The genre of western has its share of loyal fans who couldn't get enough of the great outdoors and often bigger than life story lines that went beyond bandits, land grabbers and fights with the natives. A sub genre of the standard western brought film noir into the mix, and this late B western goes down that path semi-successfully. James Craig is a mystery man who is determined to stay one step ahead of the bounty hunters searching for him, and gets himself hired as "town tamer", that is, given the responsibility to locate the corrupt elements in a town and get rid of them. Often, town tamers were opposed by the town sheriff, but in this case, he is up against a crippled bully (Paul Richards) who simply sends for three hit men to take care of him, even being smug enough to ask Craig to mail the letters on his way out. Similarities to "High Noon" are obvious, with Craig aware of the problems that face him. But with the people who hired him not willing to help him, he's on his own, even though Richard's beautiful wife (Martha Vickers) is obviously attracted to him. When one of the hit men (Brett Halaey) turns out to be his own brother, Craig will have some quick thinking to do.Tossing western veteran Edgar Buchanan as as the sheriff, thus has vintage western heritage. Some unique ideas rank this far above the *1/2 stars that Leonard Maltin ranked this at, although I do agree with observations that with TV westerns already dominating the airwaves, this had little chance of being anything than just barely successful. You have to look at this deeply for its film noir aspects which are subtle yet obvious.

Four Fast Guns is directed by William J. Hole Jr. and written by James Edmiston & Dallas Gaultois. It stars James Craig, Martha Vickers, Edgar Buchanan, Brett Halsey and Paul Richards. Music is by Alec Compinsky and cinematography by John M. Nickolaus Jr.After killing in self defence the town tamer who was on his way to clean up the town of Purgatory, gunman Tom Sabin (Craig) finds himself offered the position himself. With the financial rewards too great to turn down, Sabin agrees and finds a town being ruled and pillaged by wheelchair bound Hoag (Richards). Hoag has the financial pull to hire the best gunmen around to do his bidding, and soon enough Sabin finds he must out gun the men sent to kill him. Tricky enough as it is, more so when one of them turns out to be a familiar face.Efficient and shot in black and white for noirish effect, Four Fast Guns kind of gets in and does its job with the minimum of fuss. The problem is is that it really offers up nothing new in the genre, with the attempt to blend an airy comedic tone with the drama never sitting comfortably together. There's a standard love triangle stitched into the quilt, which works whilst going exactly where you expect it to go, and the high points of the film come by way of the gun play show downs and Edgar Buchanan's ebullience. Acting performances are adequately of a low budget B Western standard, photography is pleasing (Darn Good Westerns DVD print is nice) and the brisk running time doesn't allow for pointless filler.Enjoyable enough while it is on, instantly forgettable once it's over. 6/10

Four Fast Guns is an interesting if not completely successful B western, done at a time when these kinds of films and stories were finding more of a home on the small screen. I could have seen this one as an episode on The Virginian for instance which was a 90 minute show.James Craig has an encounter with a 'town tamer' on the trail and when he gets prodded into a fight he kills the prodder. Craig goes on into the town with the name of Purgatory and proceeds to take the job of town tamer.Who Purgatory wants to eliminate is Paul Richards, once a fast gun himself, but now limited to running the saloon and all the organized outlawry in the area. Richards is limited also because he's in a wheelchair due to a broken back. And apparently he's also limited as far as wife Martha Vickers is concerned.Richards sends a series of gunmen against Craig, Four Fast Guns to be precise. Three come up short, but the fourth is Brett Halsey who presents some unique problems no one foresaw on both sides.The B western had certainly moved way beyond the Saturday matinée kiddie trade. You wouldn't have a Roy Rogers western dealing with something like impotence. Four Fast Guns probably would have been more explicit but for the Code.Four Fast Guns was done on the cheap so it won't get a higher rating from me. Still it's an interesting work.

This film is amazing,, never heard about it before, until I bought this DVD "Darn Good Westerns". It is full of clichés and at a certain moment, almost ridiculous. But it has great scenes and sure keeps you interested . Tom Sabin (James Craig), kills a town tamer in self defense and then is hired by that town . He will have to challenge the saloon owner , Hoag, a man half paralyzed, so rich, he imports everything, including a small copy of the Venus De Milo,. He contracts three gunfighters to kill Tom and these three guys, plus a young aspiring gunfighter are what's best in the film. Hoag's wife, Mary (Martha Vickers) starts falling in love with Tom , but will not go ahead because of her principles. One of the gunfighters, Johnny Naco is played by Brett Halsey, who certainly overacts, but in a pleasing way bringing to mind the Brando-Dean style. I think westerns fans will like this movie.