Running Target (1956)

Running Target (1956)


Plot Summary

In the Colorado Rockies, Sheriff Scott, (Arthur Franz) heads a posse that is after four escaped convicts, and though it is his sworn duty to return the men dead or alive, he is, as always, reluctant to kill his fellow man. He is accompanied by Jaynes, (Richard Reeves) a tavern owner, who takes much delight in his telescopic rifle, and by "Smitty," (Doris Dowling) a gas station owner held up by the escapees and more than ready to show she can be as tough as any man, although she seems to have some other motive for getting to the leader of the convicts, Kaygo.

Well here's something off the beaten path. I've honestly never heard of this movie or most of the actors though i've seen Arthur Franz in some stuff. This was an independent small budget film that wisely stuck to the wilderness which throws off the whole "we don't have much money" scent that some B pictures have. The curious thing about this movie is just how political it was as you could come away from this one with very different views. A conservative leaning person would say this movie is a prime example of liberalism with the way Scott views the criminals as brothers and how he feels they should be taken in with dignity rather than being shot down as is Jaynes' philosophy. On the other hand you can look at this movie as a sober warning against treating people like animals and judging them just based on past actions rather than realizing that we all make mistakes in this world.

Honestly, I feel like the movie leaned a little too hard on the first argument a bit. There are times when you just HAVE to shoot someone down if they're not willing to give up. It almost seemed like Scott was going to make that turn at the end but it was not meant to be. (not going to spoil the ending)  I thought the acting was pretty good in this one as Franz gives a very strong, authoritative performance as the sheriff but the real credit for making this movie as enjoyable as it was was Richard Reeves. He gives Jaynes an aggressive and often bullheaded persona which shows just how belligerent against criminals he can be. However, it was clear that Jaynes was meant to be the villain of he piece as the tension between he and Scott was palpable to say the very least. It didn't help that the script made Jaynes out to be completely stupid and missing the point when it's clear that Smitty went along with the posse for a whole different reason.

There are some great scenes in this flick such as the scene with Scott and Smitty alone talking about how Kaygo was employing great skill at covering his tracks and seemingly knowing his way around the wilds of Colorado. The theme of freedom and of being completely free from the pressures of the world and such was discussed at length. It was quite a good scene especially the ending where it's more or less revealed that the reason she went out with the posse was to meet up with Kaygo and get him to freedom.

The other great scene occurred earlier when the posse had gathered up Kaygo's associates and one of the cons talked down to Jaynes talking about how he's no better and in fact, is worse than those guys because he gets off on using his rifle and killing guys dead to rights. It was an impressive little scene that shows that even someone upholding the law can have very negative reasons for doing so. In fact, if one really thinks about it Jaynes' rifle is an extension of himself and he pretty much says later on that it's the only thing in the world he trusts.


Good little flick with fodder for philosophical discussion on how we view criminals and how we apprehend them and treat them. Like I said I felt it probably had too far a left leaning message as Scott seemed very much to be defending these guys even going so far as to call them brothers in a universal sense. Still, it's an entertaining film and the acting is fairly good. I did like that the Smitty character was a tough as nails woman to the point that you could almost say she's a tomboy or worse, a lesbian but the revelation halfway through the movie belied that which shows how progressive this movie was as it showed that women can be tough while still being feminine.

The movie can be found on Amazon for $19.98.

*** stars