jr., Bob Steele, Ben Johnson, all favorites of McLaglen's mentor, John Ford.
One of the things that McLaglen liked to show in his westerns was that the west was a place for men to work, and in this one, he certainly seems a lot less concerned with making sure the images on the screen look good than in making that point.
It's an end-of-the-road for several of the leading actors. Certainly, Martin's movie career was tailing off after the MATT HELM series. The movie itself is a ramshackle affair, giving an air of nothing really getting done until the very end.