In the 1950s, Randolph Scott made a number of westerns at Warner Bros., ranging from the sublime (Andre De Toth's CARSON CITY) to the ridiculous (this one). COLT .45 (1950) has got a number of things wrong with it, including ludicrous plotting, but is at least fast-paced, well-cast and dotted with frequent bursts of violence and gunplay. The screenwriter seems to have bent over backwards to tie a standard lawman-vs.-stage robbers tale to the Colt .45 revolver which is apparently being introduced to the west at the time this film takes place. The plot has to do with an outlaw's theft of a pair of the title six-shooters and the robbery-and-killing spree that results. The owner of the guns, Steve Farrell (Randolph Scott), a salesman for the Colt company, takes off after the villain with a second pair of the six-guns. At various points during the action, Farrell is accused of complicity with Brett (Zachary Scott), the robber he's pursuing.
Zachary Scott makes a suitably snarling, mustachioed villain in a performance seemingly fueled by ample infusions of "fire water" consumed between set-ups. Ruth Roman makes a spunky and attractive heroine as the wife of a miner (Lloyd Bridges) who's in cahoots with Zachary. Alan Hale (Sr.) plays a corrupt sheriff also working with Zachary.
The most interesting thing about this western is the inclusion of a tribe of Indians who pop up at convenient moments to help hero Farrell. Given the pervasiveness of corrupt whites in Bonanza Creek, the backlot town where the film takes place, the Indians prove to be Farrell's only dependable allies. The chief is played by respected Indian actor Chief Thundercloud, who adds virtually the only note of historical authenticity to the entire film. At one point, one of the Indian women supplies heroine Roman with a very fashionable white buckskin jacket that she sports for the rest of the film.
The film is set during the James K. Polk administration immediately after the Mexican War, placing the action sometime in the 1840s. Given that photography was a brand-new (and quite time-consuming) technology back then, it's anachronistically amusing to see posters featuring a black-and-white head shot of Randolph Scott distributed to peace officers in the film.
Shot in color, COLT .45 is a relatively low-budget affair with shooting restricted to the Warner Bros. backlot and nearby studio ranches.
