A young gunslinger on the lam impersonates a preacher, brings hope to his parishioners and law-and-order to a town terrorized by a strongman's bunch.A young gunslinger on the lam impersonates a preacher, brings hope to his parishioners and law-and-order to a town terrorized by a strongman's bunch.A young gunslinger on the lam impersonates a preacher, brings hope to his parishioners and law-and-order to a town terrorized by a strongman's bunch.
- Oaf
- (uncredited)
- Luke
- (uncredited)
- Posse
- (uncredited)
- Emma Underwood
- (uncredited)
- Old Man - Ross Hand
- (uncredited)
- Second Outlaw
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
[first lines]
Head of Posse: Ernie Parsons, having been found guilty by a jury of your peers...
Ernie Parsons: I didn't see any jury.
Head of Posse: Well, they was around. Anyway, what difference does it make. You gunned down Windy Jones and he was one of our most beloved and respected citizens.
Ernie Parsons: I heard he was the town drunk.
Head of Posse: Well, now that he's dead, he's one of our town's most beloved and respected citizens.
Because this is a network made-for-TV film clocking in at a very brief 74 minutes, you are not going to find much of an edge in either the comedic moments, or the violent ones. The tone shifts wildly, teasing the viewer with humor along the lines of "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (the best western comedy of all-time), and then takes a dark turn into "Pale Rider" territory. I was laughing out loud about how young the girls in the town were getting married one minute, and then horrified at Ernie's one-man terrorism campaign against Ross. The film is based on a Jack Ehrlich novel, and I wonder what exactly was dropped or glossed over. The cast is fine, Gortner and company seem to be having fun with the material, although Geoffrey Lewis' very brief screen time is frustrating. The irony is that Gortner was an evangelist in real life before denouncing the pulpit and pursuing Hollywood stardom, which eluded him after some big breaks in the '70's. Veteran Petrie's direction is old-hat and pedestrian, but in a good way. There seems to be only one way to shoot a story like this, and Petrie follows suit. The location used is great, but this is one of those films in the public domain, so beware of some of the prints out there. When "The Gun and the Pulpit" ended, I really did not have much of a reaction either way. This is not a great film, or a bad film. It just sort of exists, innocuously, and you will move on to other things.
- NoDakTatum
- Nov 3, 2023