Tension between the two main protagonists is established early in this story, as Lorn Warfield (Glenn Ford) returns home after a lengthy absence, only to be told by Owen Forbes (Arthur Kennedy) that his wife and two daughters were attacked and taken hostage by Apaches. Complicating matters, Forbes tells Warfield that his wife had already given him up for dead, and that he was about to marry her in a week's time. Not the sort of news one expects to hear upon returning home.If I were casting this film I think I would have reversed the roles of two of the supporting players. Royal Dano could usually be found playing less than savory characters, so seeing him here as a doctor treating cholera victims was a new one on me. I thought he would have been better suited to portray the part of the pretend crazy guy, Jimmy Noble. He had already taken on a similar role in a first season episode of 'The Rebel' TV series when he played a coward holed up in an abandoned fort, surviving only because Indians pay no mind to the mentally infirm. The title of that show was 'Yellow Hair' if you care to look it up. In any event, Dean Jagger acquitted himself well as the nutty Noble.It goes without saying that Warfield and Owens succeed in their mission, though as others on this board have rightly noted, the rescue of Angie Warfield (Barbara Babcock) and her two daughters occurred without the slightest of hitches amid a fully armed camp of hostile Apaches. The 'evil gun' connection doesn't come into play until the very end of the story when shopkeeper Wilford (Parley Baer) accepts Warfield's holstered weapon in exchange for new dresses for the freed women. Right before gunning down the aggrieved Owens about to shoot his defenseless partner and rival, Wilford manages to answer his own rhetorical question - "I'll never know how one man can kill another".

Released in 1968, "Day of the Evil Gun" stars Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy as two older men pursuing the Apaches who kidnapped the wife and daughters of the former. The two are at odds because the latter wants to be the man of the family after the former skipped out and was thought dead. Unfortunately, the trail is two months cold and they run into numerous problems, like being staked out in the desert and being hindered by a curious group of remote soldiers."Day of the Evil Gun" has a quality late 60's Western vibe, so if you favor Westerns from this period, like 1966' "Duel at Diablo" and 1970's "Two Mules for Sister Sara," it's worthwhile, but it's mortally hampered by several unbelievable scenes, particularly the "yeah right" climatic rescue sequence. Another problem is the way a certain character curiously morphs into a brutal, conniving and cowardly murderer at the end, which he was not previously during all the various stressful trials. It's unfortunate because with just a little tweaking this would've been an effective Western.The film runs 95 minutes and was shot in Durango, Mexico. GRADE: C

Like Gregory Peck in The Gunfighter Glenn Ford in Day Of The Evil Gun is a gunfighter who deserted his wife and two daughters and has now come home. But on arrival discovers that they've been taken by the Apaches and he sets off to find them.Unlike Peck's wife though, Barbara Babcock has grown inpatient for her man and has given up. She's taken up with her neighbor Arthur Kennedy who declares himself in on the hunt. These two form one uneasy alliance.But they have to stay allied because they do come across a whole lot of low lifes on their journey into Apache country. On the way there they come into a charming, but coldblooded Mexican bandit in Nico Minardos, a cholera epidemic in a town with an avaricious store owner in James Griffith and some army deserters who are an outlaw gang with John Anderson in charge.During all this time Kennedy who has lorded his moral superiority over Ford develops into quite a killing machine himself. Makes for an interesting climax.In his recent biography of his father, Peter Ford who played one of the army deserters said that this was one cursed production. Some kind of malady was going around in Durango, Mexico where the film was shot and everyone in the cast came down. The most serious was Dean Jagger who nearly died. Jagger has only one scene in the film, but he plays an itinerant peddler who pretends he's crazy so that the Apaches will deal with him. He looked somewhat ravaged in his appearance. The malady whatever it was also affected the crew on Guns For San Sebastian shooting at the same time.Peter Ford who played one of the army deserters also said his father was pleased to be working with Arthur Kennedy again, they had been together on one of Ford's best films Trial. Day Of The Evil Gun is a competently made western does drag a bit in spots. Still fans of the horse opera and Glenn Ford should like it.

I've tried not to make give any real key spoilers but there are some mild spoilers. "Captivating" tale of two men on a long, difficult, quest into hot Western desert to find out if "their" wife and children are still alive. Each is "married" to the same woman and neither appreciates the other's company. They each desperately want to track down the brutal Apache band that captured their family by questioning persons they meet. Along the the way they encounter a not-so-crazy trader who knows much more than he lets on, Mexican bandits who wheel and deal, soldiers playing a high risk game with the Apache, a cholera epidemic, and the pair of husbands are nearly killed several times. Nearly every one they talk to lies to them ,pretends to be something that they are not, or says one thing and does another. Warfield, who has become cynical in his years of gunfighting, brilliantly sees through the motives of people and often finds sly ways to turn the tables on them. His partner starts out being a peace loving gentleman gradually becomes more and more blood-thirsty as every episode shakes his faith in mankind. Some noteworthy quotes are "Noble says as Noble does" said by the trader. "Don't talk to me, I'm busy killin' people" said by the Doctor who is helplessly fighting the the cholera epidemic by burning down half the town. The first-rate cinematography of the desert and the high shots of towns and Indian-soldier battle scenes make for great viewing. The eventually reach the Apache camp (or should it be the Churacawa?, ha ha) where another clever fight ensues. Ironically, when they get back home, a brief remark about a dress ignites the final surprise twist to end the movie. I give it 7 Apache pelts out of a possible ten pelts.