It's sort of an odd title for a Western, don't you think? Just "Gun Belt" - I get the idea but it sounds just a little off key. The picture's a little off key with it's characters too. The legendary lawman Wyatt Earp (James Millican) is a secondary character here, and other renowned names from the Tombstone Corral days are changed ever so slightly that just leave you scratching your head. Like Ike Clinton (William Bishop) for Ike Clanton, Jack Elam's Kolloway for Doc Holliday, and Matt Ringo (John Dehner) for Johnny Ringo. With a little research I might be able to come up with some more, but you get the idea.
At the center of the story, hero Billy Ringo (George Montgomery) is framed for a bank robbery and the story involves a number of contortions with outlaws crossing and double crossing each other before Billy gets to clear his name. There's a third Ringo in the lineup as well, Billy's nephew Chip portrayed by a strangely unrecognizable Tab Hunter, even though he's not wearing a disguise or makeup to make him look any different. Maybe I just don't know Tab Hunter as well as I think I do, but I wouldn't have known who he was in this picture. At least the writers came up with that clever '3R' brand gimmick denoting 'Us Three Ringos'. That was creative.
Oddly enough, I'm not finding some of these unknown older flicks on my usual standby Encore Westerns, but on cable station Antenna TV. Early Saturday and Sunday mornings around 5:00 AM is the place to be the last few weeks, so for now it looks like I'll keep tuning in. Last weekend it was the Durango Kid's turn in "Blazing Across the Pecos". No telling what might show up next week.
At the center of the story, hero Billy Ringo (George Montgomery) is framed for a bank robbery and the story involves a number of contortions with outlaws crossing and double crossing each other before Billy gets to clear his name. There's a third Ringo in the lineup as well, Billy's nephew Chip portrayed by a strangely unrecognizable Tab Hunter, even though he's not wearing a disguise or makeup to make him look any different. Maybe I just don't know Tab Hunter as well as I think I do, but I wouldn't have known who he was in this picture. At least the writers came up with that clever '3R' brand gimmick denoting 'Us Three Ringos'. That was creative.
Oddly enough, I'm not finding some of these unknown older flicks on my usual standby Encore Westerns, but on cable station Antenna TV. Early Saturday and Sunday mornings around 5:00 AM is the place to be the last few weeks, so for now it looks like I'll keep tuning in. Last weekend it was the Durango Kid's turn in "Blazing Across the Pecos". No telling what might show up next week.
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