Shooutout in a One-Dog Town (1974)

Directed by Burt Kennedy; produced by Richard E Lyons

The transportation of $200,000 in cash is violently interrupted when robbers ambush the men escorting the money through the deserts of the Arizona Territory. One of the guards (Michael Ansara) escapes with the cargo to a no-where hamlet, where he entrusts the cash to the local banker (Richard Crenna) and the part-time deputy sheriff (Jack Elam). Those two must then defend the treasure against the determined and repeated assaults of the bandits, killers all.

A television-movie I had seen decades ago, Shootout in a One Dog Town holds up remarkably well, especially for a low-budget work. ‘Low-budget’ may, in fact, be an over-estimate of the funds available for its production: the budget was probably miniscule, and it shows. However, in its writing, acting and action, it rises above its origins.

There was probably no harder-working and respected American actor in front of cameras than Richard Crenna. Most widely known now for appearing in the three Rambo films, it was in television that he made his distinguished mark, in several series and a host of quality tv-movies. Here, he enlivens this flick as the dedicated and idealistic bank owner. He works well with Elam, who was even more of a veteran actor than Crenna. Director Kennedy knew Elam from several cinematic projects and, indeed, Elam portrays a familiar character: the ‘reformed drunk’ who now represents the law. Richard Egan, with a quarter-century of film and tv work behind him by this time, plays the almost philosophical villain. Another long-time actor, Arthur O’Connell, has a throw-away role as the hamlet’s doctor (actually a veterinarian), while Dub Taylor looks the same and wears the same bowler, I’m sure, that he’s worn in two dozen westerns.

These then – with Stefanie Powers as the obligatory love-interest – comprise the over-qualified cast who lift Shootout in a One Dog Town above the ordinary. The story is by Larry Cohen, who wrote such tv and cinema stories and scripts as Q (previously reviewed on this blog), Maniac Cop and several episodes of Columbo - wildly diverse in quality; he also created the tv series The Invaders. The story in Shootout in a One Dog Town is simple and straightforward; there is no preamble to the action. The script (by Dick Nelson) is lean, but allows some good dialogue that makes the two leads sympathetic. We are told nothing about Crenna’s past, though, since he is brave and resourceful, and very good with firearms, he might have been a soldier. It is Elam who comes across as more three dimensional. Despite his character’s initial use for comedy, he is revealed to have unexpected depth.

The direction, by yet another veteran (Kennedy directed many westerns including Hannie Caulder, Support Your Local Sheriff! and The War Wagon), is not particularly outstanding, though the action scenes are quite good, and the climax satisfying. A liability is the music, which starts off as little different than that of a routine 1970s cop film and doesn’t get better from there.

But all in all, Shootout in One Dog Town is a surprisingly entertaining film, helped by its fine cast, slender script and short running time. (And it’s a Hanna-Barbera production!)