I love this movie so much

To me, this movie is perfection.

Boring

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Phil Karlson was an erratic director who could sometimes hit one out of the ball park, perhaps without meaning to, as in "Walking Tall." This is one of his better efforts, with some intrinsic ambiguity. There are some interesting moral dilemmas. For instance, you love your son. Would you kill him if he were threatening to kill you?The beetle-browed Van Heflin is splendid, as usual. After one or two stereotyped parts in his early career, he began to bring a great deal of conviction to his roles. He may have given the best performance in "Shane." And he's convincing here, too, as one of those "powerful men around here" who fought the Indians and enforced his own law when none other was available. But now, some years have gone by and that approach is out dated. Heflin doesn't quite seem to realize it. He runs his ranch honestly and he's a man of honor but he remains a racist. The town is now settled peacefully and has a sheriff and a deputy, which Heflin treats with friendly disdain.But his real trouble is with his two sons, reckless and increasingly violent Tab Hunter, and law-abiding tolerant James Darren -- one good, one bad. Heflin approves of the bad son who gets drunk sometimes, has a sweet temper, is quick with his fists, and doesn't like to be bested in any contest. It reminds Heflin of his own youth.The problem is that Hunter's infractions grow beyond the tolerable. The sheriff is an old friend of Heflin's but when Hunter shoots and kills a couple of men, he has to draw the line. So does Heflin, who now sees what he's responsible for.Heflin is fine. Katherine Grant is a half breed who is only around so that the tender-hearted Darren can fall in love with her and Heflin can vent his hatred of Indians. ("That SQUAW!") The supporting cast is fine, a good handful of seasoned professionals.The sons are two handsome young heart throbs of the period. Neither can act. There is handsome young Tab Hunter, outfitted in tight shirts and slacks; and there is handsome young James Darren, in looser clothing as befits someone who doesn't like guns but can love a squaw. Behind the nicely chiseled Aryan face of Tab Hunter lies Arthur Andrew Kelm, a strapping kid from New York who looked good enough to get into the movies although he never uttered a believable word. And behind the troubled yet hopeful eyes of James Darren, we find James William Ercolani, a kid from Philadelphia who looked good enough to get into the movies although he never uttered a believable word.The story's moral complexity lifts it out of the ordinary shoot-'em-up Western. The two heart throbs almost sink it but it survives despite the carnage they've wrought.

This is an extremely powerful film, with another commanding performance by Van Heflin (Easily one of the most neglected actors of all-time). What you see is in Lee Hackett, is a man who is unaware of terms like LOVE (He essentially sees it as weakness). He is so hard, he even let has sons (Ed & Davy (Tab Hunter & James Darren)) call him Lee instead of dad. His biggest problem however, is actually not being hard, or even powerful, it is being an enabler. It is obvious to viewers that Ed (Tab Hunter) is a sociopath, who will kill and hurt other people just on a whim, and despite that, his father does whatever he believes necessary in order to keep him from being punished for his deeds. Spoiler Ahead: Even after Ed murders Deputy Motley, he says to him, "You fool, I could have gotten you off." It took the showdown against Ed, to realize how much Ed really hated him, and really wanted to have a duel against him, and he had no option but to kill him. I really like the ending where he asks Davy and his Indian woman Clee (Kathrym Grant)to help take your brother home, and they walk out of town, with Clee & Davy supporting Lee on each arm. What I see in the end of this film is hope. The hope being that Lee has finally cleansed himself of the prejudice, anger and hate that consumed him, and by calling Clee over to him (Along with Davy), I think he did.

This was the old-fashioned western and it works well as it deals with the human element and a father's failed attempt to raise his cocky son, the latter too involved with gun play and the resulting tragedies that come about. Of course, Van Heflin, as the patriarch, shows his mettle and his determination to defend a son (Tab Hunter) who can do no wrong, despite violent behavior. James Darren also shines as the good son, in love with Kathryn Grant, a half-Indian whose brother Hunter (Ed) killed which sets him in a spiraling downward motion.Once the spiraling occurs, we see a different Heflin emerge. He soon shows that he is a stubborn man refusing to face reality and shows his bigotry towards Davie (Darren) and the Indian-girl he loves.

Rancher and old school westerner Lee Hackett is determined to mould his two sons in his own tough gun-fighting image. Something that backfires when his eldest boy, Ed, becomes a murderer.Gunman's Walk on plot synopsis and summaries sounds like your standard B Western fare, and certainly the theme of parental influence is nothing new. But Phil Karlson's film, adapted from Ric Hardman's story, has many things going for it to keep it from being mundane and used solely as a time filler. It fuses together multiple issues, parenting, prejudice and ignorance during a time of change in the old Wild West, it's central character, Lee Hackett (Van Heflin), is seen as the link between old and new.He has primarily lived his life as a shooter and killer of Indians, something that he is not totally committed to shaking off, but here he is now, a most respected and feared member of the community, faced with his two sons both taking different paths. One, Ed (Tab Hunter), is full of bile and gun slinging machismo, represents the old West. The other, Davy (James Darren), doesn't need a gun to feel like a man, his affection for half Indian Clee Chouard (Kathryn Grant) clearly gives a point of reference to the new West. It gives us two sides of the coin with one Lee Hackett perched firmly on the fence, to which Van Heflin gives an emotionally driven standout performance.I wouldn't say that Gunman's Walk is undervalued as such (its director most definitely is though), it's possibly more like it's been tarred with that old saying brush called "B Western", a saying that unfortunately some use as being derogatory. Whilst if the truth be told the support to Heflin is rather flat (both Hunter & Darren are average at best). But some average support acting can't stop Gunman's Walk from being an intelligent and potent genre piece. I mean if only for Heflin and the catchy central song, "I'm A Runaway", then you should see this, but as it is, if you give it your undivided attention you hopefully will find it's really rather good and clever. 7/10