Twilight Time is back at it again, releasing another limited edition (3000 copies) 3D classic on Blu-ray. This time it’s Raoul Walsh’s (The Roaring Twenties, High Sierra) 1953 western Gun Fury 3D based on the novel Ten Against Caesar by Robert A. Granger and adapted for the screen by Roy Huggins (Maverick, The Fugitive) and Irving Wallace.
The film stars Donna Reed as Jennifer Ballard, a beautiful southern belle from Atlanta on her way to California to marry her fiancé who moved out west shortly after the Civil War to start a new life. But of course, it just so happens the stagecoach she is riding to her destination is also carrying a strongbox full of gold that is the target of marauder and “Unreconstructed” ex-Confederate Frank Slayton (Philip Carey) and his gang. When her husband to be, Ben Warren (Rock Hudson), catches up with Jennifer he is forced to bear witness to his fiancé and the gold taken in a hold up in broad daylight. This isn’t good news for Ben, who is left for dead, considering Slayton has been known to kidnap women in the past.
Taking a page from another 3D revenge western, Comin’ at Ya!, Gun Fury has Ben Warren as a born-again pacifist after the war, now chasing down Slayton to put an end to his tyranny and get his beloved back. The film plays an interesting angle to soften the edges a bit, since both Frank and Jennifer are from the south; he is indeed kidnapping her against her will, but he also claims to want to settle down with her as well. At first Ben has a hard time rounding up a posse or finding anyone wanting to take on the Slayton gang, but eventually finds two other like minded individuals who also are looking to get even with Frank Slayton. It’s definitely the performances here, paired with some choice bits of dialog by Roy Huggins and best-selling author Irving Wallace, that redeem a script that plays it safe and doesn’t really offer anything new story-wise to the genre.
Strangely enough, like Andre De Toth’s House of Wax, Gun Fury was a 3D film shot by a one-eyed director. Probably best known for playing John Wilkes Booth in the silent classic The Birth of a Nation (1915), actor turned director Raoul Walsh lost his right eye in an acting career-ending freak accident, which would explain the film’s more naturalistic approach to its use of 3D. While there are a few fun 3D gags that show off the technology, the film relies more on its vast desert vistas and subtle use of the 3D stage to draw the viewer in. The film itself moves at a brisk 82 minutes that sticks to the conventions of the genre with a wholesome take on the man out for revenge story. It’s the film’s need to play it safe that would be my only complaint here story-wise.
Two versions of the film, both the 3D and 2D are presented on a single 25gig disc with an English 1.0 DTS-HD MA audio track. The presentation here is a bit rough around the edges, with fading color and substantial grain on the image in some scenes, which almost feels like it was taken from a release print. But when dealing with 3D this grain adds a murky layer that makes it hard sometimes to see the true depth of some of the landscapes. This is in contrast with some indoor scenes that are much clearer, and the visual plane is much easier to discern to some of the outdoor shots that have a softness to the image (see above and click for full size). Given this is a studio picture and not an independent 3D film, I was a bit puzzled at the quality of the transfer since this had me stopping the film and refocusing my projector to attempt to resolve the issue. The disc also comes with a partial isolated music-only track and the trailer in both 2D and 3D.
Gun Fury is a fun gem that only suffers from its presentation issues here on the disc. While the plot maybe your standard western fare, it’s the actors, their performances, and the dialog that really shine here and make this film an enjoyable watch. Seeing these icons in their prime also doesn’t hurt either. So while I cant completely recommend the 3D version of the film on the disc, the 2D definitely is worth a watch for western buffs.
