Gunplay (1951)

Lacking the usual action and featuring several plot holes this B movie Tim Holt Western also includes his regular lady’s man sidekick Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamante Rafferty (Richard Martin). It was directed by Lesley Selander but written by Ed Earl Repp not Norman Houston. Despite its substandard quality the story does feature a strong female character played by Joan Dixon; Mauritz Hugo and Robert Wilke appear in their usual villainous roles.

Tim and Chito were hired by mail as ranch hands by Terry Blake (Dixon) without realizing that she was a woman. Sam Martin (Robert Bice) and his young teen son Chip (Harper Carter) are just passing through on their way to Orodale Arizona. Unbeknownst to Chip his father is trying to catch up to Matt Porter his former mining partner in Arizona City who cheated him and as Curt Landry (Hugo) now owns the town’s key businesses. Sam agrees to give Landry time to make things right after the crook gives him $2000 in advance and promises to have paperwork drawn up the next day. But then Landry sends his henchmen Dobbs (Marshall Reed) Winslow (Wilke) and Zeke (Leo McMahon) after Martin telling them that he’d been robbed and not to let the thief come back alive. When Martin sees the men riding towards them he puts Chip out of the wagon and tells him that if anything happens Matt Porter is responsible before riding off to his fate.

While roaming the Blake ranch Tim Chito and Terry happen upon a wandering and alone Chip; they then find his dad hanging dead from a tree. Of course when Tim and Chito go to town and ask about Matt Porter no one knows who they’re talking about except Landry’s henchmen. But Landry is curious what Tim and Chito want so he has Dobbs pose as Porter to get information. He learns about the boy and then begins a fight to have these strangers in town arrested by the Sheriff (Jack Hill) in his pocket but Tim and Chito escape. Later Tim and Chito capture Dobbs to learn more but Landry kills him before he can tell them. Then Landry decides to adopt Chip in order to have control over the boy.

Winslow and Zeke get wise to who killed Dobbs and pressure Landry to agree to pay them $5000 to keep quiet. Meanwhile Tim and Chito visit Landry’s apartment and after Chip lets them in search the premises where they find a picture of Landry in mining boots in Arizona City. But Landry and his henchmen catch Tim and Chito and have them jailed for trespassing and robbery. Chip takes the picture out to Terry so that she can take it to Arizona City via the stagecoach the next day in hopes that someone can identify Matt Porter. But Landry gets wise to the plot and decides to empty his vault and take the stagecoach with her. Chip in turn helps Tim and Chito to escape so that they can save the day.

Now just exactly what are Tim and Chito going to be able to do with Landry once they get him back to his town and his Sheriff as escapees from Orodale’s jail? Do they expect that their word is going to count with the Sheriff and that Landry is going to wait around until Terry gets back from Arizona City with proof that he’s Porter? Uh no.

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