One of the worst movies I've ever seen

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

A great cast adds life to this violent western about civil war hero searching for the two guns stolen from him that frame him for a series of brutal robberies and murders. Scott (Randolph) must find the villainous Scott (Zachary) and stop his reign of terror. "Pour yourself some backbone and shut up", Scott (Zachary) tells one of his men, turning coward as he attempts to warn the nasty boss of Scott's pending arrival. He has no qualms about killing his own men or brutally beating up the crooked sheriff (Alan Hale Sr.) in order to keep his reign of terror going.The beautiful Ruth Roman is excellent as the wife of allegedly forced in gang member Lloyd Bridges who is obviously lying to her. She's pretty crafty, escaping from a locked shed in a very creative way and willing to risk her life to expose evil Scott and clear heroic Scott. Colorful but predictable, this is merely just moderate entertainment filled with all the familiar western trappings, even adding a local Native American tribe into the plot for good measure.

Colt .45 (AKA: Thundercloud) is directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Thomas W. Blackburn. It stars Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, Zachary Scott, Lloyd Bridges, Alan Hale Senior and Chief Thundercloud. Music is by William Lava and cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline."A gun like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it."Another of the Warner Brothers Westerns to star Western legend Randolph Scott, this one sees Scott once again team up with Marin for another lively and colourful bout of yee-haw shenanigans. Scott is gun salesman Steve Farrell, who has his new Colt .45's stolen by outlaw Jason Brett (Z Scott). As Brett and his gang wreak havoc across the lands, Farrell sets out with angered urgency to end the rampage.1950 was a big year for the Western genre, there was strong psychological releases such as Broken Arrow, Devil's Doorway, The Furies, The Gunfighter and Winchester '73. While John Ford was laying down one of his super Cavalry movies with Rio Grande. Colt .45 is a mile from the class of those, but as the box office success of it shows, there was then, and still is now, a great deal of enjoyment to be garnered from this type of Randy Scott Oater.There's a unpretentiousness about the film, while the portrayal of the Indians here, who have a significant say in the story, is on the good side of good. Z Scott makes for a good villain without going over the top, Hale, who would pass away this same year, is good value as always and Roman looks the pretty part in a thankless role. Marin directs at a clip, instilling gusto to the plentiful action, and Cline brings the picturesque landscapes to colourful life.There's of course some suspension of disbelief needed, while certain plot developments are daft, but once the dramatic twists align themselves with the frivolity, it rounds out as a good time for all the family; and of course those into gun porn! 7/10

I'm amazed that it wasn't until the second page of these comments that someone pointed out that the title of this movie was just plain wrong. Did some studio people panic and think, "but what if nobody's ever heard of a Colt .44"? All the publicity posters, worldwide, showed Scott brandishing the much more familiar Colt .45 "Peacemaker". And none of this is mentioned in the "Goofs" for the movie, although it is pointed out that "Colt's first .45 caliber weapon was the Single-Action Army revolver, first made in 1871".Hilarious really.If you were a young boy in the 1950s, this one is for you. Lloyd Bridges, Zachary Scott and Ruth Roman all give lusty performances in traditional roles: The spineless, devious husband, the evil, sadistic outlaw and the ill-fated woman who tries desperately to stand by her man. Interesting to note that Ian McDonald plays a character named Miller in this movie, and was Frank Miller in High Noon. And on the the DVD I have it looks great, just as fresh and bright as it did 60 years ago. Just a few more reasons why I love this film.

Edwin L. Marin directed in 1951 one unusual interesting western, "Raton Pass". "Colt 45" was released in 1950, same year "Winchester 73" came out and I suppose it wanted to benefit from the huge success of "Winchester". Colt 45 has some absurd moments like when Zachary Scott, the bad guy, escapes from jail at the beginning. No sheriff at his right mind would punch a prisoner when there are two 45s at the table behind them. Also at the end when Randolph Scott confronts Zachary, who makes a point of being unarmed, Randolph, in spite of being wounded gets rid of his guns and goes for a fistfight. There is a limit for being noble!!! I enjoyed this film with its primitive, simple story the same way I used to enjoy reading comic books. It does not make much sense, but it is fun. Ruth Roman is more beautiful than in any other film I have seen her, Lloyd Bridges is her "bad guy" husband. Zachary Scott overacts as the mean Jason Brett, but that adds to the fun of the film. The Native Americans are the good guys helping Randolph all along.