''The Shakiest Gun in the West'' is a 1968 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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 starring

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also ...

. It was directed by

Alan Rafkin Alan Rafkin (born Alfred Irwin Rafkin; July 23, 1928 – August 6, 2001) was an American television director, director, television producer, producer, and actor for television. Biography Rafkin was born in New York City to Til and Victor R ...

and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. The film is a remake of '' The Paleface'', a 1948 movie starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

and

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

Plot

Jesse W. Heywood graduates from dental school in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1870 and goes west to become a

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

dentist. As a "city slicker", he finds himself bungling in a new environment. On his way west, his stagecoach is held up and robbed by two masked bandits. A posse catches one of them, Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushing. Facing prison, Penelope is offered a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

if she will track down a ring of gun

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

s that also involves a local

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribe. Because the

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

she plans to accompany will not permit single women to join, she tricks Heywood into a

sham marriage A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage. Definitions of sham marriage vary by ...

. Jesse, excited for his

wedding night In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...

and not realizing that his marriage is a sham, looks for Penelope, who is investigating crates of "Bibles" that the Preacher and his minion have in their tent. Jesse startles Penelope, alerting the camp. Her investigation foiled, she goes to bed dragging along her bungling husband. As the wagon train draws near the town, Indians attack. Jesse fumbles with his six-shooter, but Penelope expertly shoots the attackers. Jesse, believing that he was responsible, is proud of his accomplishment and is treated as a hero by the wagon train and the entire town, which hears of his deeds. The Preacher, believing Jesse to be an undercover federal agent, hires the local outlaw Arnold the Kid to challenge Jesse to a gunfight. Jesse practices for the gunfight while Penelope meets her contact in town. Around the corner, Arnold listens for Jesse to use up his rounds, and after the sixth shot challenges Jesse, even offering him the first shot. Penelope, feeling pity for Jesse, shoots Arnold from a window. With the killing of Arnold the Kid, Heywood becomes the legendary "Doc the Heywood". Later that night, Penelope leaves to search the church where the Preacher resides, but Jesse confronts her and demands to know where she is going. Penelope explains her situation and Jesse offers his help, believing himself to be a crack shot. Penelope, not wanting Jesse to hurt himself, tells him the truth about her assistance on the wagon train and with Arnold. Penelope leaves, apologizing to Jesse, who is heartbroken. Penelope investigates the church and is kidnapped by the Preacher and his minion, who take her to the Indian village outside of town. Meanwhile, Jesse walks into the saloon and admits the truth of his deeds to the town, who laugh at him. As a drunken Jesse stumbles out of the saloon, he sees Penelope being taken out of town by the Preacher. Jesse follows them to the Indian village to save Penelope. In disguise as an Indian woman, Jesse frees Penelope but suggests they wait for the entire village to get even more drunk before making their escape. Eventually Jesse is discovered and the Preacher and his minion challenge Jesse to a gunfight. Jesse is confident because he knows Penelope is armed and ready in the shadows. As Penelope sets her sights, she is grabbed by two marshals who have come to the village to save her. Two gun shots ring out and Penelope leaves the village, crestfallen, yet Jesse stands victorious with the Preacher and his minion shot dead. Jesse is surrounded by the rest of the village and appears doomed. Back at the town, the gates are barred and the townspeople prepare for a battle. To everyone's surprise, Jesse rides with the Chief at his side and the remainder of the tribe behind them. Jesse has made peace with the Chief and replaced his missing teeth. He orders the Chief a rare steak and is reunited with Penelope, who hugs him.

Cast

as Dr. Jesse W. Heywood *

Barbara Rhoades Barbara Rhoades (born March 23, 1946) is an American actress, known primarily for her comedy and mystery roles, especially as lady bandit Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushings in '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'' (1968). She had a recurring role on ''Soa ...

as Penelope 'Bad Penny' Cushings *

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...

as Matthew Basch *

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

as Rev. Zachary Gant (as Donald Barry) *

Burt Mustin Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin (February 8, 1884 – January 28, 1977) was an American character actor.Obituary ''Variety'', February 2, 1977, page 94. Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He ...

as Old Artimus *

Ruth McDevitt Ruth Thane McDevitt ( Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. Career The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft, McDevitt was born in Coldwater, Mich ...

as Olive * Frank McGrath as Mr. Remington * Terry Wilson as Welsh *

Carl Ballantine Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style come ...

as Abel Swanson *

Pat Morita Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on ''Happy Days'', Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'' film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitco ...

as Wong *

Dub Taylor Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994),Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extens ...

as Pop McGovern *

Edward Faulkner Fielden Edward Faulkner II (born February 29, 1932 in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American film and television character actor. He is most known for his roles in John Wayne films, including ''Hellfighters'', ''The Green Berets'', ''Rio Lobo'', ...

as Huggins *

Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career sp ...

as Stage Passenger (uncredited) *

William Christopher William Christopher (October 20, 1932 December 31, 2016) was an American actor and comedian, best known for playing Private Lester Hummel on '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' from 1965 to 1968 and Father John Mulcahy on the television series '' M*A*S ...

as Hotel Manager (uncredited)

Production and release

Filming for the movie, which cost $1.2 million to produce, completed on June 12, 1967 and it opened in Los Angeles on June 26, 1968.

Home media

The film was originally released on VHS in 1988 by

GoodTimes Home Video GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...

and re-released on VHS in 1996 by MCA Home Video. It was later released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in 2003 by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

In popular culture

Two scenes in the film parody similar scenes in ''

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' () is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and James Stewart. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a 1953 short story written by ...

'' with

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

and

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. The stagecoach holdup scene is the first encounter that both city dudes have with the "Wild West". In the gunfight scene, both "dudes" are about to be gunned down in duels with experienced gunfighters when they are saved by a good guy who kills the villain from a hidden position, making the shooting look like the underdog won a legitimate gunfight. The plot of the film ''

Beethoven's 3rd The Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, E major, opus number, Op. 55, (also Italian ''Sinfonia Eroica'', ''Heroic Symphony''; german: Eroica, ) is a symphony in four movements by Ludwig van Beethoven. One of Beethoven's most celebrated works, the ' ...

'' revolves around a

copy of ''The Shakiest Gun in the West''. ''The Shakiest Gun in the West'' has been cited as one of a number of films which the 2011 animated film '' Rango'' consciously draws on.

References

External links

* * * *
''New York Times'' review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakiest Gun In The West 1968 films 1960s Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films Western (genre) film remakes Remakes of American films Films directed by Alan Rafkin Films scored by Vic Mizzy Films with screenplays by Frank Tashlin Universal Pictures films Films about dentistry 1968 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films