audacious1 This western is well directed and smartly acted by all involved, but the stand out performance is Tab Hunter's role as the oldest son, Ed. The story begins at the point of our witnessing the finality of Ed's hatred and idolatry of his father, a hard-as-nails, always-has-to-be-better-than-his-sons kind of man. Ed is wound so tight that he has little give for anyone. This performance reminds me of Denzel Washington's Oscar winning role in Glory. As the story goes along, more and more nuances are revealed that show the depth of the character. I watched Glory three times before I caught the depth in that character that deserved an Oscar. I have watched Gunman's Walk twice and saw more depth in Hunter's character the second time. It's a fascinating role (maybe Hunter was drawing from the anger he felt for having to hide himself within the Hollywood treatment he underwent) and I don't think anyone could have played Ed any better. It is a shame when such levels of acting come out of actors not expected to do so brilliantly, because they don't get their just recognition, kind of like Val Kilmer's Doc in Tombstone. Hunter was the beefcake, male blond beauty presented in such a manner by Hollywood. He wasn't expected to actually act well, they didn't even consider it (and he didn't do very well with most of the movies they put him in). When you read the biography of Hunter given here on IMDb, Gunman's Walk isn't even mentioned. The focus is on his Hollywood image. Hunter's Ed is well worth the look. Heflin's Lee (everyone calls him Lee, including his sons) is very well acted and, but for Hunter's performance, shines as the gregarious, tough, but flawed father who had no idea how to raise his sons. In the scenes the two are together, the tension is always there and they play off each other well. All the acting is done well (Bert Convy's ability to ride a horse well is suspect, though). The movie is tightly directed, the action is constant, and there are no scenes that will lull you to sleep. If you like westerns with tense action and flawed characters, you won't be disappointed with Gunman's Walk.

bkoganbing Van Heflin heads the cast of Gunman's Walk and he's the head of the local Ponderosa in his part of the west. He's not as noble as Ben Cartwright or as mean Rufe Ryker in Shane. He's got two sons, one good and one bad, played by James Darren and Tab Hunter.These guys pretty much do as they please even in these relatively civilized times. For instance Tab Hunter and Van Heflin both wear their six guns to town even though there's a law against it now. Reason being is that they were there before the law and they don't answer to it even if the sheriff is an old friend in Robert F. Simon.Hunter is taking a lot of the wrong values from Heflin. When he rides an Indian ranch hand off a cliff in pursuit of a wild horse, he's brought up on murder charges. This sets off a chain of events that result in tragedy.In the meantime younger son James Darren's courtship of half Sioux maiden Kathryn Crosby whose brother was the one Hunter rode off the cliff is setting off some other issues with Heflin. The Indians are living on the reservation now with a rare honest Indian agent Edward Platt looking out for them. Still Heflin remembers nothing but the bad old days except when he needs them as extra hands.Van Heflin never gave a bad performance in any film he was in. But this film does belong to Tab Hunter who breaks from teen idol mode into a character role of depth.As for the film it might best be compared to the Robert Taylor/John Cassavetes western from the previous year, Saddle The Wind. There's lots of similarities in the relationship between Taylor and Cassavetes and Heflin and Hunter. And the ending is the same.

fwardpc The movie is one of my favorite 1950's westerns mainly because of the story. Give me a great story and some good acting and heck with all those special effects. The characters are very well developed and easy to relate to. The story is not necessarily a brand new one but it comes across like it is; very believable.Tab Hunter and Van Heflin's performances are excellent. Hunter plays a spoiled brat oldest son trying to out-do his fathers accomplishments but always seems to fall short. Each time he can't exceed his dad, he gets a little more bitter until he actually start to hate him.The movie unfortunately does slow down a bit, every time James Darren's part kicks in, not because of James Darren but because his part is the touchy-feely stuff that I get bored with but you might enjoy.Whoever plays the sheriff does a great job convincing the audience that he's a serious law-man trying to do his job but is bending over backwards to accommodate Van Heflin's son Tab Hunter.All the characters were exactly right for his/hers part except for Bert Convey. Convey plays the Indian brother of Kathryn Grant who Tab Hunter rides off a cliff while they are both chasing the same horse. Come on; Convey doesn't look anything like an Indian or even half Indian. Of course, that's just a minor observation that doesn't take anything from the movie.The movie had no choice but to finally end with the show down between Tab Hunter and Van Heflin but even after that it takes a turn which you don't expect and then ends at the right time.

westerner357 Unlike sandcrab's bitter politically-correct review below, I happen to put this one on my A list for 50s westerns. Van Heflin plays a hard cattle rancher who wants the best for his two boys. One (Tab Hunter) is wild, spoiled and bitter about following in his father's shadow, the other (James Darren) is soft, gentle, not prone to gunplay like his older brother is. Heflin is very effective at playing the overindulgent father, blind to the realities that both boys are dealing with.The conflict begins when Hunter and a half-breed Sioux (Bert Convy) that his father has hired, race after a prized white stallion that they've been trying to catch for some time now. Hunter runs his horse into the Indian, forcing him off a cliff into an arroyo, plunging to his death below. Two other Indians witness this and will later testify against Hunter at his trial.At the trial, a drifting horse trader (Ray Teal) testifies in favor of Hunter for a price of 10 mustangs and the white stallion. Heflin catches on to Teal's game and agrees to it in order to protect his son, but warns Teal to get out of town and don't come back or else. In the meantime, Darren has fallen in love with the dead Indian's sister (Kathryn Grant) which also further complicates things between himself and his father.As Hunter sees Teal riding the herd including the white stallion through town, he goes down and confronts Teal and demands the white stallion back. When he refuses, he draws on Teal and shoots him off his horse, severely wounding him. Hunter is placed in jail but once again daddy Heflin covers up for him by offering Teal a bribe he can't refuse.But it all doesn't matter because Hunter breaks out of jail, killing the unarmed deputy (Mickey Shaughnessy) in the process, and forcing the town to form a posse to go after him. Even Heflin can't save his boy at this point, but he knows where he's headed and he gets there before the posse does, thereby provoking a showdown between father and son. With taught direction by Phil Karlson, an excellent script and tight story by Frank Nugent & Ric Hardman along with a powerful performance by Van Heflin, this one deserves to be in any western film buff's collection. I recommend it wholeheartedly. All I hope is that it will be released on DVD, someday. 8 out of 10