Five Guns West is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman.
They capture her and her uncle and begin fighting over her, before one of the men, Govern Sturges, who is really an undercover Confederate army officer, intervenes on her behalf.
The second film he produced, The Fast and the Furious and been bought for distribution by a newly formed company, American Releasing Corporation (ARC), headed by Sam Arkoff and James H. Nicholson.
[7] In October 1954 ARC announced that they would make three more films with Corman's company, Palo Alto, over the next twelve months, starting with Five Guns West in November.
[14] Corman said the story idea was his but the structure and script was the work of R. Wright Campbell, an actor he had met through Jonathan Haze.
In order to get some practice before starting Five Guns West, he shot an 8-minute short film on 16 mm over one day with some actor friends.
"[19] The film marked the first time Corman worked with cinematographer Floyd Crosby, who would become one of the director's key collaborators.
No matter how fast I moved, Floyd kept right up, and he could light a setup in 10–15 minutes flat, or even faster if need be, and we'd go.
In order to complete Five Guns West Corman obtained funds from the budget of one of his upcoming projects, a science fiction film then called The Unseen (which became The Beast with a Million Eyes).
[23] Corman said the fact the film was in color helped put it in the top half of double bills through most of the US, although in some major cities it was a second feature.
[24] However the film struggled to recoup money because it often played on the bottom of double bills, which meant it received a flat fee instead of a percentage.
Alex Gordon confirmed that saying "it soon became obvious that single B-pictures like these first three [Fast and Furious, Five Guns West, Apache Woman] would not work out for the new company—they played the bottom of twin-bill programming at $25 per booking.
[25] In 1956 Jim Nicholson said ARC had to sell this film and Fast and the Furious to television because of "short finances" but that they would never do it again.
[27] In later years, Sight and Sound said "The direction is a bit creaky, but R. Wright Campbell's screenplay and the well-played friction between the titular quintet (led by John Lund) easily sustain interest.
According to Filmink "Truth be told, the concept isn’t developed the way it could be, and Lund looks like he’s about to fall asleep, but it’s a decent enough debut judged by the standard of B Westerns from this era.
"[32] The movie is available on line for free from several sites, including YouTube,[33] and was released on DVD in 2003 [29] In February 1955, Corman announced he would follow the movie with Fortress Beneath the Sea, to be made off the coast at Baja; High Steel, a steeplejack story; Cobra, to be filmed in India; and an untitled film written by Campbell.
[34][35] In June 1955 Corman said he wanted to reunited Lund and Malone in Reception, about a Confederate hero who brings a northern bride to his home in Georgia.