Quantez

1957 film by Harry Keller

Quantez

Film poster by Reynold Brown

Directed by| Harry Keller
Screenplay by| R. Wright Campbell
Story by| Ann Edwards
R. Wright Campbell
Produced by| Gordon Kay
Starring| Fred MacMurray
Dorothy Malone
Cinematography| Carl E. Guthrie
Edited by| Fred MacDowell
Music by| Herman Stein
Color process| Eastmancolor

Production
company

Universal International Pictures

Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release date

* September 6, 1957 (1957-09-06)

Running time

| 81 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Quantez is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Harry Keller and starring Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Malone.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

Heller's (John Larch) gang of outlaws pull a robbery, kill a man and ride toward Mexico, fleeing a posse. To spend the night, they first head for the border town of Quantez, but are shocked to discover that it has become a ghost town, with no one else there.

Gentry (Fred MacMurray), the gang's most experienced man, finds liquor in the saloon, while Teach (John Gavin), a younger gunslinger, becomes interested in Chaney (Dorothy Malone), who is Heller's woman but upset over the murder during the holdup. Gato, who was raised by Apaches, is infuriated by Heller's referring to him as "breed" and other slights.

Gato (Sydney Chaplin) discovers a warning from Apaches to anyone who comes to town. He seeks out Delgadito (Michael Ansara), the tribe's leader, and proposes they kill the whites and divide the loot. Heller, meantime, is trying to get his partners to do the same, kill the others so there's more money to split among who's left. Gentry and Teach both have feelings for Chaney, who wants to leave town as soon as possible.

A wandering minstrel comes to town, calling himself Puritan (James Barton), and while he paints Heller's portrait, he sings a song about John Coventry, a legendary outlaw in these parts. Puritan is suddenly astonished when he spots Gentry and realizes that he is Coventry. The veteran gunman is trying to put his violent life behind him for good.

In a final gunfight, Gato is killed by Delgalito after a betrayal. Heller is killed by Gentry, and with arrows raining down, Gentry sacrifices himself, providing cover while Chaney and Teach make their getaway.

## Cast

[edit]

* Fred MacMurray as Gentry / John Coventry
* Dorothy Malone as Chaney
* James Barton as Puritan
* Sydney Chaplin as Gato
* John Gavin as Teach
* John Larch as Heller
* Michael Ansara as Delgadito

## Reaction

[edit]

The New York Times said the film "could hardly be duller".[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Schallert, Edwin (June 22, 1956). "Drama: Third Cagney Subject Developed by Writer; Stevens Slates 'Feud'". Los Angeles Times. p. 23.
2. ^ "Western Bites Dust at R.K.O. Theatres". New York Times. September 7, 1957. p. 26.

## External links

[edit]

* Quantez at IMDb
* Quantez at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Quantez at the TCM Movie Database
* Quantez at Letterboxd

* v
* t
* e

Films of Harry Keller

* The Blonde Bandit (1949)
* Tarnished (1950)
* Fort Dodge Stampede (1951)
* Desert of Lost Men (1951)
* Rose of Cimarron (1952)
* Leadville Gunslinger (1952)
* Black Hills Ambush (1952)
* Thundering Caravans (1952)
* Marshal of Cedar Rock (1953)
* Savage Frontier (1953)
* Bandits of the West (1953)
* El Paso Stampede (1953)
* Red River Shore (1953)
* Phantom Stallion (1954)
* The Unguarded Moment (1956)
* Man Afraid (1957)
* Quantez (1957)
* The Female Animal (1958)
* Day of the Badman (1958)
* Voice in the Mirror  (1958)
* Step Down to Terror  (1958)
* Seven Ways from Sundown  (1960)
* Tammy Tell Me True  (1961)
* Six Black Horses  (1962)
* Tammy and the Doctor (1963)
* The Brass Bottle (1964)
* In Enemy Country  (1968)

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