''Gunsight Ridge'' is a 1957 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Francis D. Lyon and written by

Talbot Jennings Talbot Lanham Jennings (August 25, 1894 – May 30, 1985) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received two Academy Award nominations for co-writing the screenplays for ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and '' Anna and the King of Siam' ...

and Elisabeth Jennings. The film stars

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, Mark Stevens,

Joan Weldon Joan Weldon (born Joan Louise Welton; August 5, 1930 – February 11, 2021) was an American actress and singer in film, television, and theatre. Early years Weldon was born in San Francisco, California in 1930. Her grandmother, Olio Cornell, rai ...

, Addison Richards, Darlene Fields and Carolyn Craig. The film was released in September 1957, by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. Parts of the movie were filmed in

Wildwood Regional Park Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, and southern Moorpark. Wildwood is home to over 27 mi ...

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

.Fleming, E.J. (2010). ''The Movieland Directory: Nearly 30,000 Addresses of Celebrity Homes, Film Locations and Historical Sites in the Los Angeles Area, 1900–Present''. McFarland. p. 48. .

Plot

A number of stagecoach holdups have taken place in Arizona Territory. One of them occurs when Mike Ryan, an undercover agent for the stage line, is on board—posing as a paying customer. Another passenger on that trip is the sheriff's daughter, Molly Jones. During the robbery, one of the two bandits lets his bandana slip, revealing his face, which the coach driver recognizes. Because this outlaw's identity is now known, he is killed by his partner, Velvet Clark. Once in town, Clark assumes the role of a respectable member of the community. When the townspeople become fed up with the crime spree, they call for the resignation of the Sheriff, Tom Jones. He asks to be given one more chance and, once granted, deputizes Ryan. Jones finds evidence that implicates Clark. When confronted, Clark kills the sheriff and escapes with money from a train robbery. It is left for Ryan to track down Clark. The two have a showdown at Gunsight Ridge. During the ensuing gunfight, Clark is killed. Ryan returns to the Jones Ranch and expresses regret to Molly for being unable to prevent her father's murder. At the same time, he reveals that he has been offered the job of sheriff and asks her opinion. When she approves, he announces that he will accept the position, implying the two will marry and settle down.

Cast

as Mike Ryan * Mark Stevens as "Velvet" Clark *

as Molly Jones * Addison Richards as Sheriff Tom Jones * Darlene Fields as Rosa * Carolyn Craig as Farm Girl * Robert Griffin as Herb Babcock * I. Stanford Jolley as Billy Daggett * George Chandler as Gus Withers *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

as Hank Moss *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as R.B. Davis *

Kitty Kelly Kitty Kelly (born Sue O'Neil; April 27, 1902 – June 29, 1968), was an American stage and film character actress. Biography Born in New York City in 1902, Kelly was best known as a member of the Ziegfeld Follies and her radio hosting with C ...

as Mrs. Donahue *

Jody McCrea Joel Dee "Jody" McCrea (September 6, 1934 – April 4, 2009) was an American actor. He was the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. Early life McCrea was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. ...

as Groom *

Cynthia Chenault Cynthia Chenault (born January 5, 1937) is an American television actress and producer/writer active from the mid-1950s to the present. She used the screen name Cindy Robbins in her acting credits. Early years Robbins was born in Hammond, Loui ...

as Bride * L. Q. Jones as Lazy Heart Ranch Hand *

Morgan Woodward Thomas Morgan Woodward (September 16, 1925 – February 22, 2019) was an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as Marvin "Punk" Anderson on the television soap opera ''Dallas'' and for his portrayal of Boss Godfrey, the sungla ...

as "Tex" * Jim Foxx as Lazy Heart Ranch Hand * Steve Mitchell as Lazy Heart Ranch Hand *

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was born ...

as The Bartender (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{Francis D. Lyon 1957 films 1957 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films directed by Francis D. Lyon Films scored by David Raksin Films set in Arizona United Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films