Colt .45 (1950)

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Plot Summary
Gun salesman Steve Farrell gets two of his new Colt .45 pistols stolen from him by ruthless killer Jason Brett and vows to recover them as Brett and his gang leave behind wake of robbery and murder throughout the territory. When Farrell recovers a stagecoach carrying gold and brings it back to town, he is made a deputy but unknown to him the sheriff is on league with the outlaws as is Paul and Beth Donovan, an apparently clean-cut young couple with ambitions for quick wealth. Although the town members are apathetic toward helping Steve, he gets plenty of assistance from Walking Bear, an Indian chief grateful that Steve saved his life.
Written by duke1029

Cast
Randolph Scott ... Steve Farrell
Ruth Roman ... Beth Donovan
Zachary Scott ... Jason Brett
Lloyd Bridges ... Paul Donovan
Alan Hale ... Sheriff Harris
Ian MacDonald ... Miller
Chief Thundercloud ... Walking Bear
and many, many more...

Directed
Edwin L. Marin

Writing Credits
Thomas W. Blackburn ... (written by) (as Thomas Blackburn)

Produced
Saul Elkins ... producer

Music
William Lava

Cinematography
Wilfred M. Cline ... director of photography (as Wilfrid M. Cline)

Trivia
Interestingly, Indian chief War Eagle, portrayed by Chief Thundercloud, has as many costume changes as Ruth Roman does.

To avoid confusing it with its TV series of the same name--Colt .45 (1957)--Warner Bros.
changed the film's title to "Chief Thundercloud." It has subsequently reverted back to its original title.

Ian MacDonald would make his greatest film impression two years later as the gang leader in High Noon (1952). In that film he was also named Miller. Ironically, Lloyd Bridges co-stars in both.

The hideout used by the outlaw gang is the same location as in a previous Ruth Roman movie, Barricade (1950).

Goofs
Anachronisms
The movie is set in 1851 yet when the lights are knocked out in the Sheriff's office they clearly are electric (the last one even hangs from the wall by its electric wire after being knocked out). Electric lights weren't invented until approximately 1880 and electricity to such a town would have been lucky by 1910. Also costuming reflects 1870s, not 1850's, styles and fashions.

Continuity
When Farrell climbs out of the stage he has both guns holstered, but when he takes over the reins his right holster is empty. In the next shot the gun is back in its holster.

Crew or equipment visible
(at around 1 min) There is a shadow of a crew member with headphones, upper left above the doorway as Randolph Scott approaches.

Factual errors
The fire pit in the tepee appears to be made from brick and mortar. Indians who used tepees were nomadic in nature. A permanent fire pit as that shown in the movie would not have been implemented by nomadic Indian tribes.

The firearm in the title and in use in the movie isn't a Colt .45. Colt never made an open-top revolver in .45 caliber, as it was too much gun for that configuration. The biggest it could be is a .44, like the Dragoon or Walker. The .45 caliber didn't show up until Colt made his Single Action Army model.

Revealing mistakes
When Beth Donovan cuts her way out of the tepee it is very clear that that she is cutting thin cloth and not the buffalo hide from which tepees were made.

The inside of the tepee shows perfectly straight creases as though is has been folded up in a rectangular fashion.

When the arrow is shot into the sheriff's office door, the point initially sticks through just enough to see it and then after a second or two it is clearly shoved through a little harder so that the arrowhead protrudes most of the way through the door.

Memorable Quotes

Filming Locations
Santa Clarita, California, USA
Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Colt .45 is a 1950 American Western film directed by
Edwin L. Marin and starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, and Zachary Scott.

Reissued under the title Thundercloud, the film served as the loose basis
for the television series Colt .45 seven years later.

Written by Thomas W. Blackburn, author of the lyrics to The Ballad of Davy Crockett,
the film is about a gun salesman and gunfighter who tracks down a killer
who stole two new Colt .45 repeating pistols leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him.
The revolvers used in the movie were actually first model .44 Caliber Colt
revolving belt pistols made in 1849 and reaching final form by 1850.
Scott correctly demonstrated how to load them so the producers
of the film were most likely aware of the anachronism in the title.

User Review

The Cross Guns.
4 May 2014 | by Spikeopath (United Kingdom)

Quote from spike

Colt .45 (AKA: Thundercloud) is directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Thomas W. Blackburn. It stars Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, Zachary Scott, Lloyd Bridges, Alan Hale Senior and Chief Thundercloud. Music is by William Lava and cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline.

"A gun like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it."

Another of the Warner Brothers Westerns to star Western legend Randolph Scott, this one sees Scott once again team up with Marin for another lively and colourful bout of yee-haw shenanigans. Scott is gun salesman Steve Farrell, who has his new Colt .45's stolen by outlaw Jason Brett (Z Scott). As Brett and his gang wreak havoc across the lands, Farrell sets out with angered urgency to end the rampage.

1950 was a big year for the Western genre, there was strong psychological releases such as Broken Arrow, Devil's Doorway, The Furies, The Gunfighter and Winchester '73. While John Ford was laying down one of his super Cavalry movies with Rio Grande. Colt .45 is a mile from the class of those, but as the box office success of it shows, there was then, and still is now, a great deal of enjoyment to be garnered from this type of Randy Scott Oater.

There's a unpretentiousness about the film, while the portrayal of the Indians here, who have a significant say in the story, is on the good side of good. Z Scott makes for a good villain without going over the top, Hale, who would pass away this same year, is good value as always and Roman looks the pretty part in a thankless role. Marin directs at a clip, instilling gusto to the plentiful action, and Cline brings the picturesque landscapes to colourful life.

There's of course some suspension of disbelief needed, while certain plot developments are daft, but once the dramatic twists align themselves with the frivolity, it rounds out as a good time for all the family; and of course those into gun porn! 7/10

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