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| Hemingway hero: Audie Murphy |
THE GUN RUNNERS (1958). Director: Don Siegel.
Sam Martin (Audie Murphy of
World in My Corner) has a charter boat operation that is barely squeaking by, and a pretty wife named Lucy (Patricia Owens of
The Fly). One day a supposed fisherman named Hanagan (Eddie Albert) charters his boat and brings along his girlfriend, Eva (Gita Hall, who was introduced in this film). Hanagan makes Sam a proposition: to take him on an illegal voyage to Cuba, Sam is wary, but his boat is on the verge of being dispossessed, so he agrees, but he has his regrets as bodies begin to pile up.
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| Audie Murphy and Gita Hall |
The Gun Runners is yet another adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel "To Have and Have Not," originally filmed as
To Have and Have Not and later under the title
The Breaking Point, the best and most faithful version of the three. On its own terms
The Gun Runners -- even without Bogie and Bacall -- is at least as entertaining as
To Have and Have Not. Murply's acting got better with each picture, and he's fine as an essentially decent man who makes some unfortunate decisions. Eddie Albert [
On Your Toes], cast against type, is superb as the villain of the piece, and makes the most of his very nasty portrayal.
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| Everett Sloane |
Another actor who almost steals the picture is Everett Sloane [
The Big Knife], generally cast as executives and solid citizen types, herein also cast-against-type as an old rummy, Sam's alcoholic first mate, Harvey; he is outstanding. Alas the ladies in the cast don't fare as well. Patricia Owens simply doesn't have enough screen time to really register, and Gita Hall, although sexy and adequate in her femme fatale role, made only one other movie the same year and had one television credit fifty-five years later! Also in the cast are Richard Jaeckel and Paul Birch.
Verdict: Not the best version of the story, but Murphy makes an appealing and more-than-competent leading man. **1/2.
2 comments:
My mom was crazy about Audie Murphy, but can you believe I have never seen anything he was in? With a cast like this, including Eddie Albert and the brilliant Everett Sloan, this looks like a must see!
- C
If you're going to start watching Audie Murphy movies, this would probably be the best choice to start with. And you'll see Eddie Albert like you've never seen him before and probably never after.
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