''Heaven with a Gun'' is a 1969 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 starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

and directed by

Lee H. Katzin Lee H. Katzin (12 April 1935 - 30 October 2002) was an American film director. Early life and education He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and became a TV director in the late 1960s, including episodes for ''Bonanza, Mission: Impossible ''and '' ...

Plot

Jim Killian arrives at the town of Vinegaroon, which is divided between cattlemen and sheepherders, and purchases a vacant barn. Cattle rancher Asa Beck, his son Coke, and his cowhands constantly harass the sheepherders, sometimes with lethal results, and the sheepherders are on the verge of retaliating in kind. Both parties quickly learn that Killian is a capable gunfighter and offer to hire him, but Killian invites them all to the town for a meeting. There, Killian reveals he has become a preacher and converted his barn into a church. He vows to the townspeople that he will protect everyone who lives in the vicinity, and warns that no one else is permitted to kill except him; when two of Beck's cowhands draw their guns to attack Killian, Killian shoots them both to prove his point. The following Sunday, everyone in Vinegaroon and its surroundings attends Killian's church service. Killian demonstrates that, contrary to Beck's beliefs, cattle and sheep can be kept together and share the local water sources without detriment to either animal, and argues that this is no different than how people of all kinds can live together in harmony. However, Beck pegged Killian as a threat before the service and hired an outsider called Mace. When the service ends, Mace publicly exposes Killian as a former criminal associate and a convicted murderer. Beck and his allies call for Killian's expulsion from the town, but others come to the preacher's defense, asserting he had already paid his debt to society in prison and he has earned a second chance. Bart Paterson, a cattleman, and Abraham Murdock, a sheepherder, decide to follow Killian's advice and make peace with each other. Meanwhile, Killian has taken under his protection a half-Native American girl named Leloopa, whose father had been lynched by Coke Beck. Coke develops a fascination with the girl. While Killian is discussing the Becks' recent razing of sheepherder Scotty Andrews' homestead with Madge McCloud, the madam of the local saloon and brothel, Coke corners Leloopa in the town stables and rapes her. When Killian realizes what happened, he gives Coke a severe beating in full view of the town. In response, Asa Beck begins moving his cattle herd to the contested watering hole with intent to occupy the area and permanently shut out the sheepherders. In the night, Scotty Andrews sneaks into their camp and manages to stab Coke to death through the neck with his wool shears before being gunned down by Mace. A grieving Beck declares war against anyone in Vinegaroon who does not follow him. He orders Mace to burn down Killian's church and kill the preacher, then prepares to ambush the sheepherders, who are driving their herds to the watering hole alongside Murdock and Paterson to defy Beck's blockade. Mace holds Killian at gunpoint in the saloon while other cowhands set fire to the church, but Killian manages to outgun Mace and chase away his cohorts. The townspeople work together to douse the burning church, but to no avail. An enraged Killian gears up to take revenge against Beck, but Madge intervenes and insists that he choose between being a preacher or a gunman once and for all, as his attempt to straddle the line between the two opposing roles has only undermined his efforts to bring about peace. Abashed, Killian discards his guns in the ashes of his church and then asks the people of Vinegaroon to help him protect the sheepherders from Beck. Although they have no weapons, the townspeople speed to the watering hole on every horse and cart available, and succeed in getting between Beck's men and the sheepherders just in time. Seeing their friends and families advance toward them unarmed, the cowhands falter and desert Beck. At last, Beck gives up and agrees to share a drink with Madge. Killian and Leloopa watch, satisfied, as the cattlemen and sheepherders walk among each other and shake hands.

Cast

as Jim Killian *

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

as Madge McCloud *

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...

as Leloopa * John Anderson as Asa Beck *

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series '' Kung Fu'', playi ...

as Coke Beck *

J. D. Cannon John Donovan Cannon (April 24, 1922 – May 20, 2005) was an American actor. An alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he is best known for his co-starring role of Chief of Detectives Peter B. Clifford in the tele ...

as Mace *

Noah Beery, Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, ...

as Garvey * William Bryant as Bart Paterson *

James Griffith James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter. Education Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...

as Abraham Murdock *

Ed Bakey William Edward Baekey (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 1988) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Bakey was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and moved to Baltimore at an early age. He attended Baltimore City College, gr ...

as Scotty Andrews * Barbara Babcock as Mrs. Andrews * Angelique Pettyjohn as Emily the saloon girl

Reception

Critical response

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' film critic, Howard Thompson, gave the film a positive review, writing, "The typical dour restraint of Glenn Ford, as an exconvict turned pistol-packing parson, is the most steadying ingredient of ''Heaven With a Gun,'' a plodding, vest-pocket Western that opened yesterday at neighborhood theaters. As a veteran of many a cattlemen-versus-sheepmen exercise, Mr. Ford plays it cool and, of course, leathery." More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a negative review, writing, "... irectorand writer Richard Carr load the genre pic with cliches and violent sequences. The unpleasant Western features a lynching, torture with shears, a rape, arson, a street brawl and your usual saloon gun fights. The numerous cliches include a world-weary gunfighter wanting to reform and to save the world, your typical western fight between cattlemen and sheepherders, an aging saloon keeper and whorehouse madam with a heart of gold (Carolyn Jones) longing for her unavailable old gunfighter friend and a pretty half-caste Indian (Barbara Hershey) finding it difficult to understand the white world. It preaches an awkward social conscience message that peace can be found without guns. The trouble is the pic is clumsily executed and is leaden, so everything seems absurd and hardly believable."

References

External links