Yes, this is a different Top Gun, a 1955 western. I was intrigued for some reason by the review on the Once Upon a Time in a Western website which read in part:
Another wooden performance by Hayden and poorly filmed action scenes don’t add up to a classic 1950s Western.
And why would Quentin continue to follow through with a raid of a town with no significant loot to offer when he knows it’s been tipped off to his plans and he’s likely to lose lots of his men in doing so?
Sterling Hayden had no interest in acting. He became a star for the money to pay for stuff he actually wanted to do. I'm not entirely opposed to wooden performances, but he didn't look much like a celebrity gunslinger in this. He could have worn a black shirt or an interesting hat.
Criminals arrive on horseback and they remain on horseback, the horses just standing there, the townsfolk shooting the criminals and the criminals shooting the townsfolk. No strategy involved.
The non-combatants take refuge in the church which would have made sense if it was bullet proof, made of stone. They could have at least stayed away from the windows.
Even a low budget movie costs a fortune. They could have done anything, and they chose to do this. I knowingly sought it out so I'm not complaining exactly. I sort of liked the first part, people just walking around talking. It wasn't very good, but it was like a TV show. You didn't have to pay close attention.
Wasn't life expectancy pretty short in the Old West? They probably could have saved money by giving it an all-teenage cast and they'd have some historical justification for it.
Directed by Ray Novarro.
Free on Western Classic Movies.
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