Grant Williams surprised me completely: He is simply magnificent as a Western bad guy. Even beyond his skill as a Western performer is his skill as a performer. In the one close-up scene with star Rory Calhoun, he steals it totally -- and Calhoun gives one of his own best performances.Dean Jagger is the consummate professional, and proves that as a sheriff. Maybe he's never given a bad performance. Certainly I've never seen one. But he too surprised me.James Millican is one of my favorites. Every time I see him, I get surprised anew at how perfect he seems in his role, whatever role it is.Martha Hyer, though, is no surprise -- except to realize again just how perfectly beautiful she is, and how perfectly she fits her role, again, whatever role it is.Veteran Trevor Bardette gives another of his classic performances, and we see the iconic John Doucette in a bit, but standing out, as always.Equally iconic Leo Gordon has another small role, and just owns the screen whenever he is on it.Robert Middleton is another surprise. He, too, is always perfect in whatever role, but as a Western bad guy? Yes! As I said, surprise. And he even has a fight scene! Extremely well done.Even the music rates a 10, with the title song beautifully written and beautifully sung by Terry Gilkyson, of whom I had not heard, but obviously I should have: He has a long list of credits. The rest of the score is by the under-appreciated Hans J. Salter.Directing and cinematography and editing are all top-notch, and the story, from a novel by the master, Lewis Patten, is therefore very well presented.There is a good print at YouTube, unfortunately interrupted several times by commercials, something I ordinarily hate, but I guess it's the price to pay to see such a good movie.I highly recommend "Red Sundown."

Perhaps my review title would have been a more appropriate title for this western, which features the well worn plot involving a range war between a cattle baron and neighboring small ranchers over the lands claimed by the small ranchers, which often are held by deeds of questionable or worthless validity. Roy Calhoun, who starred in this one, also starred in at least one other film("Utah Blaine") about such a range war. Here, it's chunky Rufus Henshaw(Robert Middleton)who is terrorizing the small ranchers, threatening to fence them out of their traditional grazing land, which Henshaw now claims for himself. To help him convince the small ranchers and sheriff to see things his way, he hires notorious gunslinger Chet Swann(Grant Williams). Calhoun(as Alec) is reckoned to be the only local who might outdraw Swann. Calhoun has recently been hired as the Deputy Sheriff of the local community. Henshaw offers him better pay to work for him, but Calhoun refuses. Swann and Calhoun have several tense meetings before their final showdown, running around town buildings. Guess who ultimately prevails, but only with the vocal help of the sheriff's striking-looking single daughter, Caroline(Martha Hyer). As according to standard formula, at first they don't see eye-to-eye, but eventually, the implication is that Calhoun will return to her after he attends to some business elsewhere. Calhoun also runs into the equally striking-looking old Latino girlfriend, Maria(Lita Baron). She appears to be Henshaw's mistress. Seems she would rather be Calhoun's girlfriend again, but that's not in the cards.There's a bizarre episode where Calhoun's buddy, Purvis, convinces him to dig a trench in the floor of the cabin where they are hiding, in which he places himself, then Purvis places a thin layer of soil over him, providing him with a stove pipe to breathe through! Then, the baddies who have them surrounded, set fire to the cabin, and when all is ashes, they are mystified where Calhoun vanished to. After they leave(how does he know?), he supposedly pushes the soil away and emerges from his 'grave'. For me, the best part of the film was seeing the 2 beautiful women...There's a theme song "Red Sundown" with lyrics relating to Calhoun and Caroline, sung during the opening and closing credits....I swear, I can't tell the difference between the speech of Calhoun and Audy Murphy. One grew up in CA, while the other grew up in Texas..... Available in color at You Tube and on DVD.

In the 1950's, Universal was cranking out these Audie Murphy and Rory Calhoun Technicolor oaters at a furious pace. Calhoun gets his turn here. He may not manage Murphy's hard-eyed stare, but he does well enough in the grim determination department. Then too, this feature was fortunate to get Jack Arnold away from mutant creatures long enough to lend the proceedings his cut-above-average direction.So, can ex-gunslinger Calhoun stay away from guns long enough to keep his promise to dying buddy Millican. Notably, this was the latter's final film, and movie veteran Millican departs on a particularly poignant note, rare for any Western, A or B. Anyway, Calhoun has good intentions, but there're always the baddies who've got other ideas. Here, the pudgy but agile Westerfield naturally wants all the land, not just some, and Sheriff Jagger is not quite up to handling his gun-toting crew. So guess who he hires as deputy. Plus the sheriff's comely blonde daughter (Hyer) helps Calhoun make up his mind, despite his earlier promise.Now Calhoun can handle heavyweight Westerfield as their surprisingly acrobatic barroom brawl shows. But can he handle professional gunslinger Williams (Swann), who appears to have been born with a perpetual sneer. This is Calhoun's real test, after which maybe he can at last keep his promise. But then Swann is one sly gunman. Here Williams goes against type since he usually plays a good guy. But the sneer is a good touch and speaks volumes.All in all, it's a good little Western even if it never leaves greater LA (Thousand Oaks). Thanks to Arnold, however, the pace never drags, plus there's Millican's truly moving performance, worthy I think of at least a sagebrush Oscar.

After hooking up with old time gunfighter James Millican, younger gunfighter Rory Calhoun decides he'd better look for a different line of work himself. Especially after Millican dies holding off a pair of brothers out to get them. But it's not so easy when the only trade you know is a fast draw.And in Red Sundown that's just what old time sheriff Dean Jagger needs to stop a range war between the local Ponderosa owner Robert Middleton and a bunch of smaller ranchers and farmers. Land titles aren't clear and Middleton's grabbing all he can.Also keeping Calhoun in town is Jagger's daughter Martha Hyer, but there's a complication there with the presence of Middleton's mistress Lita Baron who has a history with Calhoun. Her function in the film and her relationship with Middleton make Red Sundown quite the adult western for its time.In only an 81 running minute time Red Sundown packs quite a bit in what is an above average B western. I do love the way that kid actors David Kasday and Scotty Morrow function as a kind of Greek chorus commenting on the comings and goings in the town and showing the voice of public opinion in prevailing mores. Grant Williams the future incredible shrinking man makes his screen debut here playing a vicious punk gunfighter that Calhoun has to deal with.Red Sundown is one of the best of Rory Calhoun's B westerns and definitely an above average film for the limited production values it got because of its low priority.