bsmith5552 Producer Sam Katzman and Director William Castle have again thrown history to the wind with this venture. They have brought back to life Bat Masterson (George Montgomery), Doc Holliday (James Griffith) and Wyatt Earp (Bruce Cowling) in Dodge City. All three are sporting two guns and are ready for action.The film starts out with Masterson and Holliday squaring off for a showdown when Earp intervenes.. Amos Merrick who negotiated a peace treaty with the Kiowas, has been accused of murdering an army colonel who was against the treaty. Merrick is being protected by Yellow Hawk (Jay Siverheels) the Kiowa chief. Masterson is sent in to arrest Merrick and bring him in for trial. Yellow Hawk promises that the tribes will attack if any harm comes to Merrick.Merrick's daughter Amy (Nancy Gates) arrives and tries to mount a defence for her father. At Merrick's trial, he is found guilty based on the testimony of Clay Bennett who claims to have witnessed the murder and cattleman Charlie Fry (William Henry) who has a vested interest in the land given to the Kiowa which is prime grazing land. Merrick is sentenced to hang and is taken to Hays City for that purpose. Fry and his men want to lynch Merrick before he can be legally hanged in order to provoke an Indian attack.Meanwhile Bennett has fled to unknown parts. In order to prove Merrick's innocence, Masterson sets out to find him. It turns out that Bennett went in search of his estranged wife Dallas Coray (Jean Willis). Anyway Masterson catches up with Bennett and gets the truth out of him.Returning to Doge with Bennett, Masterson is confronted by Fry and his men. Holliday and Earp join in with Bat and...................................................James Grriffith makes a pretty good Doc Holliday. He is the only one of the three that even remotely looks like the real life person. Montgomery and Cowling are both clean shaven and too clean cut and not in the remotest sense looking anything like their real life counterpoints. The scene where the three walk side by side each with both guns blazing and not getting hit is a little over the top. And you'll notice that the bad guys can't hit the broad side of a barn in the final shootout.Katzman and Castle had similarly distorted history in their previous effort "Jesse James vs. the Daltons" (1954).

classicsoncall This Western is close to the epitome of taking real historical figures and coming up with an entirely fictional story about them. While it's true that Bat, Wyatt, and Doc would have known each other in real life, there's nothing to suggest they would have teamed up in this kind of adventure. But it was no secret that Hollywood used their names along with a host of others to bring in the fans, so if you get beyond that, you at least have yourself a fine little time killer here.The basic story revolves around the arrest of Amos Merrick (John Maxwell), convicted of murdering an Army Colonel, and sentenced to hang in Hays City. As the story progresses, it's revealed that the sole witness lied under oath, since he wasn't even there when the event took place. Bat (George Montgomery) sets out after the stage carrying Merrick, forming an unlikely trio with Doc Holliday (James Griffith) and Merrick's daughter Amy (Nancy Gates). Just ahead of them is Wyatt Earp (Bruce Cowling), riding along with Merrick to make sure he gets to Hays City.The villains of the piece are headed by Charlie Fry (William Henry), who's interest lies in the choice grazing land that the local cattlemen would be forced to hand over to the Indians under a treaty negotiated by Merrick. Fry is an equal opportunity killer, and is willing to knock off anyone standing in his way, including lawmen and dance hall girls. The whole affair ends in a blazing showdown in the middle of Hays City, reminiscent of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, minus Virgil and Morgan Earp, and with the inclusion of Bat. It amazed me throughout the picture that the good guys could stand right out in the open firing away, taking out the outlaws hiding behind every manner of cover, and not get shot themselves.Interestingly, the picture adds a fanciful tale about the way Bat got his name. He tells Miss Amy that as a kid, he would practice his marksmanship by shooting at bats on the fly, and came to be known as 'the boy who shot the bats'. That was later shortened to Bat as the legend of his notoriety grew. Which would be quite the story if it wasn't made up for the picture. If you're a stickler for historical accuracy, this is just another thing that's bound to drive you batty.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Masterson of Kansas is one of the best of the series of westerns starring Montgomery. What helps the film a lot is the good choice of actors. Both Bruce Cowling and James Griffith are convincing as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Also the women, Nancy Gates, as the one who falls for Bat, and Jean Willes as the girlfriend of the man they are searching. The film starts with a showdown between Bat and Doc Holliday. Then the father of Nancy Gates gets arrested and will probably be hanged unless they can find Clay Bennet who testified against him, but really could not have done so because he was not there. There is not one dull moment as Masterson, Amy (Nancy Gates), and Wyatt go on their mission to free Amy's father. We also learn where the name Bat came from.

louis-king Even though the title is Masterson of Kansas, It's James Griffiths' Doc Holiday who's the most interesting character. His quiet, cultured manner radiates more deadliness than the generic Western manner of Montgomery's Masterson. Griffith was a good character actor who was worthy of better movies.The problem with the Masterson of this movie is that the real Masterson was a bit of a dandy (more like Gene Barry's TV version) whereas here he's no different than Wyatt Earp.Of the three 'good guys' Holiday, Masterson and Earp, Holdiay seems the most intelligent. Masterson knowingly takes on about 8 bad guys who are waiting for him and almost gets killed but for Holiday's intervention. Earp's attempt to face down a lynch mob lasts about 5 seconds when he gets knocked unconscious by a well thrown rock. That would never have happened to Burt Lancaster! Unfortunately for the viewer, the bad guys are not menacing enough and waste time with elaborate plotting. Makes you long for Lee Marvin or Leo Gordon.