Veteran director Frank MacDonald's "Gunfight at Comanche Creek" qualifies as an adequate but unexceptional western about an undercover detective trying to flush out a gang of outlaws. This lackluster remake of director Paul Landres' 1957 hold-up thriller "Last of the Bad Men" casts Audie Murphy in the role originated by George Montgomery. Although an element of mystery about the identity of the leader of the outlaw gang generates a modicum of interest, "Three Stooges" scenarist Edward Bernds has penned a thoroughly routine screenplay and cluttered it up with unnecessary narration by Reed Hadley that adds little to the action. The only thing of significance about this modest but well-made sagebrusher is that long-time heavy Jan Merlin plays a good guy who sacrifices himself when his friend is caught between a rock and a hard place. If you look carefully, this Allied Artists release used the same town set that appeared as Virginia City in the NBC-TV show "Bonanza."No attribution to the Montgomery film appears in the credits to "Gunfight at Comanche Creek," but the plot about a gang of bank robbers who use a notorious felon with a price on his head as their front man makes this an unmistakable remake. None of the writers from the first film receive any credit as source material on this one. Murphy walks through his role as National Detective Agency operative Bob 'Gif' Gifford aka Judd Tanner. After the National Detective Agency figures out what the outlaws are doing, they send in Gifford with gold certificates from a robbery. He flashes the loot around in Comanche Creek and is promptly arrested by Marshal Dan Shearer (John Hubbard of "Duel at Diablo") who locks him up. No sooner has Gifford been locked up than the villains spring him. It seems that they prefer to use wanted felons because once they run the bounty up on their heads, they can kill them and turn them in for the reward. The National Detective Agency sends another agent to keep tabs on Gifford. Nielson (Jan Merlin of "Hell Bent for Leather") hides out in the rocks overlooking the line shack where the outlaws conceal themselves. Eventually, Nielson is caught by Amos Troop (DeForrest Kelly of "The Law and Jake Wade") and the rest of the gang. Troop sticks a revolver in Gifford's fist and forces him to shoot Nielson. Of course, if Gifford refuses to shoot Nielson, Troop and his cronies will know that he is detective. Instead, Nielson turns and charges Jed Hayden (Adam Williams of "The Big Heat") and Jed guns him down in cold blood. One of the other outlaws, likable Bill 'Kid' Carter (Ben Cooper of "Johnny Guitar"), learns that Gifford is a detective and decides to aid him. Unfortunately, Carter doesn't get far before he is gunned down, too.By this time, the reward money on our hero has risen to $4-thousand and Troop and company are itching to cash Gifford in, but things are complicated when they abduct another outlaw. They break another outlaw out of jail, Buck (Tim Graham) after they clobber Marshal Shearer, and then they learn that there is an undercover agent in their midst. During the big finale in Comanche Creek, they plan not only to rob the bank but also eliminate both Gifford and Buck. However, additional agents of the National Detective Agency arrive in town and sling lead alongside Marshal Shearer when the outlaws try to ride out. The mystery as to the identity of the outlaw gang leader is resolved. As it turns out, none other than Marshal Shearer, a man that the detectives did not suspect, is revealed as the inside man. When he gets a chance, Shearer seizes local saloon owner Abbie Stevens (Colleen Miller of "The Rawhide Years") and uses her as a human shield, but Gifford does not allow him to escape. Interestingly, Amos Troop survives and is arrested."Gunfight at Comanche Creek" ranks as little more than a potboiler and Murphy spends most of his time without a gun in his grip. Long-time Robert Aldrich lenser Joseph Biroc makes this mediocre western look better than it deserves and the best that can be said of MacDonald is that "Gunfight at Comanche Creek" does not wear out its welcome.

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.