Gun Fury

It goes without saying that for a genre like the western, which pumped out title after title from the silent era through early '70s, the vast majority of its films are just...well, average. Even the studios were looking for an edge to separate themselves from the cinematic herd. And when 3D came into fashion, even the old-fashioned western wasn't immune to cashing in on a quick gimmick. Gun Fury (1953), directed by Raoul Walsh whose eye patch ironically prevented him from experiencing the optical process himself, takes advantage of the more obvious 3D clichés early on...then settles into a sort of classy middle-of-the-road revenge yarn that fits the bill for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Ben and Jennifer (Rock Hudson and Donna Reed) are an exuberantly engaged couple on their way to their quiet California ranch. Traveling via stagecoach with a trio of other passengers. one of the men is revealed to be notorious outlaw Frank Slayton (Philip Carey) who hijacks the stage, kidnaps Jennifer and leaves Ben for dead. Slayton's partner, however, has second thoughts and teams up with Ben (who, as it turns out, was merely unconscious) to track down the rest of the gang and retrieve the aforementioned missing fiancé.

At only 82 minutes, Gun Fury does everything fast. Characters are drawn in quick sketches, conversations are tight lipped and the action is - excuse the 3D pun - in your face! Walsh seems a bit handcuffed by the new camera technology (at least compared to his other work like White Heat) and settles for shots that emphasize the dimensionality of the landscape instead of the drama.

Perhaps that's why he allows his actors a bit more leeway, particularly Carey as bad guy Frank Slayton, an over-the-top Southern sore-loser whose genteel accent disguises some pretty sleazy behavior. Even Rock Hudson seems desperate to make his presence known, huffing and puffing through scenes with an oversized chip on his shoulder. Donna Reed, only a few years away from embodying the American homemaker, isn't asked to do much, but the suggestion of her rape at the hands of Slayton is shocking even in its chaste presentation.

But for all that, Gun Fury excels mostly in its mediocrity. For collectors, the real selling point on Twilight Time's 3000 copy limited edition Blu-ray is the 3D presentation, becoming rare on home video, and rarer still for catalog titles. The image itself is quite thick with grain inherent in the optical process, but the visual gags (including a doozy of an opening scene atop the stagecoach) work very well. Keep an eye out for Lee Marvin as one of Slayton's cronies; he steals pretty much every scene. Extras include a partial isolated music track, theatrical trailer, liner notes and that gorgeous cover art.