That was an excellent one.

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

One of my all time favorites.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Gunfight at Comanche Creek is directed by Frank McDonald and written by Edward Bernds. It stars Audie Murphy, Ben Cooper, Colleen Miller, DeForest Kelley and Jan Merlin. A Panavision/De Luxe Color production with cinematography by Joseph Biroc and music by Marlin Skiles. Murphy stars as an agent for the National Detective Agency who goes undercover to find the outlaw gang that has been breaking convicts out of jail to help them to commit more crimes. The resulting crimes cause the bounties upon the fugitives' heads to rise, thus the outlaws then kill the convicts and claim the rewards.Apparently a remake of 1957 film The Last of the Badmen, Gunfight at Comanche Creek is a suspenseful and entertaining blend of detective shenanigans with Western staples. It's an interesting role for Murphy, playing Bob Gifford (AKA: Judd Tanner) as a fearless ladies man having to just use his wits instead of guns just to survive the undercover operation. It's not exactly what you would call a high energy action movie, since we don't really get the pulse raised until the finale, but there's enough twists and intelligence in the plotting to keep the story intriguing.Negatives? There's a continuous narration by an uncredited Reed Hadley which is most intrusive. Instead of letting us be involved fully with the unfolding story, the makers felt the need to have Reed fill us in on what is happening at every turn in the plot! Clearly they were going for a hard-boiled detective angle, but it's misplaced. While Miller is saddled with one of those token female roles. But the support cast do what is required to make the film work, Murphy delivers a good one for his fans and Biroc's colour photography is very easy on the eye. 7/10

I liked this film a lot, but then I love westerns. It's got Audie, Ben Cooper, Jan Merlin, and scores of others, so how can it go wrong? Well, for one thing, it's a blatant remake of the earlier western, Last Of The Badmen (1957). How the writers of that film could let writer Edward Bernds get by with taking full credit for writing this film is beyond me. Sure, the setting is different, the characters have different names, but the basic story is almost identical. Both films even feature an annoying narrator, who details facts that none of us need to hear voiced....all the way through the film. If you've seen both films, you'll know what I mean.Which is the better version? It's hard to say. They are bot very good, with excellent casts and fine direction. Both would have benefited from losing the narrator.Johnboy

The setting is Comanche Creek, Colorado, 1875; a band of outlaws headed by Amos Troop (DeForest Kelley) breaks an unsuspecting jailbird out of the town lockup and kills the deputy. The gang then uses the outlaw as a front man for their other robberies. As the reward money on the bad guy escalates, the gang then shoots him and turns him in for the reward, all nice and legal like. Only trouble is, this time the victim was a member of the National Detective Agency gone undercover, and a close friend of Bob Gifford (Audie Murphy). Now the job of infiltrating the gang goes to "Gif", who insinuates himself into Comanche Creek society as a free spending high roller, as the agency creates a back story and wanted poster for "Judd Tanner".The earlier Murphy Westerns usually cast him in the baby face role of a good guy; in 1959's "No Name on the Bullet", Murphy's character John Gant was a hired assassin, and even then his youngish countenance didn't seem to match his character. Here the older Murphy pulls off the outlaw gimmick a bit better, with wits quick enough to match the ever changing dynamics of his masquerade. When the cover is blown on the agency plant, Tanner maintains his cool, only revealing his identity to gang member Bill Carter, who's anxious to leave the outlaw life behind.With a lesser known supporting cast, the gunfight of the title eventually sets things right and settles the score against the bad guys, who have been masterminded by the sheriff of Comanche Creek, Marshal Shearer (John Hubbard).DeForest Kelley is so closely identified with his Star Trek role as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, it's easy to forget that he appeared in a fair share of Westerns, beginning with a 1949 Lone Ranger appearance. He also turned up in episodes of "Gunsmoke", "Trackdown", "Rawhide" and a host of others."Gunfight at Comanche Creek" winds up being a fairly intriguing Western, made so by the plot twists that keep Murphy's character on his toes. I found the background narrative a bit annoying though, as the story played itself out well enough without the commentary (by uncredited narrator Reed Hadley). Otherwise it's a generally worthwhile hour and a half of Audie Murphy entertainment.Update - 7/22/2007 - Apparently, this movie was a remake of the 1957 film, "Last Of The Badmen", with Audie Murphy reprising the role of George Montgomery. Both movies were released by Allied Artists, even though the writers credited for each film are different. Check it out!

GUNFIGHT AT COMANCHE CREEK (1964), done for Allied Artists, was part of Audie Murphy's last, frenzied wave of quickie westerns before his virtual retirement after 1966. It's a low-budget production shot on Hollywood backlots and nearby California locations, but within those parameters it actually boasts a well-written script by Edward Bernds, competent direction by B-movie vet Frank McDonald, and crisp photography by Joseph Biroc, a trio of professionals who were old hands at this kind of thing. It's also got a solid cast of familiar players who clearly know how to put on a good show for western fans.Murphy stars as a Pinkerton-type detective who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang which specializes in a unique brand of caper. They bust known criminals out of jail, use them as front men in robberies until the price on their heads goes up, and then kill them and turn them in for the reward. When Murphy's partner is betrayed by someone who is secretly the brains behind the gang, Murphy is put in a particularly dicey situation--unarmed, unaided, and suspected of being the undercover agent that he is. While some of the plot turns will be predictable to western buffs, the script generates enough suspenseful situations to keep viewers glued, despite the fact that there really isn't a whole lot of action until the title shootout which comes at the very end.Murphy is more relaxed than usual here, playing someone older, more experienced and more confident than the young, tormented loner he usually played. He's even something of a womanizer, a character touch not often applied to his roles. The star generally thrived when faced with formidable bad guys and he's got a colorful rogues' gallery to contend with here, including DeForest Kelley ("Star Trek") as the head of the gang and Adam Williams (NORTH BY NORTHWEST) and Mort Mills (TOUCH OF EVIL, PSYCHO) as convincingly snarling heavies. Also on hand are Ben Cooper (JOHNNY GUITAR) as a reluctant gang member, Colleen Miller as a lady saloon keeper, John Hubbard as the wily town marshal, Jan Merlin as Murphy's partner, old-timer Eddie Quillan as a hotel clerk, and the venerable Tom Browne Henry as the head of the detective agency. Future soap star Susan Seaforth has a brief turn in the requisite role of the rancher's love-starved daughter. Reed Hadley recites the abundant narration as if this were an episode of his old "Racket Squad" TV series. Such a strategy gives the unmistakable feel of a crime drama to the proceedings.