MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS

Jock Mahoney

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS (1958). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Western detective "Silver" Ward Hogan (Jock Mahoney) rides into town and is immediately assigned the case of an elderly murdered prospector. Hogan discovers that the killer might be one of the people mentioned in the old man's will, so he sets out to find them and see what's up. The beneficiaries include a cute little boy named Davy (Tim Hovey), who lives with his widowed mother, Mary (Kim Hunter), and who ignites Hogan's cautious interest. Then there's the bearded Briggs (Don Megowan); the supposedly reformed crook Clinton Gunstone (William Campbell), who lives with his wife Mary (Judi Meredith); and the oldtimer Henry Devers (James Gleason), whose best pal is Art Birdwell (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Hogan also has a rival in bounty hunter Johnny Bee (Jeffrey Stone, who makes a good impression in a strange role).

The comically generic title of the movie, along with its poster, promises something that the flick doesn't quite deliver. One imagines Mahoney stumbling out of a dance hall with a smile on his lips and lipstick all over his face, but any dance hall gals in this movie are kept far, far in the background. Instead, Money, Women and Guns is a relatively serious and well-written western-mystery whose major flaw is its very abrupt wind-up. Smaller roles in the film are played by Phillip Terry as a lawyer, Tom Drake as the brother of two desperadoes, and Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] as an autocratic sheriff. Kim Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is fine if a bit out of place as Mary, little Tim Hovey is a scene stealer, and James Gleason [Racket Squad] arguably offers the best performance as Devers. Mahoney has charisma and is competent but is frankly out-classed by some of the other actors. From Universal-International, this is a color CinemaScope production.

Verdict: Entertaining, minor western with a good premise. **1/2. 

THE CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS

Robots -- or humanoids? 

THE CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS (1962). Director: Wesley Barry.

"Mankind is a state of mind."

"Your sister is in rapport."

In what purports to be a post-apocalyptic time period, many humans can't reproduce and robots are doing most of the work. Captain Kenneth Cragis (Don Megowan of The Werewolf) is distrustful of the "clickers," who have humanoid faces and bodies but are mere mechanical men, according to him. Cragis belongs to the Order of Flesh and Blood, a society which fears that robots may spell the end of mankind. Then he learns that his sister, Esme (Frances McCann), is "in rapport" with her clicker servant, Pax (David Cross) -- who, presumably, is anatomically correct -- a situation that Kenneth finds repugnant. Meanwhile a secret organization of clickers has been able to create robots that are 96% human by transferring memories and consciousness from recently deceased people and putting them in mechanical bodies that resemble them. The only thing left is to create "robots" who can reproduce. Kenneth falls in love with Esme's friend, Maxine (Erica Elliott), and vice versa, but the two are harboring a secret that neither of them is even aware of ... Creation of the Humanoids is talky science fiction with "science" that may be on the level of an old comic book, but the talk is always interesting and there are plenty of fascinating notions in Jay Simms' screenplay. This is an extremely low-budget production but the use of shadows disguises the fact that there are few real sets, although Esme's apartment is strikingly designed. The actors put over the material quite well, and the picture has a fast enough pace, although there's a scarcity of action. The "twist" ending shocked me when I was a little kid, but nowadays I can tell it doesn't make much sense. The weird musical score doesn't hurt.

Verdict: Thought-provoking science fiction if you take it with a very large grain of salt. ***. 

THE WEREWOLF

THE WEREWOLF (1956). Fred F. Sears.

Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch) comes into the town of Mountaincrest with no memory of who he is or what he may have done in the past couple of days. Duncan has apparently been experimented on without permission by two conscienceless mad scientists, Chambers (George Lynn) and Forrest (S. John Launer), and can turn into a murderous wolfman without warning. The werewolf make up is rather good, but it's amazing that no one in Mountaincrest seems especially astonished by a wolfman in their midst, as if this were something that happened every day. Don Megowan is the sheriff, Joyce Holden his fiancee, and Harry Lauter [Trader Tom of the China Seas] is his deputy, while Eleanore Tanin and Kim Charney play Marsh's distraught wife and son. Ritch, who gives a credible performance, wrote the screenplay for City of Fear, in which he also appeared. Decidedly downbeat and overall second-rate despite some good scenes and an effective lead performance. Sears also directed the minor sci fi classic Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and many, many other low-budget movies.

Verdict: Somber horror film. **.