The Gun and the Pulpit

*The Gun and the Pulpit*
The Gun and the Pulpit
	DVD cover
Genre	Western
Based on	The Novel by ;
Written by	William Bowers (teleplay)
Directed by	Daniel Petrie
Starring	Marjoe Gortner
Music by	George Tipton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Paul Junger Witt
Producers	Paul Maslansky; Tony Thomas (associate producer)
Production locations	Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona; Sonoran Desert; Tucson, Arizona; Tucson Mountains; Sierrita Mountains
Cinematography
Editor	Terence Anderson
Running time	74 minutes
Production company	Danny Thomas Productions in association with Cine Television
Distributor	ABC
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Mono
Original release	April 3, 1974;

The Gun and the Pulpit is a 1974 American Western television film directed by Daniel Petrie. It was based on Jack Ehrlich's 1972 novel The Fastest Gun in the Pulpit. Filmed at Old Tucson, it was a television pilot for a series^[1] to star former evangelist Marjoe Gortner.

Plot summary[]

Gunfighter Ernie Parsons escapes hanging for the killing of a disreputable character by the false testimony of a woman attracted to him. During his escape, he finds the body of a murdered minister. Searching the corpse, Ernie discovers a letter from a town which has invited the deceased man, sight unseen, to be their town minister. Ernie appropriates the victim's clothes and belongings to escape his pursuers and vows revenge on the minister's murderer. He has decided to impersonate the dead man.

Welcomed to town, Ernie's first action is to preside over a funeral of Sam Underwood, a man murdered on the orders of town boss Mr. Ross. Attracted to Underwood's daughter, Ernie decides to stay, using his gunfighter skills to stand up to Ross.

Ernie is disgusted by the cowardice of the townspeople, dismissing Ross's men as mere cowboys wearing pistols as opposed to professional gunfighters. With his men cowed by the preacher's gunfighting skills, Ross hires a professional gunfighter to kill him. The two hold a duel in the center of town. When both miss each other at close range, the gunfighter takes it as a sign and leaves.

Parsons is ambushed by Ross's men and dragged through the desert and left for dead. He is found in the desert and brought back to the Underwood's home. Parsons arranges for a fake burial and takes to the hills, attacking Ross's men through surprise attacks. Eventually, Parsons is persuaded to head back to town.

Parsons holds a service at church and is interrupted by Ross, who pretends to arrange a truce. The next day, Ross and his men come to town to ambush Parsons. Parsons asks for the help of men from the church, but they are too scared to help. When Parsons takes on Ross and his men alone, some of the men come to his aid. Ross is killed by Parsons and the war is over. Free to marry Underwood's daughter, Parsons instead rides away, feeling his work is done and his impersonation of a preacher will only lead to trouble.

As Parsons rides away, he meets a preacher heading to town to investigate the events. The preacher convinces Parsons that he was right to protect the town in his own way, but doesn't convince Parsons to return.

At least, not for the thirty seconds preceding the concluding freeze-frame, anyway.

Differences from novel[]

Cast[]

Marjoe Gortner as Ernie Parsons
Slim Pickens as Billy One-Eye
David Huddleston as Mr. Ross
Geoffrey Lewis as Jason McCoy
Estelle Parsons as Sadie Underwood
Pamela Sue Martin as Sally Underwood
Jeff Corey as Head of Posse
Karl Swenson as Adams
Jon Lormer as Luther
Robert Phillips as Tom Underwood
Larry Ward as Max
Joan Goodfellow as Dixie

Notes[]

^ p.221 Terrace, Vincent Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots, and Trial Series, 1925 through 1995: Seven Decades of Small Screen Almosts McFarland, 1997

External links[]

The Gun and the Pulpit at IMDb
The Gun and the Pulpit is available for free download at the Internet Archive

[1] .221 Terrace, Vincent Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots, and Trial Series, 1925 through 1995: Seven Decades of Small Screen Almosts McFarland, 1997

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