HEAVEN WITH A GUN

US, 1969, 101 minutes, Colour.
Glenn Ford, Carolyn Jones, Barbara Hershey, John Anderson, David Carradine, J.D. Cannon, Noah Beery, Virginia Gregg.
Directed by Lee H. Katzin.

Heaven With A Gun has familiar material. It focuses on the range wars, the ranchers, the towns, the saloons, the Indian girls in the town. However, when a stranger comes in and the townspeople suspect he is a gunman, he turns out to be a pastor. (Something of this theme was used by Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider, 1985.)

Glenn Ford is at home in this kind of western role. Carolyn Jones is the saloon owner. The film is an early one for Barbara Hershey as an Indian girl and she teams with David Carradine (with whom she had teamed in real life) as the son of the landowner.

The film was directed by Lee H. Katzin, a director of many telemovies and some features including The Salzburg Connection, at this time.

1. An entertaining and interesting Western?

2. The conventions used, especially the clash between sheep and cattle men, town life, saloons? The sudden intrusion of religion? How usual, different? The significance of the title and the way that Jim Killian traded, especially at the end?

3. The colour photography, locations, sets, music? Special effects especially in the confrontations?

4. How credible was the plot? The basic life of the range and the town, greed and cattle and sheep empires? The gun fighters and their change of heart? Violence? Sufficient credibility for the purposes of the film?

5. The portrayal of the world of the cattle men and the sheep men? their presuppositions and the challenge to these during the film? The arrogance, the violence, the lack of law and its administration?

6. Mace as the embodiment of the arrogant cattle men? The examples of his cruelty, the shearing of the sheep man? Coke and his associates and their cruelty?

7. The world of the gun fighters, especially Mace and his revelation about Jim Killian? Lack of scruple for violence? Their reputations and men fearing them?

8. Jim Killian in himself, as hero? His arrival, confrontation with Coke? The truth about him? His violence, change of heart?

9. The importance of Killian turning into preacher? The way that he conducted the service? Gathering the people together? The support of the women?

10. The portrayal of violence, the shearing, the revenge of the man who was shorn, the various killings especially in the saloon? The gun fights, Mace's death?

11. The build-up to the showdown and the choices offered? Killian and violence or non-violence? The way that he handled the situation and Mace's surrender?

12. The role of women in the film, in the West? Madge and the background of the saloons and support of Killian? Lolopa and her father's death at the beginning, her going into the town, service of Killian, love for him? The contrast with Madge? The importance of Coke and the rape scene? The victims of the West? The wives and their pressurising their husbands?

13. The hopefulness of the ending and the possibilities of peace? The American heritage of the West in its violence, enterprise, lawlessness, hopes for building peace and prosperity?