21 Gun Salute Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cat Ballou

Lee Marvin won an Oscar for playing dual roles as Kid Shelleen, an alcoholic ex-gun fighter, and his twin brother Tim Strawn, a hired killer with a tin nose. The scene of Kid Shelleen sitting on his horse, with the both of them drunk, and leaning against a building fast asleep is unforgettable. Jane Fonda played the title role as a school marm seeking revenge for the murder of her father by Strawn. Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye are balladeers who sing the theme song thoughout this 1965 film that I rate as #10.

Answer: Warlock

Henry Fonda is Clay Blaisdell, a famous gunfighter hired to clean up a lawless town. His back-up is Anthony Quinn, as gambler Tom Morgan, who has a club foot and is fast with a gun. Hired as marshal, Blaisdell tells the city council he must open a gambling parlor to supplement his meager income.

A group of ranch hands have been shooting up the town and must be stopped. Richard Widmark and Frank Gorshin play cowboy ,along with their friend, DeForest Kelley. This 1959 film has been sadly overlooked but I think it is a great one, in spite of Gorshin's irritating overacting and Fonda throwing his prize guns away in the dirt at the 1959 movie's ending. I rate this movie as #9.

Answer: The Magnificent Seven

This 1960 film, that I rate #8, has a superb musical score by Elmer Bernstein, outstanding direction by John Sturgis, and a fabulous cast of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter,and Eli Wallach. Every year Mexican bandits ride into a small farming village and take the local harvest and winter supplies.

The locals hire American gunmen, led by Chris, and are only able to pay each of them a 20 dollar gold piece. The Americans are unemployed and hungry so they accept the job, which includes all they can eat. One of the gunmen believes Chris knows where the farmers' gold treasure is hidden.

Answer: The Wild Bunch

This 1969 Sam Peckinpah film featured William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Edmond O'Brien, Strother Martin, and Robert Ryan. In 1913, an aging outlaw gang tries to rob a Texas bank dressed as American soldiers but has to flee after shooting it out in an ambush by local authorities.

Some of the gang, the rest being killed, are able to reach the Mexican town of Agua Verde where they end up being wiped out by a revolutionary bandido and his men. I rate this movie at #7.

Answer: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

With an unique musical score, this 1966 film scores big as the first Spaghetti Western, in which Clint Eastwood as Blondie, Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes and Eli Wallach as Tuco are the good one, the bad one, and the ugly one. They all end up seaching and fighting for buried treasure, which lies hidden in a graveyard.

These three shoot it out in a cemetary after finding the loot, with Bad lying dead, Ugly about to hang, and Blondie riding away in triumph. I rate this classic at #6.

Answer: Red River

Directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, this taut 1948 movie has John "Duke" Wayne as the hard-as-nails cattle baron, Tom Dunston, and Montgomery Clift as his adopted son, Matt Garth. This pair start a long cattle drive from Texas to Kansas, only to become at odds over morals, management style, and proper destination. With the help of gunfighter Cherry Valance, played by John Ireland, and cook Nadine Groot, played by Walter Brennan, Matt takes over the drive, leaving Dunston behind. Dunston finally catches up with Garth.

A tremendous fist fight takes place in Abilene, with neither winning but making up because of the intervention of the heroine. I rate this film at #5.

Answer: Unforgiven

In this 1992 film, Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his role of Little Bill Daggett, Marshal of Big Whiskey, Wyoming. After two cowboys cut up a whore, the other whorehouse gals offer a $1000 reward for the death of the cowboys involved, because the marshal downplays the crime. English Bob, a gunfighter, shows up to claim the reward, accompanied by a book writer who has published him as "The Duke of Death". Little Bill calls English Bob "The Duck of Death", severely beats him, and runs him out of town. Meanwhile, an ex-outlaw, Will Munny, shows up to avenge the cowboys' crime and also gets badly beaten by Little Bill, who beats and kills Will's friend. Little Bill wants nothing more than to finish building his dream home, but Munny makes sure the marshal and the cowboys are laid to rest. I like this film at #4.

Answer: High Noon

This 1952 suspense thriller won an Oscar for Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane, who alone must face a group of killers. On his wedding day, Kane is informed that Frank Miller, a man he sent to prison for murder, has been released. Miller is arriving in town on the noon train to meet his gang (Lee Van Cleef, Sheb Wooley, Robert Wilke). Kane asks the townspeople for help but everyone tells him to run away, including his pacifist Quaker bride (Grace Kelly). With some miraculous maneuvering and luck, Kane manages to send the killers to boot hill, with some last minute help from his wayward wife.

The great cast includes Harry Morgan, Thomas Mitchell, Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges, Lon Chaney Jr., and Jack Elam. The famous theme song is sung by Tex Ritter. Number 3 is my rating for this, among all-time greatest Westerns.

Answer: The Searchers

This classic 1956 John Ford film is a cornucopia of marvelous acting, directing, writing, scenery, and everything else. Confederate Ethan Edwards returns home to Texas three years after the Civil War. Shortly afterwards, he experiences the massacre of his brother and family by marauding Indians, who also kidnap his two young nieces, Lucy (Pippa Scott) and Debbie (Lana Wood as the young and Natalie Wood as the older).

A posse of Texas Rangers and ranchers go after the Indians and Nathan finds Lucy dead.

He now tells Lucy's boyfriend (Harry Carey Jr.) that Lucy is dead. After the posse gives up hunting for Debbie, Ethan and his nephew (Jeffrey Hunter) go on for years, searching. Finally, they find Debbie alive and return home with her. Others in this wondrous cast of Ford Players are Olive Carey, Ken Curtis, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Patrick Wayne, Hank Worden, and John Qualen. I rate this film at #2.

Answer: Shane

In my opinion, this 1953 film is the greatest Western ever. It's the cowboys versus the farmers, with George Stevens directing. Gunfighter Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into what appears to be a peaceful valley and goes to work for a farmer (Van Heflin) in order to lay down his gun.

The farmer's wife (Jean Arthur in her last role) and son Joey (Brandon De Wilde) win the affection of Shane. Then comes trouble because the local cattle baron and his brother want to put the farmers out of business. They hire the meanest villain ever (Jack Palance as Jack Wilson) to get rid of Shane and all of the homesteaders.

The climax has Shane in his buckskin clothes facing Wilson who wears black leather gloves to do his killing. Joey watches as Shane rides to town and insults Wilson. Shane kills Wilson, the cattle baron, and the brother in the saloon. Shane also gets shot, but rides off with Joey yelling to him to come back. Does Shane die from his wounds? The movie does not make it clear what becomes of Shane.

Others in the cast are Ben Johnson, Elisha Cook Jr., and Edgar Buchanan. I like this as the greatest Western ever made.