This film begins with a gunslinger by the name of "Ernie Parsons" (Marjoe Gortner) about to be lynched for a crime he did not commit. Fortunately for him, he is saved at the very last minute by a young woman who convinces the lynch mob that another man had just confessed to the crime and was being held several miles away. Naturally, the lynch mob releases Ernie only to discover minutes later that the young woman had fabricated everything. Having just enough of a head start, Ernie manages to elude the posse and while doing so comes upon the body of a dead preacher. Recognizing an opportunity when he sees it, Ernie subsequently dons the preacher's attire and decides to ride to the town of Castle Walk to masquerade as the new parson just long enough for the dust to settle. What he doesn't realize is that, even though this town is desperate for a new preacher, they need a top gunslinger even more. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be an enjoyable made-for-television Western which had a couple of established actors like Slim Pickens (as "Billy One-Eye"), David Huddleston ("Mr. Ross") and Geoffrey Lewis ("Jason McCoy"). It also had a good bit of humor here and there as well. Likewise, having an attractive actress like Pamela Sue Martin (as "Sally Underwood") certainly didn't hurt either. That being said, while it may have been somewhat limited by its made-for-television format, this still turned out to be better than I expected and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
Review of The Gun and the Pulpit
