The Man Behind The Gun, is a Randolph Scott western with Randy on a most serious mission. He’s going undercover in southern California just before the Civil War to prevent a secessionist plot from taking California out of the union or at a very least splitting off southern California as a separate state for the southern Confederacy to be.
Scott’s only got two allies from his previous army service Alan Hale,Jr., and Dick Wesson whom he can rely on. The situation is such that he can’t tell who’s on what side, least of all the army commander in the Los Angeles area, Philip Carey.
The film boasts a top notch cast of players that include Roy Roberts, Douglas Fowley, Anthony Caruso, Katharine Warren, Morris Ankrum, and as a young Joaquin Murietta, Robert Cabal. The two female leads are Patrice Wymore better known as the third Mrs. Errol Flynn and band singer Lina Romay who formally was with both the Xavier Cugar Orchestra and the Bing Crosby radio show at different times. Romay gets to sing a couple of sultry songs in Spanish. Also since this was a Warner Brothers film, Some Sunday Morning which was introduced in the Errol Flynn film San Antonio gets interpolated here.
Telling you who the head of the secessionist group would spoil things, but I will say it’s one very deadly individual.
The Man Behind The Gun is a very good Randolph Scott western which would please his still devoted legion of fans.
