By Richard Harland Smith
Son of a Gunfighter
Brief Synopsis
A young man stalks his mother's killers.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Paul Landres
Director
Russ Tamblyn
Johnny
Kieron Moore
Deputy Fenton
James Philbrook
Ketchum
Fernando Rey
Don Fortuna
Maria Granada
Pilar
Film Details
Also Known As
El hijo del pistolero
Genre
Western
Release Date
Jan
1966
Premiere Information
San Antonio, Texas, opening: 31 Mar 1966
Production Company
Lester Welch; Zurbano Films
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Synopsis
In 1877, the Mexican-American border country is terrorized both by a gang of outlaws headed by Ketchum and by Mexican bandits led by Morales. The local sheriff and his half-Mexican, half-Texan deputy, Fenton, accompany a stagecoach carrying a shipment of gold and pick up a young sharpshooter, Johnny. Ketchum's gang attacks the coach, but Johnny, whose hatred of the outlaw is apparent, helps the lawmen to drive away the robbers. Later, Morales' bandits attack a cattle ranch belonging to Don Fortuna, and Johnny is wounded in the shoulder as he saves the rancher's life. Don Fortuna's daughter, Pilar, nurses him back to health and falls in love with him, but he leaves her to pursue Ketchum, whom he blames for his mother's death. Deputy Fenton accompanies him to obtain the reward offered for Ketchum. Eventually they find the outlaw, but he refuses to draw his gun against Johnny, revealing that the young sharpshooter is his son. Fenton, who has joined forces with Morales in his eagerness to collect the reward money, wounds Ketchum as the Mexicans attack. Johnny rescues his father, and the two men ride back to Don Fortuna's hacienda. Johnny evolves a plan for outwitting the Mexicans. The bandits are driven off, but Ketchum and Morales meet their deaths in the final shootout. Now able to settle down, Johnny obtains Don Fortuna's permission to marry Pilar.
Director
Paul Landres
Director
Cast
Russ Tamblyn
Johnny
Kieron Moore
Deputy Fenton
James Philbrook
Ketchum
Fernando Rey
Don Fortuna
Maria Granada
Pilar
Aldo Sambrell
Morales
Antonio Casas
Pecos
Barta Barri
Esteban
Ralph Browne
Sheriff
Andy Anza
Fuentes
Fernando Hilbeck
Joaquin
Hector Quiroga
Stagecoach guard
Carmen Tarrazo
Maria
María José Collado
Sarita
Julio Pérez Tabernero
Crew
Sam X. Abarbanel
Associate Producer
Frank Barber
Music Arrangements & Director
Manuel Berenguer Jr.
Camera Operator
Manuel Berenguer
Director of Photography
Kurt Herrnfeld
Sound Editing
Carmen Martín
Makeup
Robert Mellin
Music theme
Julio Molina
Art Director
Joe Ochoa
Assistant Director
Clarke Reynolds
Screenwriter
Sherman Rose
Film Editor
Josefa Rubio Martos
Hairdresser
Isabel Ruiz Capillas
Cont
Gregorio Sacristan
Associate Producer
Flora Salamero
Wardrobe
José María Tapiador
Set Decoration
Lester Welch
Producer
Ben Winkler
Sound Recording
Film Details
Also Known As
El hijo del pistolero
Genre
Western
Release Date
Jan
1966
Premiere Information
San Antonio, Texas, opening: 31 Mar 1966
Production Company
Lester Welch; Zurbano Films
Distribution Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Articles
Son of a Gunfighter
Quentin Tarantino thought so highly of this US-Spanish coproduction that he granted a cameo appearance in his spaghetti western homage Django Unchained (2012) to its star, Russ Tamblyn, and billed the Hollywood veteran and Academy Award nominee as Son of a Gunfighter (1965). A standard prairie revenge tale dressed up with expansive Madrid locations and shot in CinemaScope (US distributor MGM's last film presented in this widescreen gauge), Son of a Gunfighter finds Tamblyn's restless, rootless hired gun taking up the cause of wealthy landowner Fernando Rey, whose border territory is overrun by both Yankee outlaws and Mexican bandits. Less interested in land rights than he is in finding the man (James Philbrook, star of Django... a Bullet for You [1969]) who killed his mother, Tamblyn's white hot hatred is cooled considerably by the affections of Rey's daughter, Maria Granada... but not even love can deflect the kill shot of destiny. The film's title (in Spanish, El hijo de pistolero) telegraphs the big reveal (John Sturges' Backlash had told a similar story in 1956) but Son of a Gunfighter earns its keep in the gorgeous cinematography of Miguel Berenguer (King of Kings, 1961) and in the appearance of several Italian and Spanish actors who go on to be staples of the subgenre of Euro-westerns.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Son of a Gunfighter
Quentin Tarantino thought so highly of this US-Spanish coproduction that he granted a cameo appearance in his spaghetti western homage Django Unchained (2012) to its star, Russ Tamblyn, and billed the Hollywood veteran and Academy Award nominee as Son of a Gunfighter (1965). A standard prairie revenge tale dressed up with expansive Madrid locations and shot in CinemaScope (US distributor MGM's last film presented in this widescreen gauge), Son of a Gunfighter finds Tamblyn's restless, rootless hired gun taking up the cause of wealthy landowner Fernando Rey, whose border territory is overrun by both Yankee outlaws and Mexican bandits. Less interested in land rights than he is in finding the man (James Philbrook, star of Django... a Bullet for You [1969]) who killed his mother, Tamblyn's white hot hatred is cooled considerably by the affections of Rey's daughter, Maria Granada... but not even love can deflect the kill shot of destiny. The film's title (in Spanish, El hijo de pistolero) telegraphs the big reveal (John Sturges' Backlash had told a similar story in 1956) but Son of a Gunfighter earns its keep in the gorgeous cinematography of Miguel Berenguer (King of Kings, 1961) and in the appearance of several Italian and Spanish actors who go on to be staples of the subgenre of Euro-westerns.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Opened in Madrid in August 1965 as El hijo del pistolero.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1966
CinemaScope
Released in United States 1966
