Quantez
{{Short description|1957 film by Harry Keller}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Quantez
| image = Quantezpos.jpg
| caption = Film poster by Reynold Brown
| producer = Gordon Kay
| director = Harry Keller
| screenplay = R. Wright Campbell
| story = Ann Edwards
R. Wright Campbell
| starring = Fred MacMurray
Dorothy Malone
| music = Herman Stein
| cinematography = Carl E. Guthrie
| editing = Fred MacDowell
| color_process = Eastmancolor
| studio = Universal International Pictures
| distributor = Universal Pictures
| released = {{film date|1957|9|6|}}
| runtime = 81 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Quantez is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Harry Keller and starring Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Malone.{{Cite news|title=Drama: Third Cagney Subject Developed by Writer; Stevens Slates 'Feud'|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=June 22, 1956|work=Los Angeles Times|page=23}}
Plot
Heller's (John Larch) gang of outlaws pull a robbery, kill a man and ride toward Mexico, fleeing a posse. To spend the night, they first head for the border town of Quantez, but are shocked to discover that it has become a ghost town, with no one else there.
Gentry (Fred MacMurray), the gang's most experienced man, finds liquor in the saloon, while Teach (John Gavin), a younger gunslinger, becomes interested in Chaney (Dorothy Malone), who is Heller's woman but upset over the murder during the holdup. Gato, who was raised by Apaches, is infuriated by Heller's referring to him as "breed" and other slights.
Gato (Sydney Chaplin) discovers a warning from Apaches to anyone who comes to town. He seeks out Delgadito (Michael Ansara), the tribe's leader, and proposes they kill the whites and divide the loot. Heller, meantime, is trying to get his partners to do the same, kill the others so there's more money to split among who's left. Gentry and Teach both have feelings for Chaney, who wants to leave town as soon as possible.
A wandering minstrel comes to town, calling himself Puritan (James Barton), and while he paints Heller's portrait, he sings a song about John Coventry, a legendary outlaw in these parts. Puritan is suddenly astonished when he spots Gentry and realizes that he is Coventry. The veteran gunman is trying to put his violent life behind him for good.
In a final gunfight, Gato is killed by Delgalito after a betrayal. Heller is killed by Gentry, and with arrows raining down, Gentry sacrifices himself, providing cover while Chaney and Teach make their getaway.
Cast
- Fred MacMurray as Gentry / John Coventry
- Dorothy Malone as Chaney
- James Barton as Puritan
- Sydney Chaplin as Gato
- John Gavin as Teach
- John Larch as Heller
- Michael Ansara as Delgadito
Reaction
The New York Times said the film "could hardly be duller".{{Cite news|title=Western Bites Dust at R.K.O. Theatres|date=Sep 7, 1957|work=New York Times|page=26}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0050872}}
- {{AFI film|id=52334|title=Quantez}}
- {{TCMDb title|87432}}
- {{Letterboxd film|quantez}}
{{Harry Keller}}
Category:1957 Western (genre) films
Category:American Western (genre) films
Category:Films with screenplays by Robert Wright Campbell
Category:Films directed by Harry Keller
Category:Films scored by Herman Stein
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:English-language Western (genre) films
{{1950s-US-Western-film-stub}}