The Gun Runners
1958 film by Don Siegel
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The Gun Runners is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by Donald Siegel. It is the third adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel To Have and Have Not (after 1944's To Have and Have Not and 1950's The Breaking Point), and stars Audie Murphy as a down-on-his-luck charter boat captain who begins smuggling guns for Cuban revolutionaries.[1]
Paul Monash
Clarence Greene
| The Gun Runners | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Donald Siegel |
| Screenplay by | Daniel Mainwaring Paul Monash |
| Based on | To Have and Have Not (novel) by Ernest Hemingway |
| Produced by | Herbert E. Stewart Clarence Greene |
| Starring | Audie Murphy |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Edited by | Chester W. Shaeffer |
| Music by | Leith Stevens |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Don Siegel, writing about the film in his memoirs, reflected, "There’s an old adage; never make a sea picture with a C budget."[2]
Plot
Sam Martin (Audie Murphy) runs a charter boat with his alcoholic first mate, Harvey (Everett Sloane). He is forced by financial necessity to run guns for the Cuban Revolution but his employer seeks to maximize his profit.
Cast
- Audie Murphy as Sam Martin
- Eddie Albert as Hanagan
- Patricia Owens as Lucy Martin
- Everett Sloane as Harvey
- Richard Jaeckel as Buzurki
- Paul Birch as Sy Philips
- Jack Elam as Arnold
- John Qualen as Pop
- Edward Colmans as Juan
- Steven Peck as Pepito
- Carl Rogers as Carlos Contreras
- Gita Hall as Eva
- Robert Phillips as Outlaw (uncredited)[3]
Production
According to Don Siegel, star Audie Murphy had asked him to direct the film and United Artists agreed following the success of Baby Face Nelson. However, Siegel was worried about the low budget.[2]
This was the first feature from the fledgling Seven Arts Productions.[4] Director Don Siegel was unhappy with having to use Audie Murphy in the lead role.[5] However, Siegel wrote Murphy "was always polite and quiet with me, never any trouble."[6]
The film was shot in Newport Beach, California,
Reception
See also
Notes
- Siegel, Don (1993). A Siegel film : an autobiography. Faber and Faber.
