"Gunsight Ridge" is another of those entertaining little 80 minute westerns that star Joel McCrea made in the latter part of his career. This one is a low budget black and white oater that is nonetheless made more entertaining by the off beat casting of Mark Stevens as the psychopathic killer Velvet Clark.
Mike Ryan (McCrea), an express undercover agent is travelling on a stagecoach along with Molly Jones (Joan Weldon), the daughter of the town sheriff and townsman Billy Daggett (I. Stanford Jolley) when they are stopped by a pair of bandits. After the stage is underway, bandit Velvet Clark (Stevens) gives his partner "both barrels" because he had been recognized. This was the first killing in a series of robberies.
In town, Ryan teams up with sheriff Tom Clark (Addison Richards) to track down the murderer while at the same time, pursuing the lovely Molly. Velvet and Ryan are both staying at Mrs. Donahue's boarding house. Ryan walks in on Velvet while he is quietly and discreetly playing the piano. He reacts violently to having been seen doing so.
Sheriff Jones has an obsession with catching the murderer so as to not leave a blot on his record. After leaving a poker game one evening, Velvet quietly robs the local bank. He packs the loot in a box of dynamite and rides to his modest little mine. The sheriff, having become suspicious, trails Velvet and accidentally blows up the dynamite box containing the bank loot. Velvet then shoot down the lawman and flees.
Along the way Velvet witness the Lazy Heart Ranch Hands (L.Q. Jones, Morgan Woodward, Jim Foxx, Steve Mitchell) hold up a train. He then decides to take the loot for himself. Meanwhile, Ryan following the sheriff, discovers his body and sets out after Velvet.
At a remote General Store, the local Justice of the Peace (Herb Vigran) and wedding guests trap the Lazy Heart bunch and hold them. Velvet rides in and tries to take the loot by posing as a detective. But then Ryan appears on the horizon and.................................
Mark Stevens plays the vicious Velvet against type. Without remorse he shot guns one person and guns down two others. That extra shot he puts into the sheriff shows his coldness. Joel McCrea plays..well Joel McCrea with his usual authority and dignity, a part he had come to master over the last 15 years of his lengthy career.
Addison Richards, long a recognizable character actor gets a larger than usual part as the sheriff and carries it off well. Joan Weldon was a leading actress in many 50s westerns but never went on to bigger and better things. Darlene Field plays Stevens' saloon girl friend who catches him in the act. Carolyn Craig has a nice bit as the naïve farm girl who encounter both Velvet and Ryan during Ryan's pursuit. Slim Pickens steals the opening sequence as the boozy stagecoach driver Hank. I believe he was one of a few actors who could actually drive a team of horses. Jody McCrea, Joel's son, plays the groom in the wedding sequence. And from the "blink and you'll miss him" dept., watch for Dan Blocker, of TVs "Bonanza" as the bartender.
Mike Ryan (McCrea), an express undercover agent is travelling on a stagecoach along with Molly Jones (Joan Weldon), the daughter of the town sheriff and townsman Billy Daggett (I. Stanford Jolley) when they are stopped by a pair of bandits. After the stage is underway, bandit Velvet Clark (Stevens) gives his partner "both barrels" because he had been recognized. This was the first killing in a series of robberies.
In town, Ryan teams up with sheriff Tom Clark (Addison Richards) to track down the murderer while at the same time, pursuing the lovely Molly. Velvet and Ryan are both staying at Mrs. Donahue's boarding house. Ryan walks in on Velvet while he is quietly and discreetly playing the piano. He reacts violently to having been seen doing so.
Sheriff Jones has an obsession with catching the murderer so as to not leave a blot on his record. After leaving a poker game one evening, Velvet quietly robs the local bank. He packs the loot in a box of dynamite and rides to his modest little mine. The sheriff, having become suspicious, trails Velvet and accidentally blows up the dynamite box containing the bank loot. Velvet then shoot down the lawman and flees.
Along the way Velvet witness the Lazy Heart Ranch Hands (L.Q. Jones, Morgan Woodward, Jim Foxx, Steve Mitchell) hold up a train. He then decides to take the loot for himself. Meanwhile, Ryan following the sheriff, discovers his body and sets out after Velvet.
At a remote General Store, the local Justice of the Peace (Herb Vigran) and wedding guests trap the Lazy Heart bunch and hold them. Velvet rides in and tries to take the loot by posing as a detective. But then Ryan appears on the horizon and.................................
Mark Stevens plays the vicious Velvet against type. Without remorse he shot guns one person and guns down two others. That extra shot he puts into the sheriff shows his coldness. Joel McCrea plays..well Joel McCrea with his usual authority and dignity, a part he had come to master over the last 15 years of his lengthy career.
Addison Richards, long a recognizable character actor gets a larger than usual part as the sheriff and carries it off well. Joan Weldon was a leading actress in many 50s westerns but never went on to bigger and better things. Darlene Field plays Stevens' saloon girl friend who catches him in the act. Carolyn Craig has a nice bit as the naïve farm girl who encounter both Velvet and Ryan during Ryan's pursuit. Slim Pickens steals the opening sequence as the boozy stagecoach driver Hank. I believe he was one of a few actors who could actually drive a team of horses. Jody McCrea, Joel's son, plays the groom in the wedding sequence. And from the "blink and you'll miss him" dept., watch for Dan Blocker, of TVs "Bonanza" as the bartender.