Flashbacks to his childhood and World War II service show our narrator's strong bond with guns... In the present, our elderly storyteller James Coburn (as Martin Tillman) lives in Vermont, with his beautiful wartime bride Barbara Bain (as Anne). Their snowy Christmas is brightened by a visit from daughter Virginia Madsen (as Penny). The family has overcome life's problems, and is a obviously a loving unit. During an immaculately prepared dinner, we learn details about the family's latest crisis - Mr. Coburn's granddaughter Alexandra Holden (as Mia) has run away from home. While daughter Madsen takes care of some Christmas shopping, Coburn secretly meets with young Holden. Or, so it seems… Writer/director Alan Jacobs tells a good story about a man coming to grip with tragedy; secondarily, we see the consequences of being quick on the trigger...In hindsight, you can see the intent, but "American Gun" has some serious editing flaws. There is also one unforgivable "cheat" - during one of the film's shootings, a sound effect does not coincide with later events. The film tells the story of the "American Gun" responsible for the tragedy that befalls Coburn. He decides to trace ownership of the offending .357 Magnum, which he is able to obtain from the local police. Using the serial number, Coburn finds out how the gun was used across America. At the same time, Coburn looks for his granddaughter (who goes to the restroom without her purse). Most notably, this was the last feature film for Coburn (and, surprisingly, his real-life young wife Paula O'Hara, who play an attractive woman with car trouble).***** American Gun (6/13/02) Alan Jacobs ~ James Coburn, Barbara Bain, Virginia Madsen, Alexandra Holden

Channel-flipping, I stopped at "American Gun". Ready to change to another movie, I decided to give it 5-minutes. 15-minutes. All 95- minutes.*** spoiler*** An elderly grandfather, haunted by a traumatic split-second decision made during WW2, goes on to be haunted by another traumatic split-second decision made in the present.To me, movies don't have to be perfect. If they hold my attention, if they make me feel something, if they make me muse about what has been presented, I am happy.See it.

James Coburn has always, for me, been a powerful actor. Here he seems weak, not just because of his obvious physical discomfort, but also because he seems very uncomfortable with the material. I don't mean generally anti-weapon material, I mean weak writing and direction. Coburn seems unsure of his acting, and some of the scenes come out looking like near enough's good enough. And it isn't good enough.The story of the gun involved seems remarkably eventful, and the tracing of it over so many owners seems preposterous (with some great Deus ex Machina jumps). The flashbacks to WWII also seem contrived. None of it seems in any way realistic.Perhaps it wasn't as bad as I've made out, but I just didn't warm to it at all. 5 out of 10.

I saw this film at the Sonoma Film Festival earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised. It was not what I was expecting.James Coburn gave a tremendous performance and all the other actors were very good as well.I was able to buy into what the film was selling, but I was not expecting the twist at the end. About ten minutes before the twist was revealed, I starting thinking this was the direction they were headed. I just sat there thinking "No, that can't be where they are taking this." It was difficult to see the ending and I felt disturbed by the movie for a while afterwards.I recommended it to friends and think it is well worth seeing.