The Unforgiven (1960)

It's perhaps an unpopular opinion to have, but I don't have the affection for Audrey Hepburn that many, many other folks appear to have. Also, from a non-technical POV, the films of the much-revered John Huston often leave me disappointed. Nothing in The Unforgiven caused me to reevaluate either of those viewpoints. It's a story of racism and family set in the old west that had the potential to be extremely hard-hitting, but the stilted acting too often fails to give the topic adequate support, even when allowing for trends of the era. Burt Lancaster's character starts to fit in more comfortably during the final third, but the saving grace for me was the wonderful Lillian Gish.

2½ night musics out of 5

Gunsmoke (1953)

Gun for hire Reb Kittredge (Audie Murphy) receives a mostly cold reception when he arrives in town; it's a reaction that turns out to be somewhat warranted when we find out why he's actually there. But Reb is used to such responses. His no nonsense approach to life extends in all directions. Never faltering, he remains calm even in heated situations. The script gives him ample opportunity to prove it, both with bullets and with loaded dialogues.
A lot of 1950s westerns were formulaic, repeating what worked before because it was easy and accepted. Gunsmoke shares a lot of the same ingredients as that type, but it keeps pace with the pack leaders.
The short running time means everything has to move at a hurried pace, including the characterisation, but it's well-played, with even the most overly-used stock types feeling purposeful during their brief appearances.

4 non-welchings out of 5

The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957)

A Texas-born Yankee soldier (Murphy) returns home to protect his village from a squad of marauding Comanche Indians. With the men of the village away fighting in the war, the soldier rallies the women to fight.
It's a progressive idea for a western of the era; there are a few romantic scenes but they're much less frequent than I feared, and the only blatant sexist remark was courtesy of a privileged white woman.
The male character being in charge doesn't seem odd because he's the one that's military trained (in real life, too), but the women hold their own - killing and dying is not the preserve of men, after all.
As was often the case, the Indians are mostly of the cookie cutter type in the script, but it at least addresses the atrocities of both sides.

3 skirts tucked out of 5