Singing Guns (1950)

Starring Vaughn Moore, Ella Raines, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Jeff Corey
Directed by R.G. Springsteen

Print: color
Runtime: 91 min.
Genre: western

Singer-bandleader Vaughn ("Racing with the Moon") Monroe made a tentative stab at movie
stardom in 1950. Singing Guns casts Monroe as western outlaw Rhiannon, who robs from
the rich and keeps it. Rhiannon's particular target is a gold mine that he feels rightfully
belongs to him. Whether it does or doesn't, it takes three people — saloon gal Nan Morgan
(Ella Raines), doctor/minister Dr. Mark (Walter Brennan) and sheriff Caradac (Ward Bond) —
to capture Our Hero. Though he's a passable actor, Monroe's strong suit remains his
mellow baritone, which he displays in four different musical numbers, one of which is his
Hit-Parade success "Mule Train." Singing Guns is based very loosely on a novel by Max
Brand.