I finally got to see this one today on Encore's Western channel. It was a god western but with quite a twist. Seeing those saloon girls walking side by side with the farmers and townfolk wives was certainly new. I don't want to give any big thoughts away because it will be on for a couple more weeks and I want people to see it if they can. This is another of those battle for water with the land baron, but the twist comes in during the showdown. If anyone else has seen it, I would like your take on Glenn Ford in this one.
Anne
Heaven with a Gun
Heaven with a Gun
Anne
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movieman1957
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I like Ford a lot better than I like the movie. The part you mention with the girls I thought kind of anticlimactic. Noah Beery is a welcome site. (I noticed he and Ford ride a horse the same way. Ford also handles his gun like in "The Fastest Gun Alive.") Carolyn Jones was fine also. Other than that most of the cast reminded me of a reunion from "Dragnet."
The whole thing screamed 1969 to me. I didn't care for the music. Most of the look of the people was too modern for me. The basic story was interesting enough but it just didn't do anything for me. I hated watching it in full screen too. It just messed it up.
All in all I didn't much care for it.
The whole thing screamed 1969 to me. I didn't care for the music. Most of the look of the people was too modern for me. The basic story was interesting enough but it just didn't do anything for me. I hated watching it in full screen too. It just messed it up.
All in all I didn't much care for it.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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MissGoddess
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Hi Anne,
I saw this twice---the first time, a couple of weeks ago, I rather liked it
because it didn't develop in quite the way I expected it to, however I was
beyond annoyed at Barbara Hershey's character, or her acting I should
say. I love Carolyn Jones' character and how they portrayed the "girls"
in town. However, watching it a second time I saw a couple of scenes
I must have missed the first time (nudity) which really turned me off. All
in all I think it's OK for just one time and for Glenn Ford fans, but not one
I'll care to repeat.
I also would like to have seen more about his past life, that might have
made a big difference especially considering he's taking it upon himself to
preach to others.
I saw this twice---the first time, a couple of weeks ago, I rather liked it
because it didn't develop in quite the way I expected it to, however I was
beyond annoyed at Barbara Hershey's character, or her acting I should
say. I love Carolyn Jones' character and how they portrayed the "girls"
in town. However, watching it a second time I saw a couple of scenes
I must have missed the first time (nudity) which really turned me off. All
in all I think it's OK for just one time and for Glenn Ford fans, but not one
I'll care to repeat.
I also would like to have seen more about his past life, that might have
made a big difference especially considering he's taking it upon himself to
preach to others.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
-- Will Rogers
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moira finnie
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Hi Anne,
I watched Heaven With a Gun hoping that I'd enjoy Glenn Ford in one of his later Westerns, but found that his character was fairly inexplicable, and that as others have said, Carolyn Jones was the best thing about this movie. When I first saw Heaven With a Gun I came in during David Carradine's rape scene of Barbara Hershey and almost got sick, but eventually watched it from the beginning hoping it was better and more coherent when viewed in its entirety.
Maybe it's just me, but for the latter years of his career, I always had the impression that Glenn Ford was trying a little too hard maybe, to be "hip" and Heaven With a Gun (1969) seems to be part of that, along with a series called Cade's County (1971) in which Glenn tore hellbent for leather around a desert community in a jeep. Btw, there's an old Johnny Carson joke that CBS didn't appreciate about "Cade's County", in which Carson said that CBS was dismayed to learn that 85% of the people watching the Ford series were using it for a nightlight.
I liked Glenn Ford as Pa Kent in the Chris Reeve Superman, and in the Louis L'Amour tv movie, The Sacketts, but sort of gave up on Glenn Ford as an actor for several years after viewing something like "The Waltons Get Religion" in the mid-70s called The Family Holvak (1975) (also called The Family Upchuck by some wag).
In any case, I'm so glad that I eventually went back and found the older Glenn Ford movies, the last western of which I found truly entertaining to be The Rounders (1965).
Say, has anyone seen Ford's The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) and The Violent Men (1955) on the Encore Western Channel? These were very entertaining and filled with some great actors such as Broderick Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. Btw, I recently saw Glenn Ford's first starring role on film, along with newbie Richard Conte, in a Depression era "road movie" called--believe it or not--Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence (1939). It was much better than I expected & Ford as well as Conte and co-stars Jean Rogers, Raymond Walburn and Marjorie Rambeau added a great deal to the story too. This movie showed up around 4am on FMC awhile ago.
I watched Heaven With a Gun hoping that I'd enjoy Glenn Ford in one of his later Westerns, but found that his character was fairly inexplicable, and that as others have said, Carolyn Jones was the best thing about this movie. When I first saw Heaven With a Gun I came in during David Carradine's rape scene of Barbara Hershey and almost got sick, but eventually watched it from the beginning hoping it was better and more coherent when viewed in its entirety.
