For a B Western, Top Gun provides top entertainment and makes a more-than-adequate contribution to its genre. The initial conflict uses the basic premise of the Western: lone male figure, having been subjected to privation and now alone and searching for spiritual peace, finds the ultimate show-down when confronted with evil, which he tries to set right -- despite the all-powerful forces of law and nature which try to stop him. The situation -- that a top gunman is revisiting his home town to warn the citizens of a raid by the very gang he used to belong to -- is set up quickly and convincingly, even uniquely -- in a graveyard. The ensemble cast of veteran actors works well to create the tension necessary to convey a well-crafted and believable script. Sterling Hayden exudes gravitas, if not exactly charm, and his masculine presence is undeniable, nearly coming off the screen, as it does in all his films. The sets are well-constructed, and the camera work is consistent and well-planned, if not exactly subtle. The script even provides a few memorable one-liners, as when John Dehner (the heavy) gleefully tells Sterling Hayden, "Rick, you ole catamount, may you live until I kill you."For Western fans, a gem; for Sterling Hayden fans, a treat (as the camera lingers on both his lumbering body and his rugged face for much of the film); and for cinephiles, a well-worth it adventure.

This movie doesn't get much respect from the other reviewers on this board, but if you watched it back to back on the Encore Western Channel following 1960's "Gun Fight" like I just did, you'd think it was a pretty good Western. What made it for me was seeing John Dehner in his role as a greasy, bearded gang leader intent on looting the town of Casper, Wyoming. Man, that was some make up job on Dehner, he looked tougher in this role than any other I've seen him in. Trouble is, he was pretty inept when you come right down to it. He lost what, about fifteen men in the raid on the town? Makes you wonder how he ever made it that far as a career outlaw. He didn't make one right call, especially after having half of his gang taken out right at the entrance of town. Oh well.For his part, Sterling Hayden's a pretty laid back gunslinger as he investigates the circumstances of his mother's death and the sale of her ranch to town big-wig Canby Judd (William Bishop). There's always some nitwit cowpoke gunning for the fastest draw in the territory, and this time it's Rod Taylor's turn to get his due from Rick Martin's (Hayden) fast gun.I had to scratch my head over that phony mortgage business though, that deal whereby Judd hoodwinked Martin's mother into selling her ranch to him. It was explained that she signed a bill of sale that was somehow covered over by a mortgage note in a latter day cut and paste job. I realize the 1880's was a simpler time, but really, how does something like that work? I guess if you're not paying close attention to the picture this would blow right by you, but as you can see, I'm still thinking about it.Well we've seen it before in picture's like "High Noon", a woman saves the day at the end of the story by getting the drop on the bad guy after coming to her senses. Martin made the right call by going after Quentin (Dehner) even with a gun pointed at his back. You just knew that somewhere off screen, Miss Mead (Karen Booth) was getting ready to break off the engagement to her slimy fiancée. Nice shooting there Laura.

What a shame that a really competent director like Andre de Toth who specialized in slippery, shifting alliances didn't get hold of this concept first. He could have helped bring out the real potential, especially with the interesting character played by William Bishop. As the movie stands, it's pretty much of a mess (as asserted by reviewer Chipe). The main problems are with the direction, cheap budget, and poor script. The strength lies in an excellent cast and an interesting general concept-- characters pulled in different directions by conflicting forces. What was needed was someone with vision enough to pull together the positive elements by reworking the script into some kind of coherent whole, instead of the sprawling, awkward mess that it is, (try to figure out the motivations and interplay if you can). Also, a bigger budget could have matched up contrasting location and studio shots, and gotten the locations out of the all-too-obvious LA outskirts. The real shame lies in a waste of an excellent cast-- Hayden, Taylor (before his teeth were capped), Dehner, Reeves, along with James Millican and William Bishop shortly before their untimely deaths. Few films illustrate the importance of an auteur-with-vision more than this lowly obscure Western, which, in the right hands, could have been so much more.

An awful western. The trite screenplay and minimal sets are especially bad. That it has a top notch cast makes it particularly laughable, and the acting was surprisingly poor; maybe the cast members were sickened by the embarrassing script and direction. Big disappointment as I am a big Westerns fan.To give one example of how lame the movie is, I mention this laughable "gem:" the hero (Hayden) tries to gain the confidence of the leader of the outlaws (Dehner) by offering to tell him where $50,000 in money is hidden in the town they just shot-up. Dehner seriously replies: we're so bad there is no town we can go to spend it! Hayden then has to tell him of a wide open town. Good grief!Karin Booth shined though. Very beautiful woman.I'm surprised that the TV Guide and MSN movie web sites gave it relatively high ratings (2-1/2 of 4 stars; and 3 of 5 stars). I wonder if they really saw the movie they reviewed. (The MSN site incorrectly said that the Booth character was married to the main bad guy. Not so, just engaged.)