No Name on the Bullet
| No Name on the Bullet | |
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DVD cover for the film
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| Directed by | Jack Arnold |
| Produced by |
Jack Arnold Howard Christie |
| Screenplay by | Gene L. Coon |
| Story by | Howard Amacke Gene |
| Starring |
Audie Murphy Joan Evans Charles Drake |
| Music by | Herman Stein |
| Cinematography | Harold Lipstein |
| Edited by | Frank Gross |
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Production
company |
Universal Pictures
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
No Name on the Bullet is a 1959 American CinemaScope Eastmancolor Western film directed by Jack Arnold starring Audie Murphy, Joan Evans and Charles Drake. It is one of a handful of pictures in that genre directed by Jack Arnold, better known for his science-fiction movies of the era. Although it is one of Universal-International's modestly budgeted vehicles for World War II hero Audie Murphy, the top-billed actor is unusually, but very effectively, cast as the villain, a cold-blooded gun-for-hire.
When infamous hired gunman John Gant (Audie Murphy) arrives in the small town of Lordsburg, Arizona, the locals are terrified by his reputation and surprised by how young he is. Although Sheriff Buck Hastings would like to arrest Gant, he points out to the townsmen that Gant always coerces his rivals to draw their gun first, allowing him to kill them legally in "self-defence." While the men in the town speculate anxiously about Gant's target, Luke Canfield (played by Charles Drake, an off-screen friend and frequent co-star of Murphy), the town blacksmith and doctor, greets Gant and is totally unaware of Gant's reputation as a hired gunman. During his first meeting with Gant at the smithy, Luke demonstrates his perfect aim with a maul.
Luke proudly takes Gant on a tour through town and agrees to join him later for a game of chess. At home, Luke's fiancée, Anne Benson, tends to her father, Judge Benson, who suffers from consumption. Luke's father Asa joins them for dinner, during which Buck arrives to warn Luke to stay away from Gant. Asa cautions Buck not to condemn Gant prematurely, but Buck is reluctant to accept his advice and reveals that he feels he will be powerless against Gant's superior gun skills. Later, mine owners Earl Stricker and Thad Pierce assume that their partner, Ben Chaffee, has hired Gant to kill them in order to take sole ownership of the mine. When they find Gant in the saloon and propose a counter-offer, however, Gant observes that no innocent man would be afraid, and turns them away.
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Wikipedia