Guns of Hate (1948) starring Tim Holt, Nan Leslie, Richard Martin, Steve Brodie, Myrna Dell, Tony Barrett directed by Lesley Selander Movie Review

Guns of Hate (1948)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Tim Holt and Nan Leslie in Guns of Hate (1948)

There Be Gold in Them Hills

When Ben Jason (Jason Robards Sr.) comes across the legendary Lost Dutchman gold mine the news makes its way back to saloon owner Anse Morgan (Steve Brodie) when Matt Wyatt (Tony Barrett) of the Assay Office has to value a piece of his gold which Ben gave to Bob (Tim Holt) and Chito (Richard Martin) for helping him out when the wheel came off his wagon. Wanting the gold in the mine for himself Morgan and his henchman Rocky (Robert Bray) murder Ben and with that Bob and Chito find themselves being arrested and jailed for his death. But Bob and Chito are not going to settle and manage to escape in order to clear their names.

I have watched a few of these Tim Holt/ Richard Martin westerns and whilst as a western fan they are enjoyable they are nothing special either. "Guns of Hate" is yet another of those nothing special ones as we have a routine storyline where we have some duplicitous business men, a pretty woman and of course are good guys who on this occasion find themselves arrested for a crime they didn't commit and having to go on the run to prove their innocence. Pretty much everything about it is typical and that includes the performances which are adequate but nothing special.

But the one thing which "Guns of Hate" has got is a logical build up with Bob and Chito being given a token gift of gold for helping Ben fix his wagon, when they cash it in the duplicitous man in the assay office spots that it is the same as a piece found in the lost Dutchman gold mine some time earlier and so on. Basically some thought has been put in to the stages of the movie including the almost slapstick way that are heroes manage to escape from prison.

What this all boils down to is that "Guns of Hate" is just another Tim Holt/ Richard Martin western and in truth offers up nothing you won't have seen in other westerns. But for western fans it is an entertaining if forgettable way to pass an hour.


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