Colt .45 (film)
| Colt .45 | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Edwin L. Marin |
| Produced by | Saul Elkins |
| Written by | Thomas W. Blackburn |
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| Music by | William Lava |
| Cinematography | Wilfred M. Cline |
| Edited by | Frank Magee |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Colt .45 is a 1950 American Western film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, and Zachary Scott. Reissued under the title Thundercloud, the film served as the loose basis for the television series Colt .45 seven years later. Written by Thomas W. Blackburn, author of the lyrics to The Ballad of Davy Crockett, the film is about a gun salesman and gunfighter who tracks down a killer who stole two new Colt .45 repeating pistols leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him. The revolvers used in the movie were actually first model .44 Caliber Colt revolving belt pistols made in 1849 and reaching final form by 1850. Scott correctly demonstrated how to load them so the producers of the film were most likely aware of the anachronism in the title.
In the town of Red Rock, gun salesman Steve Farrell (Randolph Scott) demonstrates the new Colt .45 repeating pistols to the sheriff who is impressed that the United States government just ordered two thousand of these powerful weapons for the army. The demonstration is interrupted when men arrive to transfer one of the prisoners to another jail. As he's being led away, prisoner Jason Brett (Zachary Scott) grabs the pistols, shoots the sheriff, and escapes, pretending that Farrell was his partner. Convinced that Farrell was involved in the escape, the townspeople arrest the innocent gun salesman. In the coming days, Brett initiates a campaign of robberies and cold blooded murder, with regular guns being no match for his Colt .45 pistols.
Four months later, Farrell is released from jail due to a lack of evidence. The new sheriff offers him a letter clearing him of the charges if he reveals Brett's whereabouts. Reasserting his innocence, Farrell vows to go after Brett to retrieve his guns. Farrell tracks his prey into Texas and comes across a band of Indians whom Brett has killed to provide cover for a stagecoach robbery. The only surrvivor of the attack, Walking Bear (Chief Thundercloud), tells Steve about Brett's plan. As the stagecoach approaches, Steve jumps onto the stage from a rock outcropping just in time to fight off the attack by Brett's gang with his own set of Colt .45s. The only passenger on the stage, Beth Donovan (Ruth Roman), tries to prevent him from fighting off the robbers.
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