As you may have guessed by what I wrote in the above summary line, "The Gatling Gun" is far from the classics the western film genre has managed to produce. True, the movie managed to round up an interesting cast, from John Carradine to Woody Strode. But despite the talent on display, the movie stubbornly gives the majority of them precious little to do, and an even smaller amount that is actually interesting or compelling. Stronger characters would have helped, but the movie would still have suffered from a slapdash feeling. As I said, this movie is pretty cheap, from the tacky costumes to filming every scene on drab locations. Director Robert Gordon also seems unable to inject any excitement; the sporadic action is pretty flat. The only things that may raise viewers from a slumber are one scene involving fire (you'll know it when you see it) and John Carradine's hilariously hammy performance, though Carradine exits the movie pretty early before he can tickle us some more.

"The Gatling Gun" was originally titled "King Gun" and shot in 1969, but not released till 1971. It's a cavalry vs. Indians Western focusing on the eponymous weapon with a great cast of familiars -- Guy Stockwell, Robert Fuller, Phil Harris, Woody Strode, Patrick Wayne, John Carradine, Pat Buttram and BarBara Luna (from Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror") -- highlighted by curvy redhead Judy Jordan, to say the least.Critics write it off as "routine" and akin to a TV Western. True, it is Grade 'B' and comic-booky, so proceed with caution. BUT the notable cast clicks and the story delivers the goods, as far as Western (melo)drama & action goes. It's essentially a survival tale of a small group of soldiers and civilians who team-up to survive a desert trek threatened by Two-Knife (Carlos Rivas) and his rogue tribe. If you're a sucker for desert-survival tales (like me), such as "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965), "Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), "Escape from Zahrain" (1962) and "They Came to Cordura" (1959), you'll probably appreciate "The Gatling Gun," as long as you can forgive the TV budget (although it's not technically a TV movie and was dubiously released to theaters). It's not as good as the first three, but it's more entertaining than the last one. While "Cordura" is a more serious production with overall superior production values, it's also more hokey in a lame 50's Western sense.The trek through the desert features a lot of drama but the movie ends with a bang as the group squares-off against Two-Knife and his braves. Stockwell stands out as the alpha male Army Lieutenant who naturally attracts the babe (Jordan), whereas Fuller is effective as Private Sneed, done-in by his own lust for filthy lucre.The film runs 87 minutes and was shot at Eaves Movie Ranch and Ghost Ranch near Sante Fe, New Mexico. DIRECTOR: Robert Gordon. WRITERS: Mark Hanna & Joseph Van Winkle.GRADE: B-

A familiar cast of western regulars make up the players in The Gatling Gun. Sad to say that a badly written and/or a badly edited story fill this plot with more holes than a Gatling Gun could give a wooden wall.A couple of troopers plus Reverend John Carradine and his seductive stepchild Barbara Luna steal a Gatling Gun from the army to give to the Apaches. One of the troopers is killed, but the other, Robert Fuller, is captured along with Carradine and Luna and Captain Guy Stockwell is assigned to bring The Gatling Gun and his prisoners back.But the Apache chief Carlos Rivas still wants that weapon and the rest of the film is concerned with his efforts to get it even though he doesn't know that it doesn't have a firing pin.The players here speak their lines truly without conviction. They all know that when the film is done it will grace their Thanksgiving table that year.

Low-budget, by-the-numbers western, routine in every department: writing, direction, acting, you name it. The plot is nothing special: a ragtag detachment of soldiers must protect a new Gatling gun from falling into the hands of rampaging Indians. A somewhat decent cast gives this picture a bit more than just a passing interest, but not much more. Phil Harris looks out of place, John Carradine was at a point in his career where he took just about anything and everything that was offered to him--which explains why he's in this--Guy Stockwell looks tired, and the only even remotely energetic performance is given by veteran western actor and John Ford favorite Woody Strode. Listlessly directed and sloppily written, this cheap-looking film has a burst of action near the end that breaks the monotony, but not enough to make it worth sitting through. Skip it.