Kentucky Rifle

Kentucky Rifle is one of those movies that is immediately recognizable as having been made in the 1950's. The "western" accent used in the movies and television matches nothing I have ever heard anywhere else. The gritty version of the west was just starting to emerge at the time this movie came out, but it wasn't completely there yet.

Not completely void of a story, Kentucky Rifle gives us a simple plot that literally and figuratively goes nowhere. A wagon with a broken axle is left behind a wagon train that must keep its schedule. The wagon contains crated Kentucky Rifles that are of financial interest and a matter of personal honor to Jason Clay (Lance Fuller). Comanche Indians also have an interest in obtaining the rifles. From the start of the movie until the end we only see the characters arguing and reasoning for and against trading the rifles to the Comanches for safe passage once the wagon is repaired. Thankfully the philosophical dialogue is kept brief, and the action is given more weight in this production. Both Jason Clay and Tobias Taylor (Chill Wills) encounter the Comanches and work to keep the group of travelers together and alive for most of the movie. The wagon stays put the entire time. The most important attribute of the story is the will and leadership of Clay and Tobias, and the decisions they are forced to make.

Kentucky Rifle is not a total disaster, but it is hardly worth seeking. Enjoy it in a DVD collection like I did. I rated it with a generous 5, but I have a positive bias when it comes to westerns.

Filmed at Vasquez rocks and on a sound stage - obviously two different places as the by play shifts from scene to scene. Different scenes; wagon train, axle building, sound stage and location shots all have a different color quality, as if different brands of film were used at each location.

The best actors are in the roles of sidekick, Preacher and wagon master, while the lead actor seems to be asleep and the Indians a far from fierce...

TV shows of the time had better action and stage sets... Wagon Train, with Ward Bond had better sets, action and acting.

Chill Wills and Henry Hull should have thrown the script back in writer's face...

Strangely enough, some of the best scenes are the wood work and minor blacksmithing required to put the axle on the wagon.

I suspect those scenes were borrowed from another movie, just as some of the wagon train scenes were borrowed.

"Jason Clay" (Lance Fuller) and "Tobias Taylor" (Chill Wills) are two people who have decided to join a wagon train headed to California where they can sell a new rifle they call the "Kentucky Rifle". To get to California they have to venture into Comanche territory which is made even more dangerous due to the fact that the Comanche know about these new rifles and want them very badly. Also in this wagon train is a pretty blonde by the name of "Amy Connors" (Cathy Downs) who is engaged to a man named "Daniel Foster" (Jess Barker) but becomes somewhat enamored of Jason along the way. This proceeds to create almost as many problems as the Comanche. Now, as far as the merits of this movie are concerned, I would just say that whenever the lead actor is somebody like Chill Wills or Lance Fuller then it pretty much goes without saying that this film doesn't exactly feature an all-star cast. And that could partially explain why this movie lacked excitement. In any case, those who enjoy western movies from this particular period might like this one. But quite frankly I thought it was marginal at best and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Hmmm. As B Westerns go, this has to be more of a C+ as Chill Wills really struggles to hold this together. He is "Taylor" who is in charge of repairing a busted wagon that's been left behind by the train - exposing it to a gang of marauding Comanches who want it's not-so-secret cargo of Winchesters. He's not helped by the fact that his colleagues are all a bit self-obsessed with each having their own agenda and who are all just a bit selfish. Can he get them all through safely without surrendering their lives and/or their weapons? I didn't really care, to be honest. The production is basic, the dialogue far too wordy and the characterisations, led by Wills but hardly augmented by the wooden as as spoon Cathy Downs ("Amy") and Lance Fuller's "Clay" do little to liven this rather procedural mix either. Henry Hull tries his best as the preacher, but by the mid-point I was the one praying: for the Comanches to do us all favour and put us out of our misery. One for list completists, I'd say - though quite what list this'd ever be on. Poor, sorry!

Modest low-budget Western in which a wagon is separated from its train when it breaks an axle deep in Comanche country. The unusual cast - Chill Will leads, Jimmy Cagney's sister provides support, Henry Hull plays a preacher, and the voice of Winnie the Pooh (Sheldon Leonard) provides what is presumably supposed to be comic relief - compensate for the bland but inoffensive material.