Maybe it's just me, but for the latter years of his career, I always had the impression that Glenn Ford was trying a little too hard maybe, to be "hip" and Heaven With a Gun (1969) seems to be part of that, along with a series called Cade's County (1971) in which Glenn tore hellbent for leather around a desert community in a jeep. Btw, there's an old Johnny Carson joke that CBS didn't appreciate about "Cade's County", in which Carson said that CBS was dismayed to learn that 85% of the people watching the Ford series were using it for a nightlight.
I liked Glenn Ford as Pa Kent in the Chris Reeve Superman, and in the Louis L'Amour tv movie, The Sacketts, but sort of gave up on Glenn Ford as an actor for several years after viewing something like "The Waltons Get Religion" in the mid-70s called The Family Holvak (1975) (also called The Family Upchuck by some wag).
In any case, I'm so glad that I eventually went back and found the older Glenn Ford movies, the last western of which I found truly entertaining to be The Rounders (1965).
Say, has anyone seen Ford's The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) and The Violent Men (1955) on the Encore Western Channel? These were very entertaining and filled with some great actors such as Broderick Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. Btw, I recently saw Glenn Ford's first starring role on film, along with newbie Richard Conte, in a Depression era "road movie" called--believe it or not--Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence (1939). It was much better than I expected & Ford as well as Conte and co-stars Jean Rogers, Raymond Walburn and Marjorie Rambeau added a great deal to the story too. This movie showed up around 4am on FMC awhile ago.
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movieman1957
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I have "The Fastest Gun Alive" from a TCM showing. I think it is a great performance. Once you get past the idea that Broderick Crawford (of all people) is determined to kill anyone that claims to be fast. (It seems too desperate at times. Although if you classify him as crazy it works.)
The scene in the church where they vow to help Ford always is hard to watch as the one in "Blazing Saddles" seems to be lifted from it.
Jeanne Crain is wonderful as his wife and some fine supporting performances. A few twists in the story as you go helps keep it going. Interesting ending.
I've seen "The Violent Men" and it is pretty good too. Ford's character is very smart in his "war" with Robinson. Stanwyck is not a nice woman. Some good action and a pretty clever script. I think it was on TCM but one spot in the film had a rather bad flaw on it.
The scene in the church where they vow to help Ford always is hard to watch as the one in "Blazing Saddles" seems to be lifted from it.
Jeanne Crain is wonderful as his wife and some fine supporting performances. A few twists in the story as you go helps keep it going. Interesting ending.
I've seen "The Violent Men" and it is pretty good too. Ford's character is very smart in his "war" with Robinson. Stanwyck is not a nice woman. Some good action and a pretty clever script. I think it was on TCM but one spot in the film had a rather bad flaw on it.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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moira finnie
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Yeah, Chris, I know what you mean about The Fastest Gun Alive and Broderick Crawford. As much as I love the big lug in most of his movies, the idea of Crawford being obsessed with being the fastest anything is pretty much of a stretch. One of the strangest things about "Fastest..." is that sequence with Russ Tamblyn doing an extraordinary acrobatic dance in the middle of the movie, for no real reason--other than, the kid was under contract at MGM (where the movie was made) and he could dance like St. Vitus himself.
Moira:
I saw both those movies on the Western Channel in (I think it was July and August). I've found that that channel features certain movies for about 2 months, then takes a break and features others, and comes back about 6 months later. So usually, if you miss something, you can just watch and see it later in the day, or the week. But one thing you have to be careful about is which version you see. If they have both Pan and Scan as well as letterbox, they will show both. So on Tuesday you may see How the West Was Won in P&S, and on Thursday in letterbox. It can get confusing.
If you have occasion to watch The Violent Men again, take a close look at Barbara's neck and eyes. I'm sure that very shortly after that movie came out, she disappeared for a while and had some work done, nor is it makeup. Compare her in that with 10 years later as Victoria Barkley. I absolutely hate what the lights did to her in Violent Men.
Anne
I saw both those movies on the Western Channel in (I think it was July and August). I've found that that channel features certain movies for about 2 months, then takes a break and features others, and comes back about 6 months later. So usually, if you miss something, you can just watch and see it later in the day, or the week. But one thing you have to be careful about is which version you see. If they have both Pan and Scan as well as letterbox, they will show both. So on Tuesday you may see How the West Was Won in P&S, and on Thursday in letterbox. It can get confusing.
If you have occasion to watch The Violent Men again, take a close look at Barbara's neck and eyes. I'm sure that very shortly after that movie came out, she disappeared for a while and had some work done, nor is it makeup. Compare her in that with 10 years later as Victoria Barkley. I absolutely hate what the lights did to her in Violent Men.
Anne
Anne
